HOMEMAKlNG ACTWITIES IN SELECTED EASTERN
NIGERIAN HGUSEHOLDS

find: for tho Degm ef M. A.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Nancy Wigaten Axinn
1963

0 '0. '0'-.-."'. _ -
"4h

SSSSSS

IMIIIII I ll IIIMI
252

3 1293 10 1741

SUPPLEMENTARY
MATER AL

W BA CK OF BOOK

LIBRARY

Michigan State
University

 

ABSTRACT

HOMEMAKING ACTIVITIES IN SELECTED EASTERN
NIGERIAN HOUSEHOLDS

by Nancy Wigsten Axinn

The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify
selected resources available to selected families in Nsukka,
Nigeria; (2) identify homemaking activities existing in
these families; and (3) investigate the managerial role
of the senior wife in a polygynous compound.

The sample consisted of thirty—two households within a
five-mile radius of Nsukka, Nigeria. Compounds were chosen
to meet the following criteria:

1. Wives in the compound were known to be receptive
to the interviewer. In this culture, women are unlikely to
talk with strangers. For this reason, most of the women
interviewed had some contact with the interviewer, in informal
classes or meetings.

2. The wives were resident in the compound where they'
were interviewed.

3. Both monoqamous and polygynous compounds were in—
cluded. Where the interview was done in a polygynous compound,

the senior, or first wife was interviewed.

l

Nancy Wigsten Axinn
2

Data were collected by the interview method. The
interviewer, trained by the researcher, was a Nigerian home
economist belonging to the Ibo tribe.

Most homemakers were dependent on their own work
capacity to supply food and clothing for the family and for
money income. Water was a scarce natural resource, not
available in any of the compounds during the dry season.

A wide range of foods were grown on the garden land by the
homemakers.

The compound, or physical setting, of the home did not
follow a standard pattern. Most of the houses were built of
local mud, with thatched roofs. None of them had electricity;
about one-third of them did not have windows.

The markets were used for a wide range of purchases.
Most material resources for simple homemaking were available.
About half the homemakers had clocks and irons, and used a
variety of kinds of cooking and eating utensils. Only about
one—third of the group had access to mass media, an outside
source of information.

There appeared to be no striking variation in the
resources available and used by the polygynous household

as compared to the monoqamous household.

Nancy Wigsten Axinn
3

While these selected resources were identified, it should
be noted that there may be additional resources used by home-
makers. Beyond mere identification, it is believed that
resources can be measured by the observation—interview
technique.

The second objective was to identify homemaking activities
existing in these families. The homemaker's description of her
daily activities gave one a sense of the organization of the
constant activities, such as food preparation, child care, and
water gathering. These pivoted around the weekly or seasonal
routines such as market day and farm work.

Meals prepared the day before the interview utilized a
wide variety of foods, some perhaps more nutritious than others.
Some homemakers served three different meals, while others ate
what was available. The variation in meals did not appear to
be related to family type.

Evidence of planning and saving were cited in some
families. Banks were used by the monogamous families for
their savings more than by the polygynous families.

The third objective of this study was to investigate the
managerial role of the senior wife in a polygynous compound.

This was done indirectly. Several of the senior wives

Nancy Wigsten Axinn
4

reflected on the period of training a new wife would spend
with her. It was in this rather indirect way that the habits,
goals and values of the family were transmitted to the new-
comer in the compound. Following this, the traditional Ibo
democracy gave each woman an opportunity for individuality,
even within the same family.

It is evident from this study that it is possible to
gather specific information through direct questioning. The
acquisition of more information through skilled observation is
needed for better understanding of the managerial role.
Detailed observation of all family members, assessment of
time spent for given activities, and the interaction

between family members is possible and needed.

HOMEMAKING ACTIVITIES IN SELECTED EASTERN

NIGERIAN HOUSEHOLDS

by

Nancy Wigsten Axinn

A THESIS

Submitted to

Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Master of Arts

Department of Home Management and Child DeveloPment

1963

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writer wishes to express appreciation to the follow—
ing people without whose help this thesis could never have
been written:

To Dr. Beatrice Paolucci, for her guidance and inspiration
throughout the research and the writing of the dissertation;
to Dr. Joanne B. Eicher and Dr. Jean D. Schlater for their
encouragement and suggestion, and as members of the advisory
committee; and to Dr. Alice Thorpe, head of the Department of
Home Management and Child Deve10pment, for her interest.

To those members of the faculty of the University of
Nigeria who assisted with the field work; to Miss Maria
Ahunanya for her invaluable work as interviewer and
interpreter; to the thirty-two women who shared their homes
with us; and to Michigan State University, International
Programs, for some financial assistance.

And, most of all, to my husband and children, for their

encouragement and assistance.

ii

i“) ii”

é
TABLE OF CONTENTS L J BACK OF EE.
CHAPTER Page
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Purpose of Study . . . . . . . . . . 3
Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Operational Definition of Terms . . . . 5
Limitations of Study . . . . . . . 6

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Home Management Research . . . . . . . 8
Cross Cultural Home Management Research 11
Descriptive Background of the African .

Woman's Home Life . . . . . . . . 12

Research Among the Ibo . . . . . . . . 21

Review of Methodology Research . . . . 25

III. METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Development of Interview Schedule . . . 30
Refining the Schedule . . . . . . . . . 3l
Selecting and Training the Interviewer 33
Testing the Instrument . . . . . . . . 34
Selection of Sample . . . . . . . . . . 34
Collection of Data . . . . . . . . . . 35
Analysis of Data . . . . . . . . . . . 38

IV. DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS . . . . . . . . 39
Household Composition . . . . . . . . . 40

Family Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Socio—Economic Level . . . . . . . . . 43
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued

CHAPTER Page
v. RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Work Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Situational Resources . . . . . . . . . 57

VI. HOMEMAKING ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . .

VII. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS . . . . . . . 92

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . .
APPENDIX I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
APPENDIX II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

APPENDIX III (Inside back cover)

iv

TABLE

LIST OF TABLES

Page
Type, Number, and Composition of Family . . 41
Mobility, According to Family Type . . . . 44
Education, According to Family Type . . . . 46
Economic Indicators, According to Family Type 49

Attitude Toward Child Care, According
to Family Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Attitude Toward Child Care, According
to Family Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Savings Arrangements, According to
Family Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Control of Money, According to Family Type. 84

Aspirations for Children's Education,
According to Family Type. . . . . . . . . . 88

 

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
The interest in, and need for increased home economics
education for women in West Africa is becoming widely recog-
nized. A report of the Institute on International Education
in Home Economics, held at Cornell University in 1958 notes:

Home Economics recognizes the family as the primary
biological and social unit in any culture and the one
which greatly influences and in part determines the
social, physical, and moral development of the
individual. Such basic needs as adequate and satis—
fying food, clothing, housing and human relationships,
all of which have economic and social implications,
are therefore the concern of home economists in all
parts of the world. The availability of human and
material resources is determined in part by the
levels of technological development, as well as by
religious, cultural, educational, political, economic
and social patterns prevailing in different parts

of the world. Steps toward satisfactory solutions

of these diverse problems include the clarification
of goals, derived from the interaction of needs and
values, the assessment of resources, the proposal of
alternative solutions, the selection of a suitable
solution the action itself and the evaluation of
results.

A similar conference held in London reports:
The whole task is to create a better understanding and

use of existing resources, raise levels of living;
promote a more fruitful use of idle time, especially

 

l . . .
Alfred L. Baldw1n (ed.) Report of Institute on International

 

Education in Home Economics. (Ithaca, New York: Cornell
University, 1958), p.6.

 

among youth -- encourage new thinking at all ages
about the personal relationships of men and women
to one another and to their children, thus en-
couraging balan ed and stable patterns as a basis
for nationhood.

In developing a curriculum in home economics for a new
university in a new country and culture, guidance for deter-
mining objectives will be needed. If home economists are to
help meet this challenge, then the education of home economists
in a new culture must be based on a solid foundation, and a
keen understanding of the families within that culture.

In order that the teaching of homemaking may rest on

a solid foundation, and command the confidence of
special technical services on whose field it neighbours.
home economists must be trained at a rising level in
the territories where they are to work. This could

be a stimulus to women's education and an important
contribution to the welfare of the territories served.

Fundamental subject matter knowledge and understanding of
family life within a culture gives to a program of home
economics a sound basis.

There is a distinction between Home Economics as a
helping profession concerned with direct aid and
counsel to families, and as a scientific discipline
concerned with the study and elucidation of the
factors that affect the welfare of families and that
influence the relation of a family to the society to
which it lives and to the people who comprise it.

 

1Community Development, A Handbook Prepared by a Study Confer-
ence. (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1958),
p.14.

2Ibid.. 75.
3Baldwin, 20

However, concrete research on which to base programs of
home economics in a West African culture is lacking. In the
United States, home economics specialists have become con-
cerned with the basic concepts of the subject matter field.
If these concepts are indeed basic to the discipline, they
should apply across cultures. It is necessary to test the
concepts across cultures, This research was motivated by a
need for the answer to the question, "Are home economics
concepts and particularly, home management concepts peculiar

to Western culture, or do they apply across cultures?"

Purpose of Study

Two concerns: (1) to develop a research base in home
management as a part of the total home economics prOgram for
West Africa; and (2) to test some home management concepts in
another culture, form the basis for this exploratory study.

There is great need for documentation and increased under-
standing of the traditional West African's family resources
and current home management activities. Beyond this, of
course, is need for research in the area of affect of techno—
logical change on the homemaker's role, and on the family
system it supports.

If we can identify the resources available to families

and the managerial activities involved in utilizing them,

4
we will have established a base from which home management
teaching can begin to be developed and from which the influence
of technical change can be evaluated.

The basic concept applied in this study was that decisions
about the use of resources are made in relation to the goals
of a particular family. In all cultures the alternatives
(resources plus goals) are limited in one way or another, by
the culture itself, or by a lack of knowledge or awareness
of the possibilities by individuals in families. Discovering
the goals in a given culture is difficult. These are rarely
verbalized. A deep understanding of the culture is necessary
to bring these to the level of empirical observations. One
can begin to infer these goals by noting, in given individuals
in families, the perception of available resources and their
utilization.

This exploratory study focuses on inventorying resources
available to selected homemakers, and in a limited manner,
identifying how selected women within a household chose to use
these resources.

The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify
selected resources available to selected families in Nsukka,
Nigeria; (2) identify homemaking activities existing in
these families; and (3) investigate the managerial role of

the senior wife in a polygynous compound.

Assumptions

 

Assumptions made in this study were: (1) many families
around Nsukka were polygynous, and (2) wives in this area of

Nigeria did have some control over the use of family resources.

Operational Definition of Terms

Compgund refers to the family homesite; a collection of
huts, usually surrounded by a fence.

Extended kin refers to members of the same family
lineage, but related beyond the immediate family group.

Family refers to a man, his wife or wives, and their
children.

Homemaker refers to any married woman with responsibility
for the maintenance of a home.

Homemaking_activities refer to selected tasks and their
execution in maintaining a home.

Household refers to the family group, consisting of a
man, his wife or wives, their children and other relatives,
or people identifying with that family group.

Monogamous refers to the practice of being married to
only one person at a time.

Nuclear family refers to a monOgamous family, with no

extended kin; that is, father, mother and children.

6

Polygynous refers to the practice of being married to

 

more than one wife at a time.
Resources refer to selected means available for achieving
family goals.

Senior wife refers to the first wife a man marries in a

 

polygynous household.

Limitations of Study

 

Because of limitations of time and financial support,
this study was restricted to the daily round of homemaking
activities at a given season of the year. The author recog—
nizes the wide seasonal variations in activities, and the
limitations this places on the study. This study is also
limited by the cultural biases that may have existed in the
researcher, both in the formulation of interview questions

and her perception of interview responses.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Literature was reviewed in five different areas.
These were:

(1) research which relates to resources and homemaking
activities;

(2) research of a cross cultural nature in home
management;

(3) descriptive background of the African woman's
home life;

(4) information about the Ibo tribe of Eastern
Nigeria; and

(5) research methodology pertinent to exploratory
investigation in a culture different from that

of the researcher.

Throughout the world, whether it receives academic
attention or not, the management of the home receives
attention from those directly involved. This has been the
case throughout time, as noted by Gross and Crandell:

It is generally recognized that important social

legacies have come to the American people from the
Hebrews, Greeks and Romans, as well as from

8

Western EurOpean peOple. Among these legacies are
attitudes toward the use of resources.

These authors present writings from many early scholars
who recognized the activities of home management, such as
Aristotle, who wrote that the duties of a household manager

were to order the things nature supplies.

Home Management Research

 

According to Gudjensson, "Household Management .. is in
all countries the most important occupation, employing the
most people, handling the most money, and ... is of funda-
mental importance for the health of the people."3

Most of the academic attention to home management has
been concentrated in the past few decades. Formal study and
research have been centered in the United States of America;

although a limited amount of research relative to family

I 4 I
resources has been done in EurOpe. Because research in

 

lIrma H. Gross and Elizabeth Walbert Crandall. Management
for Modern Families (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts,
Inc., 1954), p.516.

2Aristotle, Politics, Book I, Chapter 30, Volume 9 of
Britannica Great Books p.452

 

 

 

33k. V. Gudjensson, "The Contributions of Technics of

Domestic Science and Application of the Contribution to
Improving the Homelife." L'Enseignement Menager,
Vol. 24, No. 1 (March 1951), p.4.

 

4Ir. M. Pieters - De Roon, l.i, A Study of the Time—Budgets of

Groups of Dutch Housewives Carried Out for the Netherlands

 

 

Household Council. (Wageningen,The Netherlands: Department
of Rural Home Economics, Agricultural University, 1961).

 

9

home management has been done primarily in Western societies,
the concepts and definitions developed and utilized in the
United States of America were examined.

Paolucci and O‘Brien wrote:

We define home management as a series of decisions

which form a goal-directed process. This in turn

serves as a vehicle for helping families to hannel

their resources toward achievement of goals.

Nickell and Dorsey say:

Home management is accomplishment of work, by use

of resourcesz to allow time for expanding life

expressions.

Gross and Crandall wrote:

Reduced to simplest terms, management is using what

you have to get what you want...home management is

a series of decisions making up the process of using

family resources to achieve family goals.

Relatively little home management research has been
reported on the assessment of resources and their relation

to homemaking practices. One study done by Gross and Zwemer

had as its prime objective:

 

Beatrice Paolucci and Carol B. O'Brien, "What is Management?"
Forecast (September 1959) p.22.

2Pauline Nickell and Jean M. Dorsey. Management in Family
Living (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1959) p.54.

 

3Gross and Crandall, 3-4.

10

To investigate practices in all phases of management

of material and human resources in the home for the

purpose of determining the influence of various

factors on these practices.

This research was a pioneer attempt at viewing inter—
related factors in home management. The investigation
identified the relationship that existed between given cultural
variables and a family‘s use of resources through selected
managerial practices.

In a study of patterns of home management in three
generations of the same family, Millar assessed the resources
of the six families she studied. She considered as resources
time, energy, money and skills. She found that "none of the
six families showed complete continuity in patterns of
management of resources throughout the three generations."2
Her findings indicated that the homemaker's management

patterns tend to be influenced by the time in history-and

its accompanying socio-economic changes.

