|
Roles, Structure & Family
in Gambia |
 |
|
|
|
Introduction:
 The
traditional extended family is the most common type of family unit structure in The Gambia and is a unit that can help to foster good or bad family
relationships. It plays a central role in Gambian society and it is perceived
as a status symbol to support a large family and have more than one
wife.
Traditionally Gambian families tend to
be large and three generations may live together in one household with
each having different roles. The average household size is 8.5 members
per household, and the dependency ratio 65% (The
Gambia Bureau of Statistics, 2006) and estimated
at 6 people in urban areas and 15 people in rural
areas.
Structure:
 Individuals tend to take
over as head of a Gambian household much later in life at around 40
years old. It is not very common to find grandparents living in their
children's houses as they themselves tend to be the head of their own
family. Households have a complicated hierarchy and are constantly
changing and one of the reasons is the polygamous nature of
Muslim
society. A second wife may through default become the first wife.
Where a man has multiple wives they would pool their time and effort
for the general betterment of the household.
Hierarchy:
• Head
• Temporary Head
• Spouse
•
Children
• Son's children
• Daughter's children
• Head's parents
• Brother / Sister
• Nephews
• Nieces
It's quite normal in Gambian society to call more than one person
'mother' or 'father', and often people with no apparent blood ties are
called 'relatives'. Though it should be noted that because Gambia is
so small and inter-marriage between people from different
ethnic
groups so common many people are related without even knowing it
particularly in the Greater Banjul area.
Being a patrilineal society the father is normally head of the family though the
role and responsibilities of running of the household is left to the wife. The times when most
family members living outside the household meet at one time is
usually at naming ceremonies,
funerals and weddings.
At these events different members have different roles to play as
there would be an immediate hierarchy based on age, religious learning
and status through birth and lineage. Respect to elders is vitally
important in developing good relationships in particular
greetings, showing due respect and listening
to advice.
At the lowest village level there is the
compound which would have the
eldest male as the head of the household and possible several other
families who share blood ties as well as the wives and children,
uncles, aunts and grandparents. His role is of decision maker and
resolving disputes. Then there would be other compounds, perhaps
nearby, were related family members live and the head of this grouping
is yet again the eldest male. Then finally there is the chief or what
Gambians call the Alikaalo who is the oldest man from the
founding family of the village. This localised family make-up is fairly typical
among different groups.
There is no hard-and-fast rule to this family make-up as older
male members can choose to move out and start their own compounds with
their own wives. It can be a fluid system as it is very common in the
Kombo St. Mary District to find households with just the father,
mother and children, if they haven't already left home, and maybe a
relative who helps out in the house or keeps the wife company. Having
said this however, wealthy Serahules in the K.S.M.D like to keep
tradition alive and tend to have a large extended family structural group staying
in one building.
Many more educated women now work in The Gambia,
though it was less common among the older generation
and as a result it has altered the traditional role
that wives have played.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
