Abstract
Rituals and routines are fundamental parts of the family dynamic and contribute to its organization across generations. However, studies on these variables in the context of urban Southern Angolan families are scarce. Thus, this article aims to identify the rituals and routines that organize the development of families in urban Southern Angola through different life stages, using semistructured interviews with 20 professionals from various social fields and 25 couples. Despite some discrepancies between the views of the two groups, they both reported a set of rituals and routines relevant to the organization of the families’ life trajectories.
Anthropological and sociological studies (Estermann, 1983; Milheiros, 1947) conducted at the end of the 19th century and during the early decades of the 20th century focused on the rituals and routines performed by Africans that contributed to individual, family, and community development. These studies usually dwelled on the “exotic” and peculiar behaviors found in quimbos (i.e., remote villages; Lind, 2008). Modern scholars’ (e.g., Ansell, 2001; Falola & Amponsah, 2012) departure from this view was instigated by an increase in studies (Ansell, 2001; Goede, 2012; Granjo, 2006; Malisha, Maharaj, & Rogan, 2008; Vincent, 2008) seeking to identify the roles and functions of rituals and routines, especially in urban African families. The family psychology literature and research (e.g., Crespo, 2011; Crespo, Davide, Costa, & Fletcher, 2008; Crespo, Kielpikowski, Pryor, & Jose, 2011; Fiese et al., 2002; Lind, 2008; Santos, Crespo, Canavarro, & Kazak, 2015) have highlighted the role of the rituals and routines on family development and functioning in different countries. However, research in this field remains scarce in Angola, with few studies having been carried out in the second decade of the 21st century (e.g., Biale, 2014; Gime, 2014; Júlio, 2012).
This study seeks to contribute to the literature in the field of family psychology to provide a greater understanding of family functioning in Southern Angola. Family rituals and routines in this region will be analyzed, due to the important role they play in the definition and (re)organization of family and community structure. The focus of this study is important because family rituals and routines play a central role as coping mechanism to deal with stressful situations, anxiety, and normative transition events of the family life cycle (Boss, 2002; Crespo, 2011; Crespo et al., 2013; Fiese et al., 2002; Fiese, Foley, & Spagnola, 2006; Hobson, Schroeder, Risen, Xygalatas, & Inzlicht, 2018). The period of change may elicit situations of stress and family conflicts and is associated with the occurrence of symptoms in at least one member of the family system (Pinto & Ribeiro, 2010). Nevertheless, the family rituals seem to minimize the effects of the changes that have taken place and thus ensure the protection of family identity and adjustment (Pinto & Ribeiro, 2010).
The family rituals and routines are also associated with a greater cooperation and development of social and cognitive competences of children (Crespo et al., 2013; Fiese et al., 2002; Santos et al., 2015; Spagnola & Fiese, 2007). Those practices are associated with reducing risky behaviors in adolescents (e.g., decreased alcohol and cannabis consumption) and with promoting a greater sense of cohesion and group identification (Crespo et al., 2013; Fiese et al., 2002; Fiese et al., 2006; Hobson et al., 2018). Similarly, the performance of family rituals and routines might help create a better connection with others and with the ancestral values, cultural, traditional, and religious of the group of belonging (Hobson et al., 2018; Santos et al., 2015; Watson-Jones & Legare, 2016). That is why this research seeks to collect data that help establish which functions of the rituals and routines are expected in family adjustment during normative changes.
The family trajectories model of Simões and Alberto (2015), developed for the urban population of Southern Angola, was used as the conceptual framework of this study. In this model, Simões and Alberto (2015) noted that most families from urban areas in the targeted region have a developmental cycle that moves through four phases. Phase 1 refers to the family with an adolescent or a young adult child, characterized by the presence of adolescent children or young adults still living in the home of the family of origin (e.g., parents, aunts, and uncles) and who begin a romantic relationship. Phase 2 is the family with a young child, with adolescents or young adults becoming parents. Phase 3 refers to couple formalization and the establishment of the new family. Finally, the Phase 4 is the family with a middle-aged couple, the “sandwich generation,” who has the responsibility of caring for younger and older family members. This model is the only one based on research developed in the Angolan context, and one of its key particularities is the sequence of the stages of the development, which differs from those described in the Western literature (e.g., Alarcão, 2000; Carter & McGoldrick, 1995; Relvas, 1996). For example, while Carter and McGoldrick (1995) and Relvas (1996) reported the “couple formation stage” as the second and first phases of the family life cycle, respectively, Simões and Alberto (2015) reported this stage as the third of their model, characterized by the union of the couple, already established with young children and other elements of the extended family (i.e., “third element”—a child or an adolescent relative, such as a sibling, nephew or niece, or cousin who is “fostered” by the nuclear family; Simões & Alberto, 2015).
Although Simões and Alberto (2015) have noted the role of rituals as relevant markers in family transitions and the role of routines as stabilizing mechanisms of family development, they did not investigate either of these topics in-depth. Family psychology scholars (Alarcão, 2000; Carter & McGoldrick, 1995; Pinto & Ribeiro, 2010; Relvas, 1996) postulated that the identification of milestones, tasks, structure, and family functioning throughout the evolutionary cycle is important because it provides a greater understanding of the issues that the family might bring to the clinical, educational, judicial, and social context. Consequently, the objective of the present study is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the evolutionary cycle of urban Southern Angolan families, describing the concrete rituals and routines that characterize the different developmental stages of families in this context, in order to identify the events that correspond to the milestones of the stages of family development (i.e., how each stage of the family history begins).