 

Irma H. Gross and Evelyn Zwemer. Management in Michigan
Homes Michigan State College Agricultural Experiment
Station Bulletin, 196 (June 1944), p.6.

 

2Pamela L. Millar, "A Pilot Study of Patterns in Home Manage-
ment Over a Period of Three Generations in a Selected
Group of Families." Unpublished M.A. thesis. East
Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University,
1959 p.119.

11

Cross Cultural Home Management Research
Some cross cultural time studies have been done.
Dr. Jean Warren used her experience with time study research
in the United States and carried out some replicate work
with a group of homemakers, not randomly sampled, in Uruguay.
Several other time studies at Cornell have been done in
2 3
other cultures. '
Linda Nelson studied the concept of activity patterns
among the Costa Rican peasants. This involved the presence,
. . . . . . . . 4
repetition and sequence of actiVities Within a time Span.
Her study concluded that:
There is more than one way to organize among and
within activities. Home management theory needs
to reflect a sensitivity to variations outside the
middle-class, western, industrialized patterns of
organization. Perhaps other factors which have
traditionally been termed "resources" in the con-

ceptual framework of home management have appropriate
patterns of relationship within each culture.

 

Jean Warren. "Use of Time by Homemakers in Uruguay, 1957."
Cornell University (mimeo) 1957.

2 . u . .
Carmen Maria Crespo. Use of Time by 53 Puerto Rican Rural

Homemakers." Unpublished Master's thesis, Cornell
University, 1957.
Delfina A. Maceda. "Use of Time by Married Homemakers in

the Teaching Force," Manilla, Philippines: Unpublished
Ph.D. thesis, Cornell University, 1958.

Linda Jean Nelson, "Daily Activity Patterns of Peasant Home—
makers." Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Michigan State
University, 1963.

51bid.. 106.

12

An exhaustive search of the literature reveals no pub-
lished research concerning home management in Nigerian

households.

Descriptive Background of the African Woman's Home Life

 

References to the women in Africa in written form fall
into two classes: the wide generalizations and the specific
descriptions of isolated tribes. The wide generalizations
are typically based on inadequate data. They are often
written by people who have travelled through the West African
countries or who have lived in some of them for a period of
time, and write of their observations, generalizing their
particular experience to cover the whole.

Such authors as Guy Hunter,l R.J. Mason,2 Lord Hailey,3
T.R. Batten,4 and Melville Herskovits5 write much that can
be used as background information for viewing home management

in the African culture. Further background information in

 

lGuy Hunter, The New Societies of Tropical Africa (London:
Oxford University Press, 1962).

 

2 . . . . .
R. J. Mason, British Education in Africa (London: Oxford

University Press, 1959).

 

3Lord William Hailey, An African Survey (London: Oxford
University Press, 1957).

 

4T. R. Batten, Problems of African Development (London:

Oxford University Press, 1960).

 

5William R. Bascom and Melville LL Herskovits (eds.) Con—
tinuity and Change in African Cultures (Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 1959).

 

13
a compilation of the writings of many scholars of Africa,
. . 1
has been edited by George H. T. Kimble.

From this variety of sources it is possible to get a
picture of the traditional African homemaker, and the way
the changing world is affecting her. Kimble writes:

It was customary for the woman to fetch water and

fuel, grind and pound food, make pots and baskets,

sow, weed, hoe and harvest crops. She did most of
the continuous, rep titive work necessary to
maintain the family.

The demonstrably greater "toughness" of the women—

folk extends even to their ability to survive the

hazards of childbirth under un ygenic conditions
and without medical attention.

Lord Hailey noted that:

The woman cultivator's success as a wife and house-

keeper depends 02 her skill in varying the diet

from her garden.

Recently, many reports of research done in Africa have

been published. Some of these deal with various aspects of

the woman‘s role.

 

1George H. T. Kimble, Tropical Africa. Volumes I and II
(New York: The Twentieth Century Fund, 1960).

2Kimble, 1, 9-10.

 

O

3Kimble, 1, 107.
4Hailey. 825.

14

Exploring the results of accelerated technical change
and urbanization, Joseph Kahl reports that African men who
are educated are finding it hard to find a wife who can
intelligently manage money, entertain his friends, and create
the kind of home that the husband thinks is appropriate to
his new status.l Kahl believes that the noneconomic functions
of the nuclear family are likely to be more essential in the
city. The family will become an agent of socialization, a
center of consumption activities and all family members will
share career responsibilities.2

In 1960, Daniel McCall, reporting research he did in a
West African town, found that:

The market is largely a woman's world, it is her

club as well as her means of livelihood. A woman

would rathe be a trader than a farmer if she has
the choice.

 

1Joseph A. Kahl, ”Some Social Concomitants of Industrial-
ization and Urbanization." Human Organization, Vol. 18,
1959. p.64.

21bid.. es.

 

3Daniel F. McCall, "Koforidua, a West African Man," Journal
of Human Relations, Vol. 8, 1960, p.423.

15

Herskovits writes of the market women:

They often become independently wealthy. With

their high economic status, they have likewise

perfected disciplined organizations to protect

their interests in the markets, these organizations

comprise one of the primary price fixing organi-

zations.

Moore points out that the:

Market women have formed strong associations to

fight injustices. This ability of African women

to stand solidly in time of great trial has

earned f r the women as a group the respect of

the men.

Moore indicated, however, that the household and family
still constitute the important social center of life in
Africa.

G. Allison Raymond says that African women are disci-
plined; they are not lazy; they are accustomed to long
working days. {The women are playing a key role both in
the family and in the economy of the country. They can rise
above the political and traditional differences more easily

than the men, and work in a unified way in child care,nutri—

tion, literacy, improvement of social and health conditions.3

 

1Melville J. Herskovits, The Myth of the Negro Past. (Boston:
Beacon Press, 1958), p.62.

 

2 . .
J. Aduke Moore, "The Sphere and Influence of Women in Africa"

Journal of Human Relations, Vol.8, 1960, p.713.

 

 

3G.Allison Raymond, "Her Baby Off Her Back." Journal of
Human Relations, Vol.8, 1960, p.702.

 

16
A number of anthropological studies done in Nigeria
give some detail on the life of the women in the traditional,
isolated tribes. Margaret Mead reported on observations done
in the Tiv area of Central Nigeria that women had no part in
their own marriage choice,

Yet women did have a high status. They had complete
control of the food-supply of the village; their
authority in domestic affairs was hardly ever
questioned.

The ordinary day was planned for the woman, who
spent it in dealing with her housework and the
seasonal work in the figlds, with variety coming
from special occasions.

A woman worked to fill her husband's needs and to
help him get wealthy by spinning cotton for him
to weave into cloth for ale. She also took care
of his children for him.

Noting the affect of technical change on this tribe,
Margaret Mead discovered that:

Now the young men complain that their wives

expect them to spend their earnings on them,

demanding that they buy cloth and ofiher trade-
goods, upon threat of leaving them.

 

1Margaret Mead, Cultural Patterns and Technical Change.
(New York: New American Library reprint, UNESCO, 1955),
p.109.

21bid.. 111.
31bid., 112.
41bid.. 126.

 

17
Also,

Women cannot make good gardens without periodic

assistance of their men, who are now absent for long

periods, working for wages at the industrial center.

Marris, reporting research done in urban Lagos, Nigeria,
of slum clearance projects, included a summary of the family
patterns of the Lagos residents, principally members of the
Yoruba tribe, and the effect of an urban resettlement project
on the family patterns.2 He noted:

All Nigerians regard their membership in family

groups with pride and affection and derive a deep

sense of emotional security from it.

In a summary of his study with the Tiv tribe in Central
Nigeria, Paul Bohannan discusses the division of labor
between the sexes, and the types of foods grown by each sex.4
He describes the compound in a way that would be meaningful
among the Ibo of Eastern Nigeria, as well:

It is evident that the meaning of the Tiv word

which we have translated "compound' (ya) has two
aspects: it means primarily the site and the huts,

 

1Ibid.. 248.

2Peter Marris, Family and Social Change in an African City,
(Northwestern University Press, 1962).

3Peter Marris, "Slum Clearance and Family Life in Lagos."
Human Organization, Vol. 19, 1960, p.124.

4Paul Bohannan, "Tiv Farm and Settlement," Colonial Research
Studies, Great Britain Colonial Office published by
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1955.

18

and the cleared space in the center. But it also
means the people who live in it, and the relation-
ships that exist between them. Its range gf meaning
can be narrowed or expanded situationally.

He writes that the kitchen-garden found within the
compound behind each wife's hut is the source of food supply,
chiefly vegetables, and also the Tiv symbol of privacy, as
they use it as a latrine.2

Herskovits discusses the seasonal and daily work patterns
as they are involved in the economic development of the

African countries:

Especially in tropical Subsaharan Africa, the
rhythm in indigenous societies has always been
that of the seasons. There are daily rhythms,but
these do not dictate changes in economic activity
as do the longer fluctuations of seasonal change.
Just what time of day men and women go to the
field, or on just what days they will work, will
be determined by the demandscfifthe season and th§
day. The total objective is of primary concern.

The daily rhythm that continued irrespective of
seasonal change dictates the allocation of time
to tasks immediately at hand. The day may be
thought of as broken into segments delimiting the
hours between rising and retiring. The limits of

 

1Ibid.: 7
21bid.. 20

3Melville S. Herskovits, The Human Factor in Changing Africa.
(New York: Afred A. Knopf, 1962), p.393.

19

these segments are set by mealtimes. In West
Africa.... the breaks come at about ten in the
morning and late afternoon. At times the large
meal is eaten at or after nightfall. It must be
recalled that day comes without a prolonged dawn.
and darkness falls early. There is no time for
cooking breakfast in the morning. Waking with
the dawn, the African takes a hurried bite of
some left-over food before occupying himself with
his routine tasks. At the other end of the day,
after the principal meal has been consumed, he
rests.

Herskovits follows this description of the indigenous
pattern with a discussion of some of the problems of develop-
ing-an industrial society, with its demands for changes in
mealtime habits and other changes.

Some additional things can be learned from the literature
about the African woman who lives in a polygynous household.
For, as noted by John Gunther, the reasons for polygyny are
both economic and in the realm of symbolism and superstition.

F. J. Pedler points out that:

The man who takes a second wife is normally a man

of substance, and the girl will enjoy a grand
wedding and a comfortable home. The senior wife

 

lIbid.. 393-394.

2John Gunther, Inside Africa. (New York: Harper and
Brothers, 1953), p.296.

 

20

usually welcomes the newcomer,lwho will share the
responsibilities of wifehood.

This observation was echoed by Kimble, who found that:

Whatever the evils of polygyny, a divided home

is rarely one of them. It means a relief from work,
since it is now divided, and more time is available
for each wife’s own affairs, including petty trading.
For the first.wife, it means an improvement in her
status, as in this way she becomes the chief wife
and mistress of the house. Each wife is free to
come and go amongzher-own kin. The sick are seldom
left uncared for.

In a polygynous world, it is to the children, rather
than to the husband, that a woman looks for support
in her declining years.

Also, one of the most widely accepted criteria of
wealth has been the number of wives and children
a man has.

In his most recent book, Herskovits writes that on the
Guinea Coast, of which Nigeria is a part:

As elsewhere in Africa, plural marriage is
sanctioned. This does not mean that polygyny
is universally practised; the number of wives
a man has largely depends on his social and
economic status.

 

1F.J.Pedler, West Africa (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1959),
P034.

Kimble, II, 7.
Kimble, II, 8.
Kimble, II, 70.

U1wa

Herskovits, The Human Factor, 98.

 

21
Herskovits includes some discussion of the kinship
structure as it develops, and also the market and village

units of society.

Research Among the Ibo

 

The Ibo, major tribal group of the Eastern Region of
Nigeria. have been identified in an ethnographic survey done
by Forde and Jones.2 The characteristic values of the Ibo
are listed by the authors as:

The Ibo are generally held to be tolerant, ultra-

democratic and highly individualistic. They dislike

and suspect any form of external government and

authority. They have a strongly developed commerci 1

sense and a practical, unromantic approach to life.

They note that the women are controlled by their own
associations and courts, and:

As they largely control the food supplies they can

influence the man and bring the sancfiions of female

ancestral spirits to bear upon them.

An early study of the life of the Ibo women, published

in 1939, was done by Sylvia Leith-Ross.5 Since her interest

 

lHerskovits, The Human Facto£,pp.97-99.

 

2Daryll Forde and G. I. Jones, The Ibo and Ibibio-Speaking
Peoples of South-eastern Nigeria. (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1950).

 

 

31bid., 24
41bid.. 24

5Sylvia Leith-Ross, African Women - A Study of the Ibo of
Nigeria. (London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1939).

 

22

was in the daily tasks of the women, her findings are of con—
siderable importance to this study. Variables relating to
differences between the two studies must be acknowledged.
One is the lapse of time between the early study and the
present one. This may account for differences, but it also
makes an interesting reinforcement of similarities. Her study
was done in the Owerri Province of the Eastern Region (131
miles south of Nsukka), and some variations observed may be
attached to geographical and sub-tribal differences. Leith-
Ross does not identify the size of the group on which her
observations were based, sothe reliability of her general—
izations is open to question. Nevertheless, once the
differences are acknowledged, the findings provide a base
for comparison with present research findings, and the
similarities are all the more meaningful.

Among the highlights of Leith-Ross' findings are:

Among the Ibo the women do play an influential part,

not only by native custom but because of their

inherent vitality, independence of views. courage,

self-confidence, desire for gain and worldly stand-

ing. More than men, they seem able to cooperate,

to stand by each other even in difficulties, and

to follow a common aim. The women are already

members of two towns: their husband's, in which

they live, their parents', which they often visit.

Their marketing takes them far afield, as do visits

to their married daughters; but beyond these
tangible factors there does seem to be an intangible

23

communion, normally latent and without visible
organization, but so profoundly felt that the

slightest stir sets the whole body [of women]

trembling.

No generalizations are possible. No statement can
be made unless it is immediately qualified by a
warning that this statement may probably be true as
regards one family in one village, and the more one
learns the more one sees how endlessly shifting is
the Ibo scene, so that the Western onlooker cannot,
as yet, decry a pattern or even recognize what

is warp and.what 's woof in this immense and
crowded tapestry.

A good deal of the (palm) oil produced is used
locally as it forms the basis of the sauce eaten
with pounded food, and is also used in3frying
sliced yams, coco-yam, plantains, etc.

There are several ways of varying the pounded
foods, and all sorts of flavourings can be added
to the sauce. Real interest is taken and imagin-
ation exercised and the native will describe

with enthusiasm the preparation of a good dish.

In the farming season, the arrangement of a woman's
day depends upon the stage the farm work has reached
and the distance to the farm. It will be seen that
a woman's day is full and sometimes heavy but it
must be remembered that she is not often alone to

do the work, but is helped by her co-wives, her
children and by the elderly female relations of

her husband.

 

LONE-4

 

A

92.12 ,22.
335-1.. 50.
Ibid., 63.
Ibid.. 65.

 

U'I

Ibid., 88.

 

24

Division of labor between the sexes does not seem
so clear cut among the Ibo as among other tribes.

