 
there is an african proverb which says, "a man or woman without kin is as 
good as dead." 
this indicates how important the family is to an african. 
family life is important in all societies. 
the family satisfies the most basic human needs, the need for 
companionship, for food, for reproduction and for teaching and training the 
young. 
but africans are far more closely tied to their families than are 
americans or people in western countries. 
in a number of ways african family life is different from that of 
american families. 
in america when a young couple marries, they move into a home of their 
own. 
in africa the wife goes to live with her husband's family. 
in our country young people choose the husband or wife whom they wish to 
marry. 
in africa the marriage is usually arranged by the parents. 
this means that the parents may actually pick the mate for their son or 
daughter to marry. 
more often, however, a young man meets a girl whom he likes. 
he then reports this fact to his father and must get his approval. 
his father and several other members of the family then arrange to visit 
the girl's parents to get their approval and to discuss the marriage. 
part of the discussion involves the payment of what is known as "bride 
price" or "bridewealth." 
the young man has to make some kind of payment to the girl's father before 
he is allowed to marry her. 
this payment is usually in the form of cattle or sheep or another type of 
currency. 
