SOCIO-CULTURAL PRACTICES
AND THEIR EFFECT ON
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
OF CHILDREN IN RACHUONYO
Bernice Nderitu &
Roseline Olumbe
Introduction
Chemtob (1996) defines culture as: “Culture […] appears to refer to the
shared practices of groups that govern their relations to exploiting and
defending a territory. Furthermore, cultures are defined by being
transmissible not only within a group but across time and generations.
Finally they seem to serve to bond group in a common purpose thereby
providing protection not otherwise available to individuals in response to
threats to survival.“
Culture serves as a source of knowledge, psychological security; it protects
and supports value systems, and lifestyles. Traumatic events need to be
understood in the social and cultural contexts in which they occur. People
identify threats to trauma, interpret them, and manifest traumatic stress
through the lenses of cultural references and identity.
Four Dimensions on which African
cultural norms differ from the West
• Multilingualism
• Social distribution of responsibilities,
participation in household economy
• Oral culture
• Values attached to music, dance, and
other rituals
Shifts in Cultural and Social Practices
• Collectivism to individualism
• Traditional systems to a mixed system
• Rural homogeneous settings to urban
heterogeneous settings.
• Community child rearing to nuclear families, to
single-parent families/blended families/ childheaded households
• Folklore as forms of entertainment to use of
technological devices as forms of
entertainment
• Cultural practices protecting children to
legislative frameworks protecting children
Psychosocial Risks in Rachuonyo
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Infected or affected by HIV/AIDS (loss & grief)
Orphaned
Role reversal as a result of HIV/AIDS
Inadequate parenting capacities
Effects of wife inheritance
Poor sanitation
No access to safe drinking water
Poverty
Child Labor
Early pregnancies
Dropping out of school
Low literacy levels (only 17% of students who finish
primary school attend high school in Homabay County)
Study Objectives
1. To explore socio-cultural practices present in
Rachuonyo Sub-county;
2. To establish the implications of socio-cultural
practices on psycho-social development of
children in Rachuonyo Sub-county;
3. To determine child safeguarding measures and
challenges organizations in Rachuonyo Subcounty experience.
Methodology & Instruments
• The study employed a descriptive design since we
sought to establish the practices as they are in the
community and how they affect the children
• We used both qualitative and quantitative
approaches
• Multi-method sampling technique was used to
identify our subjects for study.
• Instruments used: Questionnaire for teachers,
Focus Group Discussions for children, Observation
schedule for children, Interview guide for headteachers and Key Informants.
Data collection
Socio-Cultural Practices in Rachuonyo
• Food Harvesting e.g. Golo
Kodhi, sex before harvest.
• Traditional Games and dances
e.g. Ramogi dance, boat
racing.
• Rituals during marriage e.g.
dowry payment, wife
inheritance, and Polygamy.
• Rituals to mourn and appease
the dead e.g. Tero Buru, wife
inheritance.
• Religious Sects e.g. Owour
• Convening a Council of Elders
• Birth e.g. naming and feasting
• Christianity
• Seasonal Ceremonies
• House hold duties e.g.
Fetching Water, Cooking,
Washing Clothes and Utensils,
Fetching Firewood, Grazing
Animals, and Planting Crops
• Dining together
• Transition to adulthood e.g.
Removal of teeth, shaving of
hair, and Male Circumcision.
• Appeasement through gift
giving
Discussion
• Study found that adult and child respondents had
knowledge concerning Luo cultural practices but
limited understanding on the deeper meanings of
the rituals. Only village elders had
comprehensive understanding of the culture.
• Literature has shown that rituals and rites of
passage are essential to psychosocial wellbeing.
In the traditional African society, going through
rites of passage is one practice that taught
resilience for instance, when boys undergo
circumcision or other activities that test require
courage.
Discussion Cont’d
• The respondents did not articulate all the rituals present in
the Luo Culture as reviewed in literature.
• This finding is supported by Abong’o’s (2014) study on
levirate custom among Luo which found that changing
times and attitudes have effected a change in concept,
context, and expression of the Luo cultural practices. He
attributes these changes to awareness on human rights,
gender equality, and economic pressures. It is also
important to note that of all the socio-cultural practices,
the few which are still being practiced in Rachuonyo are
practices surrounding birth, wife inheritance, and death.