In theory, a man is expected to provide food for

wives and children, but in practice it is the woman

who by her wise management ensures that the supply
is constant.

Research of an anthrOpological nature, has been reported
by Simon and Phoebe Ottenberg, on the Afikpo Ibo. Simon
Ottenberg's report on "Ibo Receptivity to Change"3 gives an
assessment of Ibo culture, and the effect of colonial
influence on it.

Phoebe Ottenberg's article on "The Changing Economic
Position of Women Among the Afikpo Ibo"4 reviews that portion
of the Ibo woman's daily life that is related to economic
matters, the effect of culture change on these matters.

She concludes that:

Though change in the relative economic positions

of men and women in Afikpo has contributed to

conditions of instability in relations between
husbands and'wives, it has not altered the

 

1Ibid., 90.
21bid.. 179.

3Simon Ottenberg, "Ibo Receptivity to Change," Continuity
and Change in African Cultures, ed. William R. Bascom
and Melville J. Herskovits. (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1959).

 

Phoebe Ottenberg, "The Changing Economic Position of Women
Among the Afikpo Ibo," Continuity_and Change in
African Cultures, ed. William R. Bascom and Melville
J. Herskovits. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1959).

25

traditional division of economic responsibility

for the maintenance of the household, upon which

the survival of the family and the society depends.

Review of Methodology Literature

According to McCormick, an exploratory study paves the
way for more careful investigation.2 He finds exploratory
research of great value for creating insight and understanding
of relationships of variables.3 He feels it is developed to
a scientific level if it meets the criteria of painstaking
accuracy and final predictive worth.4

Jahoda explains that an exploratory study provides
information about existing situations but does not attempt
precise measurements of the factors involved.5

At Michigan State University, in 1940, a study of three
methods of research in home management was done comparing
the personal interview, the mail questionnaire, and the diary

methods for obtaining data. Results showed the interview to

 

1Ibid.. 223.

2Thomas C. McCormick and Roy G. Francis, Methods of Research
in the Behavioral Sciences. (New York: Harper and
Brothers, 1958) p.24.

3Ibid.. 28.

 

4Ibid.. 29.

5Marie Jahoda, Morton Deutsch and Steward W. Cook, Research
in Social Methods, (New York: Dryden Press, 1951) p.33.

 

26
be the most satisfactory method for obtaining home management
information.

Jahoda discusses the open-ended interview technique,
noting that it is superior to the questionnaire for exploration
of areas where it is difficult to know exactly what to ask,
or how to ask it to bring forth the information desired.2
Disadvantages of the interview, pointed out by Jahoda are:
the questionable accuracy of the respondent's memory, the
time required to talk with each case, the difficulty encounter-
ed in classifying the wide variety of responses, and the fact
that the personality of the interviewer enters into every
interview.

In analyzing cross-cultural field work, B. D. Paul notes:

The field worker aimes to gather and relate two

sets of data: a description of the situation as

he sees it, and a d scription of the situation as

the native sees it.

He pointed out that the women confided information to a

woman they would not dare tell any man and were equally

 

lIrma H. Gross, et al., A Study of Three Methods of Research
in Home Management, Michigan State College Agricultural
Experiment Station, Technical Bulletin 171, February
1940, p.19.

Jahoda, p.157.

 

B.D. Paul, "Interview Techniques and Field Relationships.“
Anthropology Today, ed. A.L. Kroeber (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1953), p.442.

27
curious about the role of women in the United States. The
realization that women both places share the role of wives,
. . . . l . . .
faCilitated good relationships. He believes "a combination
. . 2
of interview and observation yields the best results." He
defines an informant as "an articulate member of the studied
culture who enters into personal relationship with the
. . ~ . . . . 3
investigator to bring about c0gnitive learning."
Leith—Ross, in explaining her research methods among the
Ibo, and particularly the use of an informant, wrote:
Even with the highest degree of trained discernment,
it is difficult for a male investigator to get an
accurate impression of what goes on in a woman's
mind when it is revealed to him by another man;
and with all possible goodewill, it is difficult
for that man not to be biased by tradition, vanity,
or self-importance.
Maccoby and Maccoby point out that in interviewing in
other societies:
Before a field worker can do intelligent interviewing
in particular tOpics, he must steep himself in the

culture to the fullest possible extent...The field
worker in another society must start very far back -

 

[.4

32g” 435.
339351.. 442.
Ibid., 443.
Leith-Ross, 21.

euro

28

not only will he be ignorant of the shared customs

and beliefs that everyone takes for granted, but

he won't know how to ask about them. He must there-

fore spend a much larger proportion of his time in

the exploratory and "scouting" phases of his

research than would be neiessary to study a specific

topic in his own society.

Maccoby and Maccoby believe interview questions should
be as Open as possible and followed with non-directive
probes.

According to Whiting, cross-cultural research indicated
that a reasonably reliable estimate of the typical behavior
of people in small homogeneous societies or subgroups through-

. . 3
out the world can be made on the baSis of ethnographic data.

In describing the methods used for his research in
Lagos, Marris wrote that "the research worker in an African
city has to some extent to choose between refinement of

techniques and a less systematic search for insight into the

society he is studying."

 

Eleanor E. Maccoby and Nathan Maccoby,"The Interview: A
Tool of Social Science." Handbook of Social Psychology,
ed. Gardner Lindzey. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Addison—
Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1954) Vol.1, p.474.

2Ibid., 474.

3John W.M. Whiting, "The Cross—Cultural Method." Handbook of
Social Psychology, ed. Gardner Lindzey. (Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.,
1954) Vol.1, p.527.

 

4 o I
Marris, xv1.

29
Thus, the literature indicates that much of the time
spent on research in another culture must be spent in prepara-
tion before contact with that culture. The methods to be
followed cannot be as precise as are used in one's own
culture. The intuitiveness of the researcher plays a greater

part in the research.

CHAPTER I I I

METHODOLOGY
This study was designed to be exploratory and descrip-
tive in nature. very little literature and no published
research concerningothe home management of West African
homemakers exists. It is expected that this research will

generate hypotheses that can be examined in future studies.

Development of Interview Schedule

 

Prior to going into the field for study, an exhaustive
search of the current literature relating to the Nigerian
woman's homemaking activities was carried out. On the basis
of this literature, and what one believed was observable
about the managerial concept of assessment and allocation of
resources in a culture different from one's own, a prelimin—
ary interview schedule was developed. (Appendix I)

Standard demographic identification information and a series
of open-ended questions rekiting to family resources and
activities were included.

Upon arrival in Nsukka, Nigeria, in January, 1962, the
researcher worked toward refinement of the interview schedule,

training of the interviewer, and deciding on the sample.

30

31

Refining the Schedule

 

The researcher traveled extensively in the study area,
visiting the local schools, hospitals, and markets to develop
a more accurate set of questions for the interview schedule.

Local compounds were also visited, and as much obser—
vation as possible was carried on within them. It was
difficult to gain access quickly. A white woman is not
expected to be interested in everyday homemaking activities
and resources. Most of the women did not speak English. A
researcher needs much time and patience to gain acceptance.
While, in all cases, the women were friendly, they do not
typically have an easy relationship with white women. A
genuine interest in their children, a ready smile, and what—
ever empathy can be shown for their problems were considered
important, as was, of course, observation of all local customs.

The researcher attempted to take in, in quiet observation,
as much of the interaction, both between people and things,
as possible, and to evaluate it in later reflection. Partic-
ularly helpful to the researcher in this phase of the study
was a student of the University of Nigeria. He was engaged
as guide and interpreter for this phase of the study. His

family lived in Nsukka village, where his father had a

1L:

L11

32
position of leadership in a sub-tribal group. This student
had some formal training in sociology and some research
experience, and was able to translate relationships and
events in meaningful terms. At all times he was most open
and willing to discuss divergent philosophy. His understand-
ing of the woman's role was somewhat limited, and in the few
weeks the researcher traveled with him it was difficult to
overcome the deference a white woman from the United States
automatically receives in a rural Nigerian community. That
one would be interested in the simple household activities
'(performed by servants if you were in a position of high
status in that country) was beyond his ken.

Also helpful to the researcher were the sociologists at
the University of Nigeria. Both the American and Nigerian
sociologists in residence were willing to share their research
experiences. Since their residence in Nsukka was only about
a year, their aid was limited. They did, however, extend
themselves as much as possible to give the researcher insight
into the problems of research in the Nsukka area, and the
knowledge they had of the family patterns of the area.

The researcher also worked with the head of the College
of Home Economics at the University of Nigeria who was most

helpful in arranging for the researcher to attend classes in

33
home economics being taught in the village centers near
Nsukka. The head of the College was also able to give in—
sight into the problems home economics students at the
University of Nigeria faced, both in their home and academic
background, and in their current pursuit of learning in home

economics.

Selecting and Training the Interviewer

While observing the rural home economics classes, the
researcher identified the teacher of these classes as a
possible interviewer. She had some background in home
economics, as she had training in domestic science in England
for three years. This teacher was a Nigerian, a member of
the Ibo tribe, though of a different sub-tribal group from
the Ibo of the Nsukka area. In her rural classes she demon—
strated a great rapport with the local women. This was a
very important factor, since the Ibo women seem reluctant to
discuss their affairs with outsiders. Not only would the
interviewer have to be able to speak their local dialect.
which this teacher could do, but she would also need some
prestige in the group, and acceptance by the women.

A lengthy guide was developed for the interviewer‘s use.
Also, arrangements were made for the interviewer to receive

training in interviewing techniques, as this was taught to a

34
group of field interviewers by the sociology faculty. This
group met weekly, from February to June,to discuss interview—
ing aids and problems they met as they were doing field work.
Journals kept by the interviewers will be most helpful to

further research workers in the area.

Testing the Instrument

Using the schedule developed in East Lansing as a guide,
the researcher spent two days in a detailed interview with
the rural home economics teacher. A case study of her life
developed, as the researcher probed deeper into each question,
in an attempt to understand the 'why' of the responses.
From this lengthy interview, some additional insight was
gained in the daily round of activitiesof a homemaker. The
interview schedule was refined to include these aspects, and

is included in Appendix I.

Selection of Sample

 

A non-random, purposive sample was drawn. The sample
was drawn from the compounds within a five mile radius of the
University of Nigeria. Within this area, the interviewer was
free to gather data from homemakers who were willing to dis-
cuss their homemaking resources and activities. The inter—

viewer did, in fact, make an effort to include homemakers

35
from the village, as well as the country, and from several
different socio—economic levels and family types. However,
in no way can this group be considered to represent a
larger population. It does, however, indicate some of the

benchmarks from which a more extensive study can be done.

Collection of Data

 

Data were collected by the interviewer between February
15,and May 31, 1962. Since the interviewer was a full-time
employee of the University, most of her interviewing was
done on weekends, and in late afternoons.

Usually the interviewer made an appointment to come to
a woman's compound to visit. She made this appointment when
she saw the woman in the market or at her class. This
specific appointment followed a general announcement made in
her classes that she hoped to visit all their homes to learn
their ways of homemaking.

Sometimes while visiting one woman, she was invited to
visit the woman in a neighboring compound, and did this with-
out a previous appointment.

Upon entering the compound, the interviewer usually
joined the women in their work, and did her interviewing
‘Vhile they continued to work. This was usually out—of—doors,

near their kitchen huts.

36

She explained her need for information in terms of the
needs of the College of Home Economics at the University of
Nigeria. Many of the women had visited the Home Economics
Building on the nearby campus. The interviewer expressed
her interest in understanding their homemaking activities so
they could be related to what was taught at the University.

The interview lasted from one to three hours.

The interviewer encountered some resistance to her
taking notes while interviewing. This seemed to be a throw-
back to experience with census takers. To overcome this,
the interviewer took along a local primary teacher. This
was a man well-known in the compound, sometimes, in fact, a
relative of the people being interviewed. When the school
teacher was with her, the women accepted the interviewer
writing things down as they answered her questions.

After the data were written up, they were checked for
completeness by a sociologist at the University. In some
cases, the interviewer was asked to explain a response or
re—interview a respondent.

The completed schedules were returned to the researcher
in the United States. At that point, they were reviewed,
and some clarification made by mail. However, the arrival

of the interviewer in the United States in the summer of 1962

37
helped considerably. At that time, each of the schedules
was reviewed by the researcher with the interviewer, to
clarify any possible misinterpretations.

In the collection of data, one must recognize bias both
for the interviewer and the researcher.

The interviewer has stated that she would not have
believed the way people of her own tribe lived, if she had
merely been told about it, rather than observed it, during
the course of the field work. This points up the differences
between pe0ple of the same tribe. So it may well be that
the interviewer, in phrasing the question in the local
dialect, used the frame of reference of her own tribal group,
which was different from that of the group being studied.

Differences in local dialects must also be acknowledged.
The interviewer had considerable fluency in the local dialect,
but it must be assumed that she could make mistakes.

The interviewer's frame of reference as regards home-
making activities, particularly in managerial activities,
cannot be assumed to be identical with that of the researcher.
Her background in domestic science, as taught in England, is
more skill oriented, and less concerned with the processes

of management.

38

There is, certainly, room for misunderstanding in what
the interviewer assumed the researcher knew, and her frame of
reference in interpreting it. However, the sincerity of the
interviewer's actions and of her desire to pursue this study
correctly, were evident, and cross checking has given no
evidence of bias by intent.

Similarly, the researcher, a member of a technological
western culture, must struggle with the built-in biases of
her own cultural background. Both in designing the instru-
ment, and interpreting the resultant data, there must be a
continual effort to overcome interpreting the data solely in
light of one's own value system, which is very different from
the value system existent in the culture being studied.

That this is never totally achieved must be acknowledged.

Analysis of Data

 

Analysis of the data has been made descriptively. This
has been occasionally supplemented by recently published
research findings, and by further clarifying discussions

with the interviewer.

CHAPTER 'Iv

DESCRIPTION OF RES PONDENTS

All of the households where interviews were done for
this study are located within a five mile radius of the
University of Nigeria at Nsukka, Nigeria. (See map in
Appendix III) Nsukka is a rural village, in the Eastern
Region of Nigeria, forty—three miles north of Enugu, the
capitol city of the region.

The study included thirty—two compounds. A compound
is that house, or group of houses, belonging to a family,
and considered 'home.‘ Within this compound, several
households could be included. A household included a senior
wife, married to one husband, other wives and children of
that husband and extended family group members. Three of
the study compounds were within the village of Nsukka.

The rest were in the countryside.

The immediate family within the compounds were chosen
for the study to meet the following criteria:

1. Wives in the compound were known to be receptive

to the interviewer. In this culture, women are
unlikely to talk with strangers. For this reason,

39

40

most of the women interviewed had had some
contact with the interviewer, in informal
classes or meetings.

2. The wives were resident in the compound where
they were interviewed.

3. Both monogamous and polygynous compounds were
included. Where the interview was done in a
polygynous compound, the senior, or first wife

was interviewed.

Household Composition

As illustrated in Table l, eighteen of the families were
monogamous at the time of the interview. That is, the
husband, head of the household, had onewife. Nine of these
families were nuclear families; the household included the
husband, one wife and the children. In one monogamous house—
hold, the wife was dead, and the household was composed of
the widower husband and his daughter. In the other eight
households, some members of the extended family also lived
with them at the time the interviewing was done.

