Question 1 (32 Marks)

Drawing from the content of your courseware do the following:
Critically discuss how the concepts of family and marriage has changed or evolved over time both in Africa and internationally, use relevant examples to substantiate your answer. (15 marks)

The functionalist school of anthropologists, represented by Bronislaw Malinowski and Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, sought to understand how the parts of a culture contributed to the well-being of the society.

Required:
Comprehend this statement by briefly discussing three important functions of family and marriage in societies. (09 Marks)

Read this case study and answer the question that follow/s:

Thabiso was a 21-year-old boy when he clicked eyes with Nomasonto, both of them did not know that they have the same father, due to being Christian and following the rules of no sexual intercourse before marriage. Thabo decided to look for his father so that they could go to Nomasonto’s family to do bride price negotiation. After a few weeks, he got the letter from his private investigator that all his investigation led to Nomasonto’s family. Thabo decided to tell Nomasonto and both of them agreed that they will ask the elders to do a ritual so that the union can be continue. The family refused and the two decided to run away.

With reference to the above case study, Identify the term used to refer to the prohibition of certain categories of mating. (01 Mark)

Using your answer for 1.2.1 identify relevant theories in the context of your courseware that should be considered suitable to apply in the answer identified in
1.2.1. (09 Marks)
Question 2 (16 marks)

Read the following case study and answer questions that follows:

A big family move in nearby Perush’s neighborhood and Perush start to notice something, the family members are so unique amongst each other, and she suddenly become intrigued by this family, three days later, this family invited Perush and her family for dinner. This huge family has started to tell Perush about their descent and how they became this huge family. One of the family members shows Perush her biological son and daughter and their grandmothers who is also the mother of the children’s mother. The conversation between Perush and this family member has led to a point where they end up talking about others, where this family member shared with Perush about her sister struggle to have children and they opted for modern way with his husband whom the family member pointed out playing with the said children’s. in that moment when Perush was busy starring at these children’s play with their dad, another family members, come and ask to sit next to Perush, and later joined by his boyfriend (same-sex couple) and they tell her that they have been in a relationship and married together for 5 years.

Define the concept of Kinship and Identify and briefly outline the category/s of Kinship system depicted in the above case study. In your answer comment which kinship you and your family belong to and why? (16 marks)

Question 3 (20 marks)

Watch the following YouTube video and read the Scenario and answer the question that follows:

Scenario
Two young men are expecting their first kids, they decide a throw a baby shower for their children, and they want to keep it a surprise to their wives. Upon their planningthey realize that they need to invite people who are close to them although they asked the patrons to treat their invitation as a secret but one of their friends unintentionally mentioned the baby shower in front of one of the wives. The wife immediately thinks about how she will be expected to raise this child with his husband since the family
pride itself on raising children the right way and the family is both religious and cultural
Drawing from the content of your courseware, the scenario and YouTube video, briefly discuss how division of child rearing differs between man and women in some societies, in your answer comment how parents, family and community influence how you view gender roles. (20 marks)

Question 4 (15 marks)

Read the extract and answer question that follow/s:

President Ramaphosa in his state of national address shared what defines the nation. He believe that “we are not a nation defined by ocean and the rivers that form boundaries of our land, we are not defined by minerals under our earth or spectacular landscape above it, he further alluded that we are not even defined by languages and the cultures, the cultures that we have as people or by the songs that we sing or even the work that we do, we are at an essential where the nation is defined by hope etc..”

With reference to the above extract, identify which type of political organization is depicted in the above extract. (01 mark)

With reference the answer identified in 4.1.1 and the excerpt above showcase your understanding of how the political organization may/could considered a vehicle for social stratification in societies. (14 marks)

Question 5 (15 marks)

Read the following extract and answer question/s that follows:

The central issue for anthropologists is not to determine which religion is better or more correct but rather to identify the various religious beliefs in the world as well as how they function, to what extent they are held, and the degree to which they affect human behavior (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018)

Drawing from the extract above, discuss some challenges or problems outlined by anthropologists in their effort to distinguish between religion and nonreligious phenomena. Additionally comment on how these issues outlined by anthropologist relate to your experience in terms of your understanding of religion and nonreligious phenomena. (15 Marks)

Answers to Above Questions on Cultural Anthropology

Answer 1: An analysis of the concept of family and marriage indicates that it has changed significantly over time both in Africa and worldwide. The major change is identified in the form of a shift in the family structure from extended families to nuclear families. It is because of the urbanisation and economic changes in Africa that has contributed towards this shift in the family structure.

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