Social Cultural Practices and Impacts
on psycho-social development
Protective SocialCultural Practices
Possible Implications
on psychosocial
Wellbeing
Parents, teachers, family as
sources of happiness
Healthy relationships with adults
promotes resilience, high self
esteem, positive feelings
Household chores
Sense of competence, high self
esteem, autonomy
Games, sports, some traditional
dances, and seasonal ceremony
Play is therapeutic, promotes
cognitive development and
emotional wellbeing
Social Cultural Practices and Impacts on psychosocial development
Specific practices that put children at
Risk
Possible Implications on Psychosocial Wellbeing
Religious Sects i.e. Owour Sect denied
children food
Brain development affected; high
distress levels
Tero Buru children fail to attend school,
shaving ones head
Shame, distress, loss
Wife inheritance: blending of two
families, parenting capacities reduced,
child labor, disruption of learning,
poverty, children become orphans.
Inadequate social & emotional
stimulation needed for optimal
development
Sexual Cleansing : Puts parents at risk
of HIV/AIDS infection/death
Reduction in quality of life, loss, role
reversal
Not telling cultural stories and practicing
rituals
Complicates the process of making
sense of traumatic experiences; identity
crisis; loss of purpose, direction, and
trust
Practices and Possible Psychosocial Effects from FGD
Researcher: What makes you feel bad?
Pupil 1: When someone beats me, I feel bad
Researcher: Ok
Pupil 2: When somebody abuses me, I feel ashamed
Researcher: When someone has abused you. Yes. Abused you in what way
Pupil 2: Bad way
Researcher: In a bad way. Okay. What are they using? Are they using their
mouths to abuse you?
Pupil 2: No
Researcher: What are they using?
Pupil 2: When they cane me. When someone has beaten me
Researcher: When someone has beaten you with?
Pupil 2: Without doing something, I feel bad
Research has shown that punishment causes children to hate themselves and develop
low self esteem (ACPF, 2014). It also creates fear of older, stronger persons and authority
figures; builds resentment, encourages deceitful behavior to escape punishment, and it
stop unwanted behavior for a short period of time. It also interferes with cognitive
development causing underachievement in school and lack of creativity.
Both the children and teachers reported the following as
being sources of security and insecurity:
Sources of Security
Sources of Insecurity
Teachers
Church
Home/Parents
The chief
Darkness
The Roadside
Funeral dances
Police
Funeral feasts
Wild animals
Fishermen
Boda Boda operators
Drunkards
Safeguarding Measures
Measure
Frequency
Ensure children walk in groups
7
Guidance and counselling
10
Fence in schools
24
Strangers not allowed in schools
21
Young children escorted to and from
17
school
Have one gate for entering and getting out 9
Involve the relevant authority
6
Among many practices tero buru and being in overcrowded places makes
children feel unsafe as illustrated below
The FGD participants were asked: “What makes you feel unsafe?”
Researcher: Mmh! School makes you feel safe. And which place makes
you feel unsafe?
Pupil: Disco Matanga
Researcher: Disco Matanga. So you normally attend Disco Matanga. Yeh!
Pupil: Yes.
Researcher: What about you? What makes you feel unsafe?
Pupil: When I am in overcrowded places
Researcher: Okay, why do you feel unsafe there?
Pupil: Those terrorists can attack us.
Researcher: Where do you feel unsafe?
Pupil: At home
Researcher: Why do you feel unsafe at home
Pupil: Because my grand mother abuses me
From the findings, it is evident that there are cultural practices that make
children feel unsafe. As a result the child is more likely to experience
negative feelings. Additionally these practices are likely to expose the
child to sexual abuse.
Conclusion
• The research found that socio practices in
Rachuonyo both enhance and are
detrimental to psychosocial development.
• Practices that promote the well being of
children include strong interpersonal
relationships with significant others, games
and sports, traditional dances.
• Practices that are detrimental: some death
rituals, cultural practices on marriage such
as widow inheritance, and sexual cleansing
practices.
Conclusion Cont’d
• Although
there are many school guidelines,
government legislations and policies that promote
child welfare; we found no evidence that these
policies are being implemented. As a result, the
children reported being caned in school and at home;
some of the teachers were unaware of policy
guidelines within their schools.
• Although children are being exposed to physical,
social and psychological insecurities, they displayed
positive emotions as indicated in their narrative and
in their drawings. However, there is continuous
exposure to traumatic experiences at home, school,
and community environments.
Recommendations
• Positive aspects of culture such as story
telling, grieving and loss rituals, some rites
of passage rituals, music and folklore,
community safety net mechanisms be
preserved and passed down to future
generation.
• Build capacity towards trauma-informed,
culturally sensitive organizations
Questions
• Are the changes in cultural practices responding
to the changing needs of individuals and
communities?
• Are the existing child protection mechanisms
which have replaced culture meeting the holistic
needs of children?
• How can we embrace and promote healing
cultural practices and reject harmful cultural
practices?