Fourteen of the families were polygynous at the time of
the interview. That is, the husband, head of the household,
had two or more wives living in the compound with him. In

ten families there were two wives, in one family there were

41

\CmCfl

.mwmp CH pwuoc no: Hmflfisc

.mm>flumamu Hoxuo

.pssomEou CH usmmwum mHmQEmE mHflEmM Umpcwuxw Hmsofiuwppm

 

 

 

 

 

 

m

.HmBOpHB panama: .Ummp mmHB mooH
mm m mma mm mm Haves
mmm m mm ma 5 popcmuxw
.msocmmmaom
o 0 mg ma h popsmuxm uoc
.msocmmmaom
mom N mm m m Umpsmuxm
.msofimmocoe
o 0 cm m 0H ummHosc
a .m308mmocoe
m>flumHmm umnuoz smupafinu mw>w3 mo moaawfidh mmhp %HHEmm

umnuo m.psmnm5m mo Hwnasz honfisz mo Hmnfisz

 

 

.hafifinm mo coflpflmomsoo can Honesz

.wmmsnn.a wanna

42
three wives, and in three families there were four wives.
Seven of these polygynous families also had members of the
extended family living with them.

The number of family members within the compound ranged
from two, a widower and his daughter, to approximately one
hundred in a compound where the head of the household lived
with four wives and nine children, and also his mother, his
four brothers, their wives and children. However, in twenty—
one of the compounds, the family size was nine members or
less.

A total of 159 children were living with these families
at the time of the interviews. Average number of children
was about three per wife, except in the case of the monogamous
extended family, where it was four per wife. Nine children,
the krgest number reported for a single wife, belonged to one

monogamous extended kin family.

Family Mobility

 

Twenty-three of the families had lived in their compound
all their lives. Twelve of these were monogamous, and six
of the monogamous families were nuclear. The remaining
eleven families were polygynous.

Four families had lived on the present site less than

three years. Three of these families were monogamous, the

43
remaining one was polygynous. In the three monogamous families,
the husband had a high level of education. These three
monogamous, mobile families had a salaried income, as did
six of the non-mobile families.

Table 2 illustrates that the larger the family size.
the less likely it is to have moved. Some of the mobility
within the study may have been caused by the development
of the University with the resulting shift of some pOpulation
to clear the land.

It must be acknowledged, also, that because of a
University policy to hire the local Nsukka peOple whenever
possible, most people claimed Nsukka as their home, whether
or not it actually was, in order not to jeopardize their

opportunities for employment.

Socio-Economic Level
Several items were used as indicators of the socio—
economic level of the respondents. These included: (1) edu-
cation of the adults; (2) husband's income base; (3) cash
income of other family members; (4) number of wives;

(5) housing tYPe. and (6) title—taking.

44

 

 

 

 

 

 

mm m d mm HMDOB
h H o o Umpsmpxw
.msocwmhaom
n H H m pmpswuxm nos
.msosmmmaom
m a m m popswuxw
.msoEmmOGOE
OH m H a Humans:
.meEMUOdOE
mm>wa Hflwgp Ham mnmm» wmmH Mo mm>fla

Hapoe #0: Don .mummh mounu.soflumooH mama >HflEmm

once so smoDMHm psmmmum CH Hflmgu HH<

 

.mmhu haflfimw on mswpuooom .huwHaQ02fl.m manna

45

Education —- Data on education levels were obtained

 

from thirty-one families. In twenty-five of the families,
neither the husband nor his wife could read or write.
Twelve of these were polygynous families, and thirteen were
monogamous families.

In the six families where the husband could read and
write, the wife could also. There was only one polygynous
family in this group; the husband and both wives could read
and write.

Among the literate monogamous families, one husband held
a school certificate, another a teacher's certificate. No
wife had gone to school beyond Standard Six (equivalent to
junior high level in the United States).

In this group, educated men married women who also had
some education. The level of education for all was quite
low. (Table 3) While complete data were not collected, at
least fifty of the children in the compounds were in school
at the time of the interview.

Husband's income base -- In nine families, the husband

 

had a job which paid regular wages. In twenty-three of the
families, all or part of the income was from farm cr0ps,
subsistance agriculture. Six supplemented this income by

other activities: wine—tapping, hunting, selling gun powder,

46

maHz HoHcmm u .3 .m

UCMQWSE I m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Om Hm o N g H m m mm mm Hmuoa
o o o o o o o o o o pmwsmuxw
.mDOCSthom

b n o o o o H H o o popcmuxw p0:
.msocmm>Hom

m m o H m H H N v v pmpcmpxw
.mSOEmmocoE

m 0H 0 H H o o o w m HmmHoss
.mSOEmmocoE

.3.m .m .3.m .m .3.m .m .3.m .m .3.m .m

.uumu.£ou wuHH3 Ho mam

Hmuoe Mo on m .Upm mpHH3_Ucm pawn a
Hoogum poumHmEou pmmn cmu Dos on hHHEmm

GOHHMUSpm HmEHom soHpmonm HMEHOM oz

 

 

.wmmu mHHEmw 0p msHpuouom .sOHHMUSUMII.m anma

47
trading in domestic animals or household articles at the
markets.

Cash income of other family members -- In twenty-three
of the families, the women also listed income sources.
Support by children was indicated indirectly in several of
the interviews.

Number of wives -— In Nigeria, socio-economic level may
also be indicated by the number of wives; in three of the
compounds the family head had four wives. Fourteen house-
holds included two or more wives.

However, the eighteen monogamous households may not be
considered to be of a lower income level by this criterion;
since religious belief has considerable effect on whether
or not a man is monogamous. We may conclude, however, that
of the fourteen polygynous households, three (each with four
wives) were more wealthy.

Housing type -- Housing is also indicative of socio-
economic level. Six compounds included houses built of
cement block walls, with zinc roofs, the most expensive
housing in the area. Nineteen compounds included only
houses made with mud walls and thatched roofs, the least
expensive type of house for that area. The other seven

families had some houses in their compounds that were not

48
mud and thatch, but were less expensive to construct than the
cement and zinc.

Title-taking —— Title-taking in this area of Nigeria is

 

an indication of wealth,1 rather than family inheritance.
While there is no question in the study specific to the
identification of title holders; the surname used does
indicate that one member of the study (a household head with
four wives) is holder of a title, and acts as spokesman of

his village.

Summaryg

 

The members of this study are, for the most part, non-
mobile, from a range of family types and sizes. The majority
are illiterate, dependent on subsistence agriculture for
their livelihood. The wives supplement the family income
with petty trading.

In the polygynous families, most men can afford fewer,
rather than more, wives. Most of the housing is of the
simplest type.

A range of socio-economic levels is represented. Among
the traditional families the lower level is represented by
those monogamous families who cannot afford to be polygynous.

These families live in simple houses, survive on simple diets.

 

lP.0ttenberg, The Position of Women, 215.

 

49

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nm NN pH 0 m Hmuoe
h m m o N pmosmuxm
.msoswthom
h h m m H msocmmmHom
m m m H v popsmpxm
.mSOEmmocoe
0H m o N N HmmHoss
.mSOEmmosoE
mEoocH
nonuo HuH3

wEooaH cho poucmEmHmmsm momm3
mama

mmHHHEmw HmucmeHQQSm musuHDUHHmm .musvHsoHumm possum
mo .02 pmpmHH mm>H3 mosmumHmHsm mucmpmHmnsm panama; hHHEmm

 

o E o o a H

 

 

.mmhu MHHEMM ou msHououom .muoumoHch UHEosoomII.¢ mHQma

50

In this study, the highest socio—economic level of the
traditional families is that of the title—holder, who is
spokesman of his village. The family lives in a large
compound. There are four wives, and fourteen living children
in the compound. The houses are all of mud wall construction,
with thatched roofs. There is no sewing machine, no iron, no
clock. All the adults are illiterate, but three children —
boys - are attending primary school. They have lived in
this compound always. Farming is the only income source.
Each wife has her own income from petty market trading. The
women work in the farm. Their diet is of traditional, high—
starch food, such as pounded foo-foo and soup or stewed yam.

Traditional families are of a higher socio-economic
level when they have a cement-walled or metal-roofed house
for the husband, and their children attend school though the
parents are illiterate.

Against this traditional pattern, a new criterion for
judging socio-economic level is emerging. That includes the
literate, salaried, more mobile families. These families may
not farm, and therefore their position in the community
cannot be judged by the amount of land they work. They may
be young, and do not have the 'elder spokesman' role in the

community. They may live in apartment-type houses, rather

51
than the traditional compound. They may be, or aspire to be,
polygynous, but they may, for religious or other reasons,
have rejected polygyny and remain married to one wife only.
These peOple do enjoy various degrees of prestige, status
and wealth, in a pattern superimposed on, and often in con-
flict with, the traditional pattern. They can relate to the
world of technology and urbanization through their abilities
and skills.

There is, then, in contrast to the polygynous spokesman
of the village, another member of high socio-economic level
in this sample. This family lives in an apartment compound
with eight other families. They moved there two years ago
from another Ibo city. Both the husband and wife are edu-
cated. The family group - monogamous - includes four
children and two servants. The homemaker uses an iron, a
clock, a sewing machine. They do no gardening, but purchase
all their foodstuffs at the market. The husband is salaried,
the wife does no market trading or other income-producing
work. They enjoy a radio, gramophone, newspapers, books and
magazines. They eat a varied diet, the children have assigned
tasks, the husband saves money in a bank. In Nsukka, this is

the emerging high socio-economic level family.

CHAPTER V

RESOURCES

In attempting to observe homemaking activities in a
different culture, there are many unknowns, and the ways of
discovering them are uncharted. In relating whatever could
be learned in Nigeria to what was already known about home-
making activities in the United States, a connection had to
be made with current knowledge in this country. In doing
this, the description of resources given by Gross and Crandall
seemed to be a guide to the specifics of what was used, and
an opening to how the resources were used, the activities.
Gross and Crandall state:

...resources of the family are used to achieve the

family's goals, and that the decisions made in

management determine how these resources will be

used.

Resources are similar in that they are all limited,

their use is interrelated, and one may,within

limits, be substituted for another.

An attempt was made, in this study to get some inventory

of the resources available to the housewives of Nsukka. These

are described on the following pages.

 

1Gross and Crandall, 82.
2Gross and Crandall, 92.

52

53
Resources of the respondents were assessed, and
activities which involved use or allocation of the resources
were noted. In analysis of the data, resources of two
general classes were studied. These were work capacity and

situational resources.

Work Cgpacity

Work capacity includes individual abilities, skills and
physical energy. It can be measured by work out-put or by
time spent in a given activity. This resource, a part of
every individual in the compound, was the most available.

Physical stamina -- Physical stamina, for walking to
the farm, to market, for water, for firewood, was a major
resource, in every family. With the exception of obtaining
water, this study did not determine actual distances walked,
or hours of the day spent in each activity. Distances from
water have been noted, and the major markets are noted on
the maps. (Appendix III) From this it might be inferred
that physical stamina is a primary resource of the Nigerian
homemakers in this study.

Skills and abilities -- Special skills or abilities of
some homemakers expand their alternatives. Six of the women

are weavers. Using cotton grown on their farm land, they

54

weave cloth which can be sold at market. After the cotton
is grown, the females of the household (women and children),
spin it into thread.* It is woven on a bamboo loom. This
cloth, used mainly as wrappers, is sold at the local market.
It may also be woven on special order, or for a weaving
middle-man, who distributes it over a wide area of Nigeria.

Four of the women process palm kernels. This gives them
a supply of palm oil for their own cooking use, and provides
a surplus to be sold at the marketplace. Palm kernels grow
in a large cluster at the top of a palm tree, as a coconut
does in a coconut palm. When the cluster of palm kernels is
cut down, the individual kernels are cut off the center core.
These are reddish, brown and yellow, and about the size of a
large walnut. The kernels are crushed, or allowed to
partially decompose. Then the pulp is extracted and boiled.
The oil, a stiff grease of an orange—red color, is skimmed
off. The work of extracting and preparing palm oil is a
woman's activity.

Two of the women add to their income by sewing. Nine-

teen of the women said they did not know how to sew.

 

*
It was noted that some of the woven fabrics were dyed, and

also contained imported threads. The market place had indigo
pots, and it is assumed that imported threads and dyeing
service were purchased by some of the weavers.

55

Two of the women keep chickens, and trade eggs at
market. No mention was made by these women of selling
chickens at the market. However, chickens provide a part of
food for the family, and serve as a sacrifice to the
traditional gods.

Twenty-nine of the women spent time raising farm crOps
as a source of family food. Two of the women mentioned sell-
ing farm crops at the market as a source of money income.

Thirteen others noted income from trading at the local
markets. This is an indication that they rely on their
ability as gardners if they are trading on foodstuffs, or
their business acumen if they are retailing items purchased
at wholesale prices. These findings are similar to those
noted by Phoebe Ottenberg when she describes the trading

pattern of Ibo women:

...a woman usually begins trading with the slender
margin of her agricultural surplus ...only by patient
toil and saving does she acquire sufficient tr ding
capital to buy goods wholesale to sell retail.

...not only does it (trading) represent a means of
acquiring economic independence, and possibly wealth -
both of which are highly valued by the Ibo - but

also market day is a welcome break from the oil

and monotony of farming and household tasks.

 

lP.0ttenberg, The Position of Women, 208.
2Ibid.. 209.

56

...as in the case of farming, the factors of
physical strength and personal ambition are
important to a woman trader's success....
success or failure of market trade may depend
on other factors. One is the trader's choice
of commodity nd the markets at which she will
buy and sell.

Education -- Of the six wives with education, only one

 

earns some income by trading at the market. The other five
wives note no income of their own. All six of these women
are married to men who are also educated and on salaried jobs,
so perhaps there is not a need to rely on one's own abilities
to supplement income, as the uneducated wives without formal
education do.

Children -- Children are another source of work capacity

 

that must be considered in the daily round of living. The
extra legs mean less walking for the wife. Seventeen of the
families indicated that the children have specific tasks to
do. The other families mentioned that the children were
expected to help with whatever the mother needed. The tasks
most often listed were fetching water, fetching firewood,
caring for goats, washing dishes and sweeping the compound.
Older children also helped with the farming, and in some

cases supplemented family money income with their own earnings.

 

1Ibid.. 210.

57
Since there were 169 children in these thirty—two families,
the work capacity of the children is a resource not to be
overlooked.

Servants -- Servants were mentioned as additional sources

 

of work capacity by three families. One family had a nurse—
maid for the baby, and a male servant (cook-steward). The
other two families had a male servant who helped with the

water and wood fetching, laundry and cooking.

Situational Resources

 

Situational resources are those that are available in
the environment. They include natural resources, such as
water, wood, foodstuffs. They also include those material
resources that may be purchased and used in achieving goals,
i.e., house, cooking utensils. As noted, resources are
substitutable, and if natural resources are not available,
manufactured products can, in some instances, be used in
their place.

In a subsistence agricultural economy, reliance is
chiefly on the resources provided by the natural environment,
such as land for growing crops, water, and firewood. In
Nigeria these have been of great concern to the homemaker,
but not to the exclusion of the resources of the marketplace.

As noted earlier, they are natural traders, so a great

58
variety of situational resources are available, and con-
siderable individuality is indicated in their use.

Some selected situational resources available to the
homemaker have been identified in this study.

Water -- Nigeria has two seasons, a rainy and a dry
season. During the rainy season, water is plentiful in
compound cisterns or dry wells, in the taps from storage
tanks and in the streams. But as the months of the dry
season pass, the water supply of the compound diminishes.
Both use and evaporation contribute to this process. The
tap water may be available only in limited quantities, and
the streams dry up. Water is a scarce resource. Few
satisfactory alternate resources have been discovered.

When there is an adequate water supply, it is used
freely for household purposes which include drinking, washing
clothes and utensils, cooking and bathing.

The source of water, then, may come from one or more
sources. Of the thirty-two families studied, twenty-one
homes used water from the village tap, five used stream
water, two used spring or well water. Source of water for
the other families was not noted. Most compounds have a
shallow well or cistern area where they collect water during

the rainy season. Many also have an area in their compound

59
where many clay pots are set into the ground to store water.
These areas are noted on the éfiagrams in Appendix II.

In all cases, water was carried to the compound. The
shortest distance was 10 yards for one family. However,
twelve families carried their water three miles or further,
and twenty-three of the families carried water one mile or
further.

Water is carried - on the head - from the source to the
compound in pails, tin cans, leather sacks, clay pots and
calabashes (local gourds). It is stored in the compound in
metal drums or large clay pots.

Garden or farm —- The growing season follows the rain

 

cycle. At the time of the interviewing, the growing season
had just begun. Two families in this study did not do any
gardening or farming. All others had some land growing crOps.
For seventeen families, it was their source of cash income,

as well as their own food supply. The others depended on

it for some of their own food, at least. The crops most
frequently mentioned being grown were yam, cocoyam, maize
(corn), cassava, and green vegetables. Yam, cocoyam, and
cassava are root crops. They are a starchy food and a staple
of the local diet. Since it was the beginning of the growing

season, most of the families (21) were eating greens from

60
their gardens. Most other food eaten at that time was pur—
chased at the market, but yam, maize, cassava, cocoyam,melon.
pepper, oil corn and beans were grown at home and used by
some of the wives in preparing meals the day of the interview.

Most compounds have trees growing in them which supple-
ment the diet and the income when they are bearing fruit.
These include palm oil, coconut palm, banana, orange, grape-
fruit,papaya, cashew nut, kola nut, plum, plantain, mangoes
and avacado pears.

No specific data concerning the land holding system
were collected in this study. However, the literature indi-
cates that the land holding system in the Nsukka area is
very complicated. Some may grow their crops in the compound
yard, or adjoining farm, but most walk to their farms
located away from their residence. Trees belonging to one
family may grow on land belonging to another. Actually,
ownership title to land belongs to the sub-tribal family,
not any individual. Ottenberg notes:

Her (the wife's)rights to the use of farm land

are obtained through her husband, since her crops,

with the exception of cassava, are grown on the

edges of and between the mounds in which the

husband's yams are planted. Cassava is either

planted in yam heaps after the yams are harvested

or grown in separate plots devoted to that cr0p

alone. The amount of farm land a woman may use
during a given season is largely a function of

61
her husband's standing in relation to landholding
groups with which he is associated and hi

personal initiative in dealing with them.

Compound -- An Ibo compound usually consists of a number

 

of houses. See diagrams in Appendix II. In a polygynous
household there is a house for the husband, a separate house
for each wife and her children, and a separate kitchen for
each wife. A monogamous household may also follow this
pattern. There are many cultural beliefs, as well as climatic
reasons, for the separation of the husband's house from that
of the wives. The smaller houses are easier to construct.
If one were to draw an analogy between a western house and
a compound, each separate house of the compound is a room of
the house. The difference is that there is sunshine, blue
sky, or rain between the rooms of the houses. As described
in the next chapter, the compound is considered the unit,
and the ground between the houses is treated as a part of
the total house; it is swept and cared for as in a house.

The compound area is usually surrounded by a fence or
hedge. Within the area there may be other buildings, such as
goat houses, storage barns, an enclosure for bathing and a
toilet pit.

The compound may also include one or more juju shrines,

 

lP.0ttenberg, The Position of Women, 208.

 

62
or “earthen gods." These are symbols of the local animistic
religion, and are protective for the owner. They often take
the form Of a pile of broken clay pots, or a heap of earth
with a stick in it.

Most of the families lived in compounds that followed
the typical pattern just described. However, four variations
to this typical pattern were noted by the interviewer. These
variations were described as:

He has a big concrete house with about eight rooms.

It had a zinc roof. The wives have a room each in

the big building. There is a four room kitchen

behind the building. (Four wives in this family.)

This is a big house with five rooms. Each wife has

a room in the house and an Open, half mud wall kitchen

behind the big house. (Two wives in this family.)

One big house of eight rooms, one kitchen and

fenced bathroom, all in Open place. (Family of

eight, one wife lives here.)

There are three buildings, the big house which has

about twelve rooms, the side building which has

about six rooms, and the building behind the big

house which has three kitchens, two bathrooms,

and a toilet. About three families share a kitchen,

there is no fence. (Monogamous family of six,

shares compound with eight other families, and

occupy two rooms in the big building.)

The latter type of housing arrangement was used by

three families in this study.

Composition of houses -- In twenty—two of the compounds,

 

all the houses were built with mud walls. The mud of the

63

Nsukka area makes a sturdy, lasting house. Four compounds
had at least one house with walls of mud, with cement plaster
over it. Six compounds had one house or more built with
cement block walls.

Twenty of the compounds had houses with thatched roofs.
The thatch may be of savannah grass - a local long grass, or
of the palm tree branches, cut and dried. Ten compounds had
houses with zinc roofs, and two compounds had houses with
iron sheet roofs. In most compounds, if there were one
large house of cement block and zinc, all the out buildings
or other smaller houses would be built of the local mud,
with thatched roofs. In ten of the compounds, no house had
windows. In twenty-one of the compounds, at least the large
house had windows. A window is an Opening in the wall. In
no case would it have glass or screen in it. Similarly, the
door of a house would Often be a door-way, an Opening through
which you enter the house, but it could not be closed.

Source of light -- No house in this study had electricity.
One compound was located near the power line, but was not yet
connected. The power lines were brought from Enugu to
Nsukka when the university was built in 1960. Before that,
there were no electric power lines for thirty or forty miles

from Nsukka.

64

There is little variation in the length of the day, due
to the nearness of the equator. Usually daylight hours are
approximately seven a.m. until seven p.m.

Many materials were used to supplement the sun as a
source of light. There was a range of cost involved in them,
and many homes had several types of lamps. The types were:

(1) 'orere' - the local lamp, and least expensive,
is a torch stick, soaked in palm oil. Only two
families mentioned this as a source of light.

(2) 'ochanja' - a palm oil lamp, is made by filling a
can with palm oil, and inserting a wick. This is
also called a bush lamp. Twenty-two of the
families mentioned using these.

(3) kerosene lamp - imported, and burning kerosene
rather than local palm Oil, was used by fourteen
of the families.

Cooking utensils —- The compounds had a variety of
cooking utensils. Cooking pots were usually clay, twenty-
nine families mentioned these, or metal. While the metal was
usually heavy iron, they also had some aluminum or tin pots.
Most of the cooking is done in the large pot, suspended on a
tripod over an open fire. Five women mentioned a grinding

stone as a utensil used, and twenty—two of them mentioned the

65
the mortar and pestle. This is a large mortar, about two
feet high, and a pestle about four feet high, used in pounding
yam or cassava for ”foo-foo." Twenty-five of the families
also mentioned the utensils used for cooking and eating:
large cooking spoons and carving knives, forks, knives and
spoons, plates, cups and glasses for eating were mentioned.
Local materials were used for some of the utensils such as
small calabashes for spoons,and wooden carved cooking spoons.
Knives wenaalso made locally from metal. However, imported
table ware, and enameled kitchen warevmme available at the
markets.

Time pieces —— Seventeen of the families did have a

 

clock in their compound. However, they mentioned various
other methods used for telling time. The remaining fifteen
familiesreflied on the local means of telling time completely.
These included looking at the sun, looking at the shadows,
the cock-crow, the church and the school bell. The opening
of flowers on some of the local bushes are also used as a
time guide. One respondent said:

The wives check clock closely when it was their

turn to care for husbands, so they would have

'chOp' ready when he got home from work. In the

fields, the 'nsansa' plant has a flower that Opens

at one o'clock and women watch it and know when
to hurry home for mealtime.

66

Ironing facilities —- Twelve families did not have an

 

iron, but six of these mentioned folding their clothes, and
storing them under the pillow on their bed. Four also
mentioned dampening their clothes in the dew to straighten
them. In some families, the costume worn may be a wrapper
of a straight piece of cloth, which would not require much
ironing.

Sixteen families did have an iron. This was not electric,
of course, but called a box iron. It is made of metal, with
a large base in which hot coals are inserted to heat the
iron.

Markets -- In addition to the garden or farm produce,
all the families do some purchasing at the local markets. The
markets listed where purchasing had been done the week of the
interview were Oye Orba, Edem Ani, Ibagwa and Nsukka. The
Ibo week is a four day week, and the country markets are
open once a week, on a rotating basis, so each day there is a
market Open. The Nuskka market is a larger village market,
and is Open twice a week, or every other day.

No attempt was made to ascertain the range of goods
available at the markets, but the respondents were asked what
they had purchased at the market that day, and this does

give an idea of the range of things available, and used by

67

the wives in this study. These include eggs, sweet potato,
yam, corn, cocoyam, crayfish, green vegetables, ground nut,
meat,fish, salt, cassava,rice, beans, onions, peppers, bread—
fruit, ground pea, and garri (cassava meal).

Two of the families do not have gardens, and purchase
all their food in the market.

Mass media -— It could be assumed that outside sources

 

of information expanded the knowledge of family members and
affected the utilization of the work capacity resource;
however no empirical data were sought to support this
assumption. Availability of outside sources of information
in the compound was noted. Nineteen of the thirty-two
families had no radio, newspapers, magazines or books in their
compounds. Nine families did have radios. Five received the
newspapers regularly, six others received the newspaper
occasionally. Eleven families had books within their
compound; seven had magazines available occasionally, only
one family received magazines on a regular basis. It was
noted that the reading materials were primarily for the
children who were in school.

A comparison of the resources used by the polygynous and
monogamous households would indicate little distinguishable

difference in pattern. In housing, there were six polygynous

68
compounds with cement or cement and mud-walled houses, as
compared to four monOgamous homes with the same. Eight
polygynous compounds have houses with metal roofs, while four
monogamous houses have metal roofs. Conversely, fourteen
monogamous compounds have only mud wall houses with thatch
roofs, while only eight of the polygynous compounds had only
mud buildings. Only three polygynous compounds had no houses
with windows, while seven of the monogamous compounds had
windowless houses. So, it could be concluded that the polygy-
nous compounds often spent more money on their houses - the
husband's house, at least.

Six of the monogamous compounds had ju-ju shrines and
three of the polygynous compounds had them.

Material resources were about evenly divided between the
two groups. The greatest difference appeared in the areas of
wives engaged in market trade. In ten of the polygynous
compounds the senior wife supplemented her income by market
trading, while only three of the monogamous wives did. There
were more monogamous wives involved in home activities for
additional income, such as weaving. The need to be at home
if she were the only wife may be a factor, and the age of the

‘wife might also be a contributing factor.

69

In summary, resources available to the homemakers in
this study were analyzed from the standpoint of the two main
classes: their own or family member's abilities and skills,
and the natural and material resources available.

Most of the wives were dependent on their own work
capacity to supply food and clothing for the family, and for
money income. Children were a large potential human resource,
but used more systematically by about half the group than the
other half.

Of selected resources studied, water was a scarce natural
resource at some times of the year,and it was sed in a great
variety of ways. Garden or farm land was used by all but two cf
the thirty-two families. There was a wide range of foods that
are being grown on the land. The actual amount of land avail-
able for farming may be a scarce resource.

The compound or physical setting of the home did not
follow a standard pattern; there was a variation in the lay-
out of the compound in all thirty-two of the households. Most
of them were built of local mud, with thatched roofs. Some
few were built of blocks with metal roofs. In one-third of
the compounds, no house had windows,and none had electricity.

The markets were used for a wide range of purchases.

Most material resources for simple homemaking were available.

70
About half the homemakers had clocks and irons, and used a
variety of kinds of cooking and eating utensils. Only about
one—third of the group had access to any outside sources of
information, the mass media. There appeared to be no striking
variation in the resources available and used by the polygynous

household, as compared to the monogamous household.

CHAPTER VI

HOMEMAKING ACTIVITIES

Analysis of the homemaking activities of these thirty-

two homemakers is an attempt to see how the resources

described in the previous chapter were utilized.

only

It has been noted that the assessment of resources is

a first step in understanding their role in management.

Their interdependence and interrelatedness are also of prime

. l .
importance. These are complex factors to discover. An

analysis of activities is but the beginning of attaining this

kind of understanding.

what

However, it is a crucial beginning, for one must know

is done before going on to why. Gross and Crandall state,
Perhaps the most significant similarity among

resources is that their use determines the kind

of life an individual or family has, for no goal

can be achieved without the employment of resources.

The analysis of activities is an attempt to understand

what resources were employed.

 

lBeatrice Paolucci and Carol B. O'Brien, "Resources: The

Tools of Management." Forecast (March 1960), p.58.

2Gross and Crandall, 92.

71

72

Daily routine -- The senior wife in each family was

 

asked to describe her daily routine. Twenty-one of them

responded. In a family with three wives and extended family

members, the senior wife said,

wife

Get up in the morning, instruct the daughter-in—law,
the other children to sweep everywhere — kitchens,
rooms and compound. Cook breakfast, go to the
market or farm, eat whatever she carried to the
farm for lunch or whatever she can buy from the
market. Come back in the evening or late afternoon,
have a bath and dinner and rest. The rest of the
wives live on their own and manage their household
and the routine is not very different from mine.

But for the fact they fetch their wood and water
and do their own washing, while my daughter-in-law
and the servant help me with mine.

The following is the description of a day by the only
in a nuclear family of five:

She got up in the morning, told one of her children
to go to the stream and let one girl spend her time
in sweeping the compound and rooms. She will engage
in preparing palm produce, her children will go to
school. When the children return from school their
mother could have prepared something for them to eat.
After finishing their meal some children will go to
the stream while some may go for firewood, or do

any other thing at home. Their mother and the other
children cook the supper, when they finish that they
all eat, have baths and go to bed.

In another nuclear family of five, the mother describes

her day in this way:

Rises at six a.m. in the morning and tells the
daughters to sweep the compound and rooms. Other
boys have to fetch water and by seven they settle
down to have their breakfast. The children may go

73

to farm or they may go to school. Then she will

be busy weaving if she did not go to the market or

to the farm. By two p.m. the person at home cooks,
and the family get together and have their noon

meal. After that they will start doing home business
if there is any. Towards evening they will start
night supper and after that they bathe, sit around
before going to bed if the children do not want to
learn.

The senior wife in the chief's household gave this
resume of her daily activities:

Fetches water in the morning if there is none,
cooks breakfast, goes to the farm and collects some
stuffs for sale or for meal. Goes to the market.
Comes back in the evening and cooks the dinner,
bathes the children for bedtime, if there is enough
water.

These descriptions indicate some organizing of the day's
activities. Many of the women who responded, however, saw
their day much more simply, and more routinely, as for
example:

One wife. Starts with sweeping, weeding in the

farm, prepares meal,goes to mearket if on our

market day, and finally prepares the evening
meal.

Or, "Start with.sweeping the compound, weeding in
the farm, washing and feeding the children. Pre-
paring afternoon meal, resting and minor domestic
works and finally the preparation of the evening
meal. The other wife also sweeps, weeds, coOks,
feeds children and prepares meals.

These indicate a sameness and an ordering of similar
activities, that is, fetching water, preparing food,

‘uashing clothes, caring for children.

74

A further analysis of some of the homemaking activities
serves to emphasize individual differences that at the same
time depict the over—all pattern of activity.

Water -- Many of the responses above indicate the con—
cern all homemakers had with the water supply. Distance and
use of water have already been discussed, but additional
variations in the way this scarce resource was used is noted.

When asked how often they carried water, fourteen of the
women replied that they carried water whenever needed. The
other fourteen who replied to this question gave a specific
answer. One carried water three times a day; the supplwaas
more than three miles distance from her compound. That is a
six mile trip for a head-load of water three times a day, or
eighteen miles each day spent carrying water. Eleven of the
wives carried water twice a day, and the distance rangedihtml
one-quarter of a mile to three miles daily. Eight wives.car-
ried water twice daily for distances of three miles (to the
water), or more. Added to the exhaustion of the length of
the walk, and the heat of the day, and the weight of the
load,was the frustration of getting to the water tap, and
finding no water coming out. Sometimes they find a long line,

and must wait their turn.

75
Laundry —- Laundry is often done near the tap or stream.
Many of the wives prefer to do laundry at the tap or stream
if there is not a supply of water at the compound.
Fifteen of the women indicated that they did laundry at
home if there'was adequate water, or at the stream or tap if

water was scarce. One woman did all her laundry at the

I

stream, and twelve women always did their laundry at the tap.
There are few streams in the immediate area of Nsukka, and
this pattern would in all probability be different near a
large stream of water.

'Fggd -— Data were collected concerning cooking practices.
All food was prepared in the separate kitchen houses of the
wives. Each wife has her own kitchen and usually does the
cooking. In nine families, the children also help with food
preparation and three families had servants who helped with
the cooking.

While most food was boiled, stewed or roasted, they also
used the processes of baking, frying and steaming to prepare
food. Only two of the wives mentioned baking as a way of
food preparation. This is usually done by putting a layer
of sand in the bottom of the heavy iron pot, and then putting
a lid and hot coals over the top of the pot. Roasting is

usually done in the coals, or buried in the hot sand.

76

Two wives said they prepared food whenever it was
needed. Eighteen indicated that they cook three meals a day,
and twenty-eight cooked lunch and supper. However, their
outline of daily tasks seems to indicate that breakfast was
often left-overs from the night before, warmed up, and lunch
might also be that, or something eaten at the farm or market.

Seven of the wives indicated no regular meal time,
although some of them did say they ate three times a day.

One family fed the children four times a day. The times at
which they ate varied according to the circumstance, but for
most of the families, it was usually about seven a.m.,

two p.m., and eight-thirty p.m.

One woman said they ate anything they could find. On the
day they were interviewed, five families had only two meals,
rather than three. It is interesting to note that what
constitutes a meal is whatever was cooked. Fruit would be
available in most compounds, and one might assume it was
eaten, but it was not listed as part of the meal.

An analysis of the food prepared shows considerable
variation both in foods used for meals by different women.
and in the variety of the menu within one compound. At the
extremes,.one listed yam for breakfast, corn for lunch and

yam for supper. Another listed garri with vegetable soup

77

for breakfast, boiled yams for lunch, and stewed beans for
supper. The base of each meal was the starchy food: pounded
foo-foo, corn, beans, garri, cassava, boiled yams, bean
pudding, cocoyam, ground pea, stewed breadfruit, rice. This
was often served with a soup, which may have greens or other
vegetables in it, and fish or meat in it.

For the purposes of analysis, the menus given for the
previous day were classified in the following way:

Class A - starch only, or less than 2 meals that day.

Class B - two different menus prepared during the day.

Class C - three different menus prepared during the day.

Fourteen of the families had Class A meals. Four had
Class B, thirteen had Class C. Only one household with Group
C meals included meat or fish.

Eight of the families using Class A foods were monogamous.
six were polygynous. Seven of the families using Class B
were monogamous, six were polygynous. Family type did not
seem to have any effect on quality Of food eaten.

The one family with the Class C meals which included
meat was a nuclear, monogamous family, without education,
who depended on their farm for income.

It may be concluded that given similar resources,

there is a wide variety in type and quantity of food that

78
might be prepared within the compound.

Child Care -- In the realm of child care, twenty-six of

 

the wives said children were care all day long, except if
they were napping. Three said children took most time during
the morning and three said they took most care at night.
They did not indicate that seasons of the year had any effect
on when children needed most care. Thirteen responded that
children took more of their mother's time when they were under
one year; eight that from first to third years took most of
her time; six that first to second year care was most time
consuming; and three that the years one to five were most
time consuming for the mother. (Table 5) Here again, given
the same situation, the mothers react with some variation.
While some said care of children took the most time during
the first year of life, a few more than half the mothers
saw the toddling pre-school years as most time consuming.
Similarly, when children can be most helpful is not
affected by the time of year, nor the time of day. Seventeen
of the mothers said the years six to twelve were a child's-
most helpful. Three named the years when children were
seven to thirteen; ten when children were ten years old as
the most helpful years. One mother thought children most

helpful from three years old to ten, and one from eight years

Old on.

79

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nm m m mH m m m MH m Hmuoa
h H O O H H N m O Omoswuxm
.msosmthom

a m H m o m s H o msossmNHom
m m O o H O H m H Uwpswuxw
.msoammocoe

OH H N m H N H v N HmeUsc
.mDOEMOOGOE

so mummh mummh whom» mummm mummw Hmmm H

m o .mu» I I I I I no as Hm3ms< mmha
H H B I. OH mH 5 NH O m H N H m H 0 oz mHHEmm

 

H33 we umos 5.835

 

9:3 4.40.: 33 8.83.8

 

 

Oahu hHHEmw 0p OCHUHOUUM .mhmu UHHHU Ohmzou opswfluudrl.m mHQMB

80

In the area of helpfulness, fifteen of the families did
not give the children specific family tasks, and seventeen of
the families did. Those tasks included sweeping, washing
dishes, fetching water and wood, cutting grass for goats,
care of goats, looking after pigs, cleaning compound,
running errands. Many other families indicated the children
were expected to do whatever their mother asked them to do,
although they did not have any assigned tasks. At the same
time, some mothers responded that their children were too
young to be expected to help, but in some cases the children
were as old as those in other compounds who did have specific
tasks. (Table 6)

Discipline —- In eleven of the families, the father was

 

the disciplinarian. In seven families, both parents handled
discipline. In thirteen of the compounds, any adult would
act as disciplinarian of the children, if the need arose.
(Table 6)

Savings -- Arrangements for family savings were investi-
gated. (Table 7) Ten families had no family Saving arrange-
ments. Twelve families had savings in the bank. Five
families saved money at home. Four families used animals as
their savings (investment), and sold them when they needed

money. In two families, savings were in the form of

81

Nm OH OH HH OH NH HMHOB

 

 

 

 

 

n O O H m o Ompcmuxm

.msoshmmHom

h N N m m N mooswmmHom

O N H o m m omosmuxo

.msoemmocoe

Hmeos:

OH O n m o O .OUOEMOOGOE

Hmuoa muHspm wusmumm MonumO mxmmu UHMHommm mmeD UHMHoomm mama
ham Huon 0s w>MH h

mcHHmHomHn m>mr cmucHHnu cmnuHHgo HHsmm

E r ii i I I
II’

I’ >[ L L i
l [

.wmhu hHHEdm ou OCHOHOOUM .onmo OHHHU pumsou mpsuHuumrI.O mHHMB

82

 

 

 

 

 

 

.mOCH>Mm wo mmmwu 03» Omuuomwu Humw mooum OHS“ CH meHHEmm 039 I H\

m m m NH OH mm H\ Hmuos
H\
N N H H m h Ompcwam
.msosmthom
H O N H m h mdosmthom
O O H O H O Oopswuxw
.msoEMOOGOE
ummHuss
N O H v m OH.msoEdmosoE
mmouo.mHmEHsm msoHusQ OEOH um Msmm usmfimmsmuum meHHEMH mama
sH Omumm>sH IHHucoo Om>mm mmsH>mm. mo hHafimm
OH mmswwmm memos oz .02 .

 

.ommu hHHEmH ou msthooom .musmfimmsmuum

mOSH>mmII.b OHHMB

83
contributions to a local collector, who divided them yearly,
after deducting his share for the service. This system, used
widely at one time, is currently in some disfavor, as the
collectors have not always been trustworthy, and the govern-
ment has attempted to control this savings method to keep
people from being cheated. Two families store their crOps
as savings, and sell them when money is needed. One stores
palm oil in drums, and sells it when money is needed.

In twenty-six of the families, the husband controls the
family money. In two families the husband and wife jointly
control the money. In one family, the son, who is educated,
controls the family money.

In the case of the wife's income, only one wife said she
controlled her own money. The five others who discussed it
said it was their money, but the husband could demand it.
(Table 8)

Changes in tasks -- In a further effort to get at how

 

resources were used, the wives were asked to compare their
daily tasks of today with those of the years when they were
young and to suggest what had made this difference.
Apparently, the question did not make too much sense to
them; or perhaps there really was not any change to note.

Ten of the twenty-three wives who responded answered in this

84

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nm H H N m ON m Hmuoe
h H H O H m H UOOCOHXO
.msosmmmHom
e o o o m e o msocNmNHom
O O O H O O H Ompsmpxw
.msoemmosoa
OH O O H H b H HmmHoss
.wDOEmmosOE
HMHOB com .mumH OMHB m.OMH3 mHonusou Hw3msm wmh
OMH3 pom UGOEOO own 9

. Ocmnmsm oz
mHH psmnmzm mHOHusOU mHHEmm

Osmnmsm

ncmnmsm

 

 

.mmhu mHHEmm ou OGHOHOUUO .hmsoe mo Houpsooll.m OHQMB

85
way:
"One wife and tasks remain the same."
or "There are two wives and their tasks remain the same."
Some, however, did feel there were changes over the years,
such as,
When a young wife comes home for the first time, she
lives with the first wife until her own kitchen is
built and she starts running her own house like
the others .
There is not much difference in this case. Of
course, the arrival of three children, with a fourth

on the way has created more work for the housewife.

The children are all grown up now, and I spend all
my time in weaving and preparing palm produce.

Tasks have been the same, but since all children
are all grown up now, I spend most of my time in
the markets and farms.

The tap is very near, and we go for water very often.

Fetching water, cooking and marketing is now done
with the help of the children.

NO change, only that I have more to do now with
four kids in the house.

Tasks have been all the same, but since all children

are heading to secondary school, and very helpful,

there is an increase in their income from weaving

and farm work.

Compound changes -- Wives were questioned about changes
.in the compound over the years they had lived there. Four of

the wives said no changes had taken place since they came to

live in the compound. Most frequently mentioned (fifteen

86
‘thnes) were the additional plantings of trees for income
crrqps of fruits, nuts, or palm oil.

Also, frequently mentioned was the re-thatching of
roofs of their houses, and rubbing the walls. This process,
(If Ioutting a fresh coat of thin mud on the walls is done,
as 21 new coat of paint, when needed. Other responses were:

Some houses, because of insufficient care, drooped

their heads into ruin. Some economic plants like

kola nuts and oil palms were planted.

Many houses have been put up, and many pushed down.
Some economic plants around the compound.

They have got children, so getting water is easier
than before because children do help now. They are
planning to build a zinc house. H0ping to plant
more economic plants.

One more kitchen was built when the second wife
was married. Some economic plants like orange,
palm tree, pears have been planted.

The E.C.N. has just put in electric wires, but there
is no light yet.

Five buildings have been put up, and there is a plan
to widen the compound.

Their houses were built about sixteen years ago,
and it is rotationally rebuilt in three to four
years time. They rub walls when necessary.

Fences have been made newly, and the sitting room
has been re-roofed of recent. Houses have been the
same as from time immemorial.

87

Aspirations -— An attempt was made to establish the

 

level of management within the family, by noting resources

used and the goals of the family, as they might be indicated

by eXpressed aspirations .

The wives were questioned about the level of education

they hoped their children would achieve. One wife responded,

"As long as there is brains and life." Another said, "Girls
through Standard Three, then look for husbands." Many
qualified their aspirations with: "If we can afford it."

For three wives, that was the level of their aspiration:
as high as they could afford. Eight aspired for their
Children to go through Standard Six (about eighth grade).
Ten hoped their children would go up to college level.
Eight hoped their children could go through the university.
All the wives with education hoped for their children to go
to college level, or through the university. (Table 9)

Of those without education, some were satisfied to
asPire to Standard Six, but others hoped their children could
get through the university. Since the university was a
thSical, visual reality, it may seem much more possible to
them now than a few years earlier.

Wives were also questioned as to mobility. Two of the

f - . . .
arullies were planning to move to new houses in the area.

88

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nm O OH 5 m o Hmuoa

h m H H H H Oopswuxm

.moosmmmHom

h H m H H H msocmthom

m m N m O O Omoswuxm

.mOOEmmosofi

OH H v N H N HmmHoss

.meEmmosoe

Hmuoe qumumbHss Hm>mH me vacuum Hm3msm mmhe
on» mmmHHoo pumpsmum smo mm

amsoufia ou mp HODOHAB ann mfl oz MHHEmm

 

 

.mmmu MHHEMM ou mchuooos .GOHuwonpm m.:mHOHH£u How nooHuwHHmudrI.m OHQMB

89

One wife, whose husband had recently been transferred to
Nuskka, reCOgnized that another transfer was always a possi-
bility,and that they might move again. Twenty-seven families
stated that they were not planning to move away from their
present compound.

Unless resources are first inventoried, it is hard to
identify planning, but some small attempt was made.

. The interviewer, who had some limited knowledge of
planning as used in the home management field, was asked to
note evidence of planning.

In seven families, she noted no evidence of planning.

Responses such as "we eat whenever we're hungry," or
"we get water whenever we need it," or "we eat whatever there
is," substantiate this observation.

Most of the planning done in the other households was of
a very elementary level. Fifteen wives said they did laundry
whenever needed; two wives had a certain day, Saturday, set
aside for laundry. More than half these women gave an esti—
mate Of the time the laundry took; it ranged from thirty
minutes to three or four hours. One qualified her statement
by saying it usually took two hours, or more if the child

disturbed her.

90

Two families had savings plans. There was also evidence
of other forms of planning for future security as evidenced
by savings arrangements made. (Table 7)

Five families had a specific time set aside (once a
week or once a month) when the husband gave the wife money
for food. These were all monogamous families.

Five families had a routine of fetching wood twice a
week. These were also monogamous families.

Eleven families had specific jobs delegated to family
members. All but two of these were monOgamous.

Fourteen of the women indicated they planned their work
around the market days. This procedure was about evenly
divided between monOgamous and polygynous families.

This study did not include data on gathering wood, farm
work, or market activities mentioned by the homemakers
as part of their daily round of activities.

Summary -- There was some variation among the homemakers
in their activities. Beyond the variation in available
resources is the variation on how these resources were used.

One can perceive an organization of the constant
activities, such as food preparation, child care, and water
gathering, around the weekly or seasonal routines such as

market day and farm work.

91
There is evidence in some families that a rather complex
system exists, in which the homemaker recognizes her
responsibilities and works toward their accomplishment

by planning and organizing the total work force.

CHAPTER VII

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Conclusions

 

The first objective of this study was to identify
selected resources available to selected homemakers in
Nsukka, Nigeria. Most homemakers were dependent on their
own work capacity to supply food and clothing for the family
and for money income. Water was a scarce natural resource,
not available in any of the compounds during the dry season.
A wide range of foods were grown on the garden land by the
homemakers.

The compound, or physical setting, of the home did not
follow a standard pattern. Most of the houses were built of
local mud, with thatched roofs. None of them had electricity,
about one-third of them did not have windows.

The markets were used for a wide range of purchases.
Most material resources for simple homemaking were available.
About half the homemakers had clocks and irons, and used a
variety of kinds of cooking and eating utensils. Only about
one-third of the group had access to mass media, an outside

source of information.

92

93

There appeared to be no striking variation in the
resources available and used by the polygynous household as
compared to the monogamous household.

While these selected resources were identified, it should
be noted that there may be additional resources used by
homemakers. Beyond mere identification, it is believed that
resources can be measured by the observation-interview
.technique.

The second objective was to identify homemaking activities
existing in these families. The homemaker's description of
her daily activities gave one a sense of the organization of
the constant activities, such as food preparation, child
care, and water gathering. These pivoted around the weekly
or seasonal routines such as market day and farm work.

Meals prepared the day before the interview utilized a
wide variety of foods, some perhaps more nutritious than
others. Some homemakers served three different meals, while
others ate what was available. The variation in meals did
not appear to be related to family type.

Evidence of planning and saving were cited in some
families. Banks were used by the monogamous families for

their savings more than by the polygynous families.

94

Information about most managerial activities is limited
in this study, and more would be necessary before the
composite of managerial activities could be ascertained.

Some particular needs in this area should be noted.
Information about the source of firewood, distance walked,
time spent gathering it is needed. Also, what is available
to substitute as firewood is scarce. Similar information
is needed about the farm, its location, and the seasonal
rhythm of farm work.

Each family responded with some way they had of telling
time, indicating some sense of time as we know it. This
makes it possible to include specific time use information in
a further study. Time then becomes a common point around
which use of resources in the households can be compared
cross—culturally.

It is noted that some of the educated wives did not
supplement the family income with market trading or other
outside activities. However, no attempt was made in this
study to estimate the effect of education on homemaking
skills and abilities.

Many questions in the interview were exploratory,included
to see if they were meaningful to the Nigerian homemaker.

It can be concluded that the questions on child care did not

95
provoke differentiation in attitudes among the homemakers.
Perhaps there is none, but one could assume that there might
be, and the questions used were not meaningful to them.

Similarly, the question of control of money needs to be
reinforced by other questions when interviewing. Other
literature indicates women may have more control over the use
of money than they admitted in this study. With the given
information from this study, it might be possible to work out
some indirect probing to get to these attitudes.

It seems possible to generalize that where the question
was specific, i.e., 'what did you eat yesterday?', it was
possible to obtain reliable and meaningful information. When,
however, the question was very broad and Open, it was not
possible to find a range of responses that would indicate a
variable pattern.

The third objective of this study was to investigate the
managerial role of the senior wife in a polygynous compound.
This was done indirectly. Several of the senior wives re—
flected on the period of training a new wife would spend with
her. It was in this rather indirect way that the habits,
goals and values of the family were transmitted to the new-
comer in the compound. Following this, the traditional Ibo

democracy gave each woman an opportunity for individuality,

96
even within the same family. It may well be that a more
direct managerial role may be held by the senior wife in
another tribal group in Nigeria.

As Observed by Simon Ottenberg, the variety of cultural
forms underlying the similar broad pattern of Ibo culture1
are evident throughout this study. Phoebe Ottenberg writes
that the component groups of Ibo speak differing dialects
and show considerable cultural variation.2 Within the range
of managerial activities, this study has confirmed this

obs rvation.

\

Implications

 

The implications of this study for the field of home
management are that the concepts of resource assessment and
allocation to achieve goals seem to be somewhat verified
across cultures. Before one can say that resources are in
fact assessed and allocated for achievement of goals more
precise data concerning goals are needed. In this study,
goals were inferred from specific aspiration statements.

It is evident from this study that it is possible to

gather specific information through direct questioning.

 

lS. Ottenberg, Ibo Receptivityygl40°

 

2P. Ottenberg, The Position of Women, 205.

 

97
The acquirement of more information through skilled interviewing
is needed for better understanding of the managerial role.
Detailed observation of all family members, assessment of
time spent for given activities, and the interaction between
family members is possible and needed. It appears possible
for a researcher in a Nigerian compound to record activities
chronolOgically, note what is spent, what is eaten, what is
sold, how children are guided in learning family tasks.

This study gives some insight into these areas, and
indicates the need for further research illuminating the
problems of family life, thus making possible solutions to
those problems. To date, anthropological studies have not
included specific data from which change in resources and
activities could be measured. This study does provide some
specific information which can be used as a base for compari—
son in later studies.

Hypotheses generated by this study which could be
empirically tested in further research are: (1) within a
polygynous compound, the senior wife sets the managerial
pattern for the other wives; (2) within a given polygynous
compound, wives manage similarly; (3) each wife in a
polygynous family manages her own household; (4) in a

polygynous household, the husband manages his own earnings

98

and distributes a part of them to each wife; (5) the daily
work activities are shared by the husband and wife in
monogamous households more frequently than in polygynous
households; (6) the children are assigned specific household
tasks more frequently in the monogamous households than in
the polygynous households.

It is hoped that this study will be the first small sand
in a growing dune of knowledge about the family and house-

hold in Eastern Nigeria.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Aristotle. Politics, Book I. Translated by W. D. Ross.
(Great Books of the Western World, Vol. 9) Chicago:
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. 1952.

 

Bascom, William R., and Herskovits, Melville J. (eds.)
Continuity and Change in African Cultures. (Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1959) -

Batten, T.R. Problems of African Development. (London:
Oxford University Press, 1960)

Forde, Daryll, and Jones, G. I. The Ibo and Ibibio-Speaking
Peoples of South-eastern Nigeria. (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1950)

Gross, Irma H. and Crandall, Elizabeth Walbert. Management
for Modern Families. (New York: Appleton-Century—Crofts,
Inc., 1954)

 

Gunther, John. Inside Africa. (New York: Harper and
Brothers, 1953)

Hailey, Lord William. An African Survey, (London:
Oxford University Press, 1957)

 

Herskovits, Melville J. The Human Factor in Changing Africa.
(New York: Alfred A. KnOpf, 1962)

Herskovits, Melville J. The Myth of the Negro Past.
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1958)

Hunter, Guy. The New Societies of Tropical Africa.
(London: Oxford University Press, 1962)

Jahoda, Marie, Deutsch, Morton, and Cook, Stewart W.

Research in Social Methods. (New York: Dryden Press,
1951)

99

100

Kimble, George H.T. Tropical Africa. Volumes I and II.
(New York: The Twentieth Century Fund, 1960)

 

Kroeber, A.L. (ed.) Anthropology Today. (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1953)

 

Leith-Ross, Sylvia. African Women: A Study of the Ibo of
Nigeria. (London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1939)

 

Lindzey, Gardner, (ed.) Handbook of Social Psychology.
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing
COO! Inc. I 1954)

 

Marris, Peter. Family and Social Change in An African City.
(Northwestern University Press, 1962)

 

Mason, R.J. British Education in Africa. (London: Oxford
University Press, 1959)

 

McCormick, Thomas C.,and Francis, ROY S. Methods of
Research in the Behavioral Sciences. (New York:
Harper and Brothers, 1958)

 

 

Mead, Margaret. Cultural Patterns and Technical Change.
(New York: New American Library reprint, UNESCO, 1955)

 

Nickell, Pauline, and Dorsey, Jean M. Management in Family
Living. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1959)

 

Pedler, F. J. West Africa. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd.,
1959)

 

Articles and Periodicals

 

Bohannan, Paul. "Tiv Farm and Settlement." Colonial Research
Studies, Great Britain Colonial Office. Published by
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1955.

 

Gudjonsson, Sk. V. "The Contributions of Technics to
Domestic Science and Application of the Contribution
to Improving the Homelife." L'Enseigesement Menager,
Vol. 24, No. 1 (March 1951).

 

lOl

 

Kahl, Joseph A. "Some Social Concomitants of Industrializa—
tion and Urbanization." Human Opganization, VOl. 18,
1959.

McCall, Daniel F. "Koforida, A West African Man."

Journal of Human Relations, Vol. 8, 1960.

 

Marris, Peter. "Slum Clearance and Family Life in Lagos."
Human Organization, Vol. 19, 1960.

 

Moore, J. Aduke. "The Sphere and Influence of Women in
Africa." Journal of Human Relations, Vol. 8, 1960.

 

Paolucci, Beatrice, and O'Brien, Carol B. "Resources:
The Tools of Management." Forecast (March 1960).

Paolucci, Beatrice, and O'Brien, Carol B. "What is
Management?” Forecast (September 1959).

Raymond, T. Allison. “Her Baby Off Her Back." Journal of
Human Relations, Vol. 8, 1960.

 

 

Roports and Bulletins

 

Baldwin, Alfred L. (ed.) Report of Institute on Inter-
national Education in Home Economics. (Ithaca, N.Y.:
Cornell University, 1958)

 

Community Development, A HandboOk Prepared py a Study
Conference. (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office,
1958)

Gross, Irma H., et al. A Study of Three Methods of Research
in Home Management. Michigan State College Agricultural
Experiment Station, Technical Bulletin 171, February 1940.

Pieters, Ir. M.-De Roon l.i, A Study of Time—Budgets of
Some Groups of Dutch Housewives, Carried Out for the
Netherlands Household Council. (Wageningen, the
Netherlands: Department of Rural Home Economics,
Agricultural University, 1961)

102

Uppublished Material

 

(:respo, Carmen Maria. "Use of Time by 53 Puerto Rican Rural
Homemakers." Unpublished Master's thesis, Cornell
University, 1957.

bmaceda, Delfina A. "Use of Time by Married Homemakers
in the Teaching Force, Manilla, Philippines."
Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Cornell University, 1958.

Daillar, Pamelia L. "A Pilot Study of Patterns in Home
Management Over a Period of Three Generations in a
Selected Group of Families." Unpublished M.A. thesis,
Michigan State University, 1959.

Ifieslson, Linda Jean. "Daily Activity Patterns by Peasant
Homemakers." Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Michigan
State University, 1963.

Warren, Jean. "Use of Time by Homemakers in Uruguay, 1957.)
Cornell University, 1957. (Mimeographed)

APPENDIX I

103

Description of area
a. number Of homes
b. family composition within homes
Description of particular house and family
a. what persons regularly sleep here —- age,sex,etc..
what persons regularly eat here -- age,sex,etc.?
b. how many persons living here have had schooling?
who how many yrs. where
how much schooling do you expect your children
to get?
identify possible place of attending school
c. mobility pattern
how long have you lived here
where before, etc.
are you planning to move? where? why?
d. occupation income patterns
what does husband do - regular income,
barter income
wife do
children
IDescription of home and its facilities (pictures if
possible)
a. describe rooms -— what takes place there
walls
floors

104

PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW OUTLINE

roofs

b.

C.

105

facilities

.for
for
for
for

lighting
cooking
baking
dishwashing
sewing
child care
laundry
ironing
keeping time
sleeping
eating
radio, etc.
religion

Have there been any changes in house facilities

since you first came?

what when why
Will there be any changes? When Why
.4- .Home activities (to get at managing)
a. describe a typical day —- from When you arise
b. observe a typical day ‘
c. what will you do tomorrow?
how will you see that these get done.
d. what tasks must be done each day?
who does them?
why?
e. food preparation
what is prepared
where
how
when
by whom
what is done with what isn‘t eaten
f. eating

regular times

when where

everyone

l.

5 - Change

a.

106

food source
where did it come from
if something could be purchased that she makes
would she purchase it?

clothes and textiles
laundrying facilities

ironing

sewing
clothes for special people -- babies, occasions
cleaning -- sweeping, etc.

child care

animal care (chickens)

observed

tasks done in home today different from when
you were a child?

what
how different

tasks be different for your daughter when she is
your age?

what
how different

tasks which take less time today than took
a year ago

which why
what could change a day?
marketing
illness
celebrations
births

when do children take most time?
most helpful?

when are children grown up?

what home tasks do they then take?

107

Descriptive interview schedule of home in Nsukka area

Name

Location how far from campus —

which direction -

Family composition:
include all members within compound, identify
relationships as much as possible.

.Description of compound:
include number of houses, other outbuildings,
compound fence, etc.

108
5. Description of houses and facilities:

(a) composition of walls, roof, floor

are there windows?

electricity?
(b) facilities for:
light

cooking (include utensils you can observe
being used)

6. Water supply (how far to get it, often do they go,
'what do they store in it, what do they
use it for)

109
7. Do they have

radio

gramophone

records for gramophone

newspaper occasionally regularly

magazines occasionally regularly

8. Education:
(a) include some brief estimate of adults schooling
and ability, i.e., can they read and/Or write
(for each adult in compound)

(b) Each child's present school level:

(c) If possible, include how far the mother hopes
each child will go in school.

110

9. Mobility pattern:
(a) How long have you lived here?
(b) Where did you live before?
(c) Why did you move here?
(d) Are you planning to move?
where

why

10. Occupation income:
(a) Does husband have "regular" job
WOrk for wages sometimes
Income only from farm crops

(a) what crops

(b) what are principal sources of wife's
income (list each wife)

(c) other information re income

111

11. Describe any changes that may have been done to the
compound while they have been there - what they are,
why they did it. Also any they might be planning to
do - and.when. Include all aspects - houses, furnishings,
plantings, etc.

12 - Describe what tasks done by wives are different now
from when they were young. What has made the difference?

(i.e., new water tap might take less time for getting
water, etc.)

13.

14.

I15

16

112

Food preparation
(a) what is prepared
(b) where
(c) how
(d) when
(e) by whom

Food source

(a) what is grown at home that is used today

(b) what is purchased (c) from where

At what hours did they eat meals that day

What did they eat at each meal (list separately)

113

17. Have Senior wife describe a typical day for her - from
morning until bedtime at night. Include some of what
other wives in compound do, if possible.

114

18. Child care -

(a) When does this homemaker feel children take the
most time?

Age of child
Time of year

Time of day

(b) When are children most helpful
Age of child
Time of year

Time of day

(c) DO children have specific family tasks?

(d) How is discipline of children handled in this
family?

115

19. (a) Are there any arrangements for family saving?

(b) What are they

(c) If possible, what is the method of money

division (i.e.) senior wife controls, husband
controls, etc.

2(). (a) Do you see evidence of planning and managing
in this family?

(b) If so, what

APPENDIX I I

116

117

Compound Diagrams

Key:
ooo&g water pots, either of clay or metal (oil drums).
or fence.

no line around compound means no fence.

////// garden or farm, without specific crops designated.

k kitchen

The compound diagrams are grouped by family types:
Inonogamous, nuclear; monogamous, extended; polygynous; and
polygynous, extended. These diagrams are not in proportion
‘to each other, or even within themselves. They are, rather,
sketches of the various components of a compound, and their
spatial relationship to each other.

The diagrams are not consistent in detail presented.
SOme of the diagrams have most details of the compound, while

others are less complete, and include only the major buildings.

In some cases, a specific crop is shown growing in the

Compound area. Others list ’kitchen garden, ' usually a wife
has her own garden for vegetables; 'farm' means the ground
irl \dhich all the compound members may have crops growing.

The 'bath‘ is usually an area enclosed, but open-roofed

“flieazre family members bathe. The toilet area may be a pit
laterine in a building connected to the kitchen, or in a
8eIparate enclosed area of the compound. If no area is shown
°r1 ‘the diagram, it may be assumed that the 'bush,‘ the area

outaside the compounds is used for a latrine.

118

Monogamous, nuclear

 

 

 

 

demolished
house one room I
barn
house
006
cacao
006.:
0‘90

    

demolished
house

 

 

 

shr ine] ll 2 foot

earth god paths

The buildings were all built with mud
walls, thatched roofs and no windows.
The family includes a husband and a

grown daughter. The wife is deceased.

119

Monogamous, nuclear

 

 

toilet pit ' lbarn I
juju i h 2 room
shrin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

house
anima wife Co
sha. well ‘30
_ . - pen. T] ouse a a
. I l 000
blg , G000 a
house 0 O, O
000
/

‘ shrine

smithing
house

 

 

All buildings on this compound are built
of mud, with thatched roofs, and no windows.
The family living here includes a husband,

one wife, and one child.

 

120

Monogamous, nuclear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘wife' k
'house
. animal
hu aba ' s [:l pen
}1cms ,
2 r00 juju
shrine
__. foot path

 

All buildings are built with mud, with
thatched roofs and no windows. The
family living in this compound includes

the husband, his wife and their daughter.

121

Monogamous, nuclear

 

 
    
 

cocoyam
yams 3 room
and
house

 

 

4 room
house

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The buildings are all made with mud walls,
with thatched roofs. The large houses have
windows. The family in this compound
includes the husband, his wife and their

three children.

 

house

(B)

122

Monogamous, nuclear

t — __._- q

 

k k k bath bath

 

 

 

 

I —.——..—..__._. . --_--
-~_-—-——-.

 

 

 

i

 

I

.. . 'a.-IIQI.A'U"3 .u-P .“

 

 

 

 

 

pa,” fir-’r-s ‘4

 

 

 

These buildings are concrete, with a zinc

roof, and windows. There are nine families

in this compound, also boys without wives live

in building B. Building A is an apartment house.

The family in this study,living in a two-room

apartment, includes a husband, wife, four

children. and two servants.

123

Monogamous, nuclear

 

 

 

 

kitchen
wife's
room
sitting
room

 

 

 

 

 

road

All buildings are built with mud walls
and thatched roofs. The house has
windows. The family living here consists

of one husband, one wife, and seven

children.

124

Monogamous, nuclear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I I / /"l
,1”, // ' I // /
'l // / / / /
/' tcile 7 tOi,et "/ f/
4 ‘ _ ,r
/ _/
/ k bath 1 bath k / /
1 ./i ,
////
/'/ /"> /
/ . '
/’ Farm
/// /’ /
/ ‘ "
/"// l/
I'/ k / ./
4 robm 4 om ///
/' housé house /' ////’
/
//
//
f
/ //
// ,I
./ x_
//
/
m”

 

 

 

 

 

 

road

The house is built of mud blocks, plastered with
cement. It has a zinc roof and windows. Both the
house and the kitchen are divided in two for two
families. The family living in one side of the house

consists of a husband, a wife and three children.

One maid also lives there.

125

Monogamous, nuclear

 

  
   
 

 

cocoy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ath [toilet
big house cocoyam
2 rooms
wife's
house

 

goats

hut for]

 

 

  

 

 

‘1‘

..-

 

 

road

All buildings have mud walls, thatched roofs,
and no windows. The family living in this

compound include the husband, his wife, and

their four children.

 

____l

 

126

Monogamous, nuclear

 

 

      
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   
 

 

 

 

dl
palm yams kitchen husban 5
trees garden house
k 2 rooms
hut
for
goats
OI
crops 3
lanted wife's 0 kitchen
p vegetable house, 0 arden
garden 2 rooms i3 g

 

 

 

All the buildings are built with mud walls

and thatched roofs. There are no windows.

The family living in this compound includes

the husband, his wife, and three children.

127

Monogamous, nuclear
/ — ‘- v—-.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/ \
/‘ -
\\
‘ \
3 room .\
house k \
for \‘
wife .
kitchen
garden
4 room house
for husband
2’
/
2’
’4’
road

 

The buildings are made with mud walls

and thatched roofs. They have windows.
The wife's house has three rooms, with

the kitchen attached. The family includes
the husband, his wife, and their two

children.

128

Monogamous, extended

—- c.“

   
 

palm produce work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I fence I,
\ goat
ar .
\ e kitchen /
/
\ garden I
/
\ 6 room 1' I
\\ .
\ 1 II I!
= house I——— ‘-" I
i ; :‘
I . I .A
‘I :I a i’
I l: ... ' é
II ii .~ I
H (Ii, I
- road

 

The large building is built with mud walls,

a thatched roof, and has windows. The kitchen has
a thatched roof, supported by posts, and no walls.
The family living in this compound includes a
husband, his wife, five children, a nephew, a

niece, and a friend's son.

129

Monogamous, extended

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2::<\ C)
c Q I
ams O 2 room wa r
y o house drum k
H C) ,
4 g oooooo
room
‘0
house 0
2 room
house juju
\
\\ __ shrine house

 

he

’ |

 

41/,

'

 

 

 

road

All the buildings have mud walls and thatched

roofs. There are windows. The family in this

compound includes the husband, one wife and four

children. The eldest son is married, and his

wife and child also live here.

 

130

 

 

small Monogamous, extended

buildin

 

 

small

buildin

 

 

 

big house

 

 

 

veranda

I I

 

road

This big building is concrete, with a zinc
roof. It has windows. Three families use
this house, sharing things equally. The two
small buildings are used for storage of
possessions. The family in this study who
resides in this house includes a husband,

one wife, and four children.

131

Monogamous, extended

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 room
house
wife's
house
married
children'
house
barn

 

 

The walls of all the buildings are of
mud, with thatched roofs. There are windows.
The family in this compound includes a
husband, wife, and nine children. The
oldest child lives in the smaller house with

his wife and two children.

132

Monogamous, extended

shallow
e11

bath

 

 

 

 

 

 

toile
pit
5 room

house

( I

All building walls are mud, with thatched

 

 

 

 

roofs. The

The big house has windows.
family in this compound includes husband,
wife,

three children, husband's mother,

one brother and one nephew.

133

Monogamous, extended

' bath,
hallow

 

8 room house

 

 

 

 

#

 

road

The walls of the house are mud, plastered
with cement. The roof is of iron sheets.
There are windows. The kitchen has mud
walls, with thatched roof. The family in
this compound includes husband, wife, three

children, three cousins.

134

Monogamous, extended
L_»barn

I fhrine_ ‘
big [shrine

house ,
I rhrine

ll

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10

 

 

. ' o 0
( imal 61060:,
pen ’ 'DDO€;°
demolished ‘. o
I big
. house
shrine

 

 

 

LI

 

 

 

 

   

All building walls are mud, with thatched
roofs. None of the buildings have windows.
The family in this compound includes husband,

wife, son's wife, and two grandsons.

135

Monogamous, extended

 

 

 

to'
pi

 

 

 

 

“11,231” Ii”
Shrine eagzgfl

 

 

road

A11 building walls are mud, with thatched
roofs. None of the buildings have windows.
The family in this compound includes the
husband, wife, three children, husband's

mother, and husband's two brothers.

136

Polygynous

 

sleeping
house

sleeping k £;l—————
house E] D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

earth god
oar
big
house
Pen [3
[33‘2“
shrine
Slttln
house
. ral‘
. . juju
Jun? [:]shrine
shrine \—

 

 

 

road

All buildings are built with mud walls,

and roofs are thatched. There are no
windows. The family living in the compound
includes a husband, his two wives, and their

children.

 

 

 

137

Polygynous

 

-WOIOHJ-” ’u-odv—

 

 

footpath

 

 

 

 

 

footpath

 

shallow
O” 2
oom
rm animggn o 0,,

000 000
Loose” 0009

 

The buildings are all built of mud, with
thatched‘roofs, and without windows. The

family living in this compound includes a

husband, two wives and two sons.

I/r— [El‘ [:fg'iet

 

138

Polygynous
<9 0c:
02359 C900
0»

’t

KID

o

131

LE.
o
0

\

 

 

 

a
goats fflpooa /
f , house &oJ 'E—(
J hgu:e wife' ’/
hou wife'-
house /

\00 /
\ /
\H . ”u_ p/

’\ Entrance to

Chief's house
compound

3 rooms
7/—-—J-

All the buildings in this compound are built

 

 

 

with mud walls and thatched roofs. The houses
have windows. The large house belongs to the
husband, a chief and village spokesman. He

has four wives, and they have fourteen children.

 

139

 

 

t ile
pit

 

2 room
hrine
house

 

 

 

 

Polygynous
o O 00
CPCD‘DC> (3 (3:9
0 C90 k roo o 0,3,
CD (‘IIIII’ (D a QVC)
0 49.3
<3
sh. w well a
big
house

ba n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

d

road

All the buildings have mud walls and thatched

roofs. The houses have windows.

There

are

two fenced areas, but they are not completely

encircled by fence. The family in this

compound includes a husband, two wives,

children and one adopted child.

four

 

140

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

., / .1 -— ~- Polygynous
./ \
/ \ \
\
\.
'\
\
k k \
\
\
/
__ .1. q /
wife's wife's /
/
\ room \
room \ entrance
sitting /’/.” to compound
7 room ‘—‘“
.1 - road

 

The house has mud walls, a zinc roof and windows.
The kitchens are mud, with thatched roofs. The
family in this compound includes a husband,

two wives and nine children. Each wife has a

room of her own in the large house.

 

141

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

,. .1 ——PQlygyrr>us
/ / / \ \
\
\
———-1— \
k k ‘
I
I
/
/
/
/
/
//
5 room h use
road

 

The house is built of mud block,p1astered

with cement, and has a zinc roof and

windows. The kitchens have mud walls, and

thatched roofs. The family in this compound

includes a husband, two wives, and four

children.

142

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polygynous _
—_4 toilet

7 room k

house k

k

9 room

house __._e.
toilet

k
._____2

k
F___——J.

IL k

I___
road

 

 

The buildings are built of cement block,
with a zinc roof. There are windows in both
large houses. There are three families
living in this compound. One family, in the
study, is composed of the husband, his two

wives and five children.

143

Polygynous, extended

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. kitchen
t h I . I l
kl C en _ _ kitchen .- ’ k k
garden big I garden .’ I k garden: k k
““““'"~ - hous s ' ' g I
I big _ , .1 big 3
hous: k IE] 5 blg :7 1 house

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1
; hous
lg ./ ’1' “ .
I a ouse 5-/ y

[E] .
big
hous kitch n
1‘ [E] garde! big big . IE3 [ig
k ;’ ouse , house
.k k
I ' E] “7]
no , ~—
I

I

I
C: / 44}. /m’ §////// I//£//

The large houses are built with concrete block, with

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

zinc roofs and windows. The smaller houses are built

with mud walls and thatched roofs. without windows.

This is a very large compound, including approximately

one hundred people. It includes the husband, his four

wives and nine children. The husband's mother and four

brothers also live here. Each brother has many wives
and children, too.

144

Polygynous, extended

toilgt

 

000
o<>o

O<>o
CiocP

 

 

 

 

 

 

=——--r .i

 

 

 

\husband‘s

 

 

 

house

'1

 

road sittin
room

11 buildings are built with mud walls, and thatched
roofs, with no windows. There are many palm trees

in the compound. The family living in this compound
includes the husband, two wives, and eleven children.
Two of the daughters are married and their husbands

and children also live here.

 

 

 

145
Polygynous, extended

 

toilet \

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

r _ o o
3 big 800 0 i
1 water 00 0 0°
drums !
5 room house
.palm trees and palm trees and
economic plants economic plants

 

road «_4
The big house is built of cement blocks, with a zinc
roof and windows. The kitchens have mud walls and
thatched roofs. The family living in this compound in-

cludes a husband, three wives, and eight children. One

servant lives with them. One son is married and they

have three children, and also live there.

146

Polygynous, extended

 
    
   

 

 

barn

 
 
   

 

  

 

 

 

. ife' __
kltCh ’ ous kitchen nephew ' 5
garden garden house wife 5
hous
k

 

 

 

 

 

big house oat's .
d“

ijuj“
shrine

 

storage barn

///////////// //////#////M/

road

 

The buildings are made with mud walls and thatched
roofs, the large house has windows. The family living
in the compound includes a husband, two wives, eight

children, a nephew, his wife and children.

 

147

Polygynous, extended

.shr ine

. allow ine
well

,‘oemolished
house

 
  

 

 

2 room

house

(A)

 

 

2 roo

 

 

 

 

x”"”r
hous
(a) i: I ’

..__._ -—- v.-
.. w --3 —-—— -——-
. -—....--.._.-
—..—---v— -

. _ .. ______.__-n.~—— f-.. _- : .3.

road

House (A) is built with mud walls, plastered with
cement and roofed with iron sheets. It has windows.
House (B) and other buildings are built with mud

walls and thatched roofs. The family living in this
compoung includes a husband, two wives, three children,
the husband's mother, one sister of the husband, and

one half-sister of the husband.

148

Polygynous, extended

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘2 -.
bath ‘ \
\
k k
l
\
\ _ _ .
\ /
\\ /
/
_“|5 room house | - /,
I l ’/
veranda

 

 

 

 

road

The big building is made with mud walls, a zinc roof
and windows. The kitchens are mud walls with thatched
roofs. Cashew nut trees shade the water pots. The

family living in this compound includes the husband,

two wives, one child and a nephew.

149

Polygynous, extended

 

 

k k ' k k

 

 

 

8 room housel

L. _I
J. a
1 l

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

road

The house is built of concrete, with a zinc roof and
windows. Each wife has her own room in the big house,
and her own kitchen inthe rear. The family in this
compound includes a husband, four wives, and twenty—three
children. Some of these children are not usually living
at home. Three of the sons are now married, and their
wives and children live with them in other houses on the

land, not included in this diagram.

HICH IES

1111131111111 1