Characteristics of the Sociocultural Context of the Angolan Population
Angola is located in Southern Africa, with a population of individuals who belong to Bantu 1 and non-Bantu ethnic groups. The Bantu group includes the Handa, Nyaneca, Helelo, Nkumbi, Muíla, Ndimba, Kwanyama, Kuvale, Bakongo, Kimbundu, Tchokwé, Ovimbundu, and Ngangela (Melo, 2005a). The non-Bantu group includes the Bushmen and Kwisi, in addition to Whites of European or American ancestry (Melo, 2005a; Mussunda, 2014).
This study focuses on a particular region, given the scarcity of research on family development and functioning in Angola, as well as the country’s size. This region is Lubango, the capital city of the Huíla province, which has a very ethnically heterogeneous population due to having welcomed many displaced persons from other geographical areas in the country following the armed conflict (1975-2002).
Family Rituals and Routines
Family rituals are a symbolic form of communication performed by the family system in a formal, repetitive, and stereotyped manner (Fiese et al., 2002). According to Campbell and Ponzetti (2007), family rituals may derive from religious convictions or secular customs, but their origin is usually forgotten over time. Nevertheless, they have a crucial role as “special” experiences and interactions shared by the family members (Alarcão, 2000; Boss, 2002).
Routines are the daily, repetitive, and predictable activities performed within the family unit (Churchill & Stoneman, 2004). Several authors have emphasized the need to distinguish between family rituals and routines (Crespo et al., 2008; Fiese et al., 2002; Lind, 2008). The authors contend that rituals have symbolic meaning for the participants through the representations they formulate of themselves as members of a given family. Rituals are celebrated in such a way that the commitment to their performance and continuity persists across generations. In contrast, the routines are characterized by an instrumental communication, repeated in a regular and asymbolic manner over time and primarily consisting of the momentary performance of tasks (Crespo et al., 2008; Fiese et al., 2002; Lind, 2008). Both routines and rituals, however, are important as organizers of a family developmental trajectory.
The present study aims to identify the main rituals and routines that organize the journey of urban Southern Angolan families along the family trajectory, based on the perspectives of professionals and couples from this geographical context. It also intends to (re)open debate and reflection on the need to regulate celebrations of certain rituals (e.g., substantial requests in the payment of the “bridewealth” ceremony), as well as on the role of ethnicity, religion, and urbanity in family life throughout the evolutionary cycle.
Family Rituals Over the Family Developmental Trajectory
Family rituals mark transitions over the life courses of families. African societies are notable for the many transition rituals that occur within the evolution of individuals and families (Kaylo, 2013). Based on a family’s ethnicity, religion, and setting (urban or rural), the rituals families perform have varying degrees of organization and may be small meetings or large-scale events (Goody, 1977; Parkin, 1992).
Igreja and Lambranca (2009) performed field studies in 1997 and 2008 in the Gorongosa district and in other locations in central Mozambique and found that several rituals are performed along the course of development of individuals and families (i.e., birth, adolescence, marriage, and death). Iliyasu et al. (2006) conducted a study in Northern Nigeria and identified the existence of rituals during the postpartum period (e.g., sexual abstinence, physical confinement, ritual hot baths [wakan jego]) with the aim of ensuring the mothers’ physical well-being, making them strong and helping in the physiological recovery. These rituals were also highlighted in a qualitative study conducted in the Kano region, in Nigeria (Rabiu, Garba, & Abubakar, 2016).
In the Angolan context, specifically, Melo (2005b) presented a reflective analysis on the rituals performed in Southern Angola, namely, in the rural areas of the provinces of Huíla and Namibe. The author reported on the okupita pondje ritual, which occurs after the baby’s birth and whose function is to integrate the child into the community (Melo, 2005b). The author also described the female initiation rituals, known as efico, efuko, or efundula, depending on the ethnic group, which is to mark the girls’ entry into adulthood. Despite the exhaustive description offered by Melo (2005b), little information is given on the performance of these rituals in an urban context, which underlines the relevance of this study. There is also scant research on the performance of the ekwendje ritual (a male initiation rite) in the Southern Angolan urban context. According to Altuna (2006) and Amaro (2011), ekwendje is a primal marker of a boy’s passage from childhood to adulthood and includes several steps: (a) circumcision, (b) reclusion and marginalization, (c) resurrection or rebirth, and (d) reintegration (see Altuna, 2006). It will thus be important to identify the role assigned to it in a sample of the urban population.
The literature on African rituals has also highlighted the importance of the payment of the bridewealth to make the bond between the couple official (Granjo, 2006; Kayongo-Male & Onyango, 1984; Rudwick & Posel, 2014). The payment of the bridewealth is a ceremony in which the groom’s family gives the bride’s relatives (material or monetary) goods. The name of this ritual varies by country and ethnic group. For instance, it is called alambamento in Angola (this designation shall be used throughout the article), ilobolo in South Africa and lobolo or mabatiro in Mozambique. This ritual typically emphasizes the need for the groom’s family to make a payment to the bride’s family to compensate for the expenses exacted by the bride’s individual development and to strengthen the relationship between the groom’s and the bride’s families. It also legitimates the marriage or de facto union and serves to offer blessings from both families’ ancestors to ensure the stability of the home and the couples’ fertility (Granjo, 2006; Kayongo-Male & Onyango, 1984; Rudwick & Posel, 2014).
Other studies carried out in the Angolan context have used a quantitative approach and have sought to analyze the index of family ritualization in urban centers. Júlio (2012) investigated individuals from Central (Benguela and Huambo) and Southern Angola (Lubango) and concluded that there was no significant difference between individuals regarding the family ritualization index, F(4, 130) = 0.96, p = .43. However, this author organized his sample according to Relvas’s (1996) family life cycle model, which is not suitable for the Angolan population, due to the differences found in the developmental stages’ sequences (e.g., the couple formalization) and the emphasis given by Relvas (1996) to the role of the marital subsystem throughout the family evolution and its articulation with the exercise of the parenthood. In Southern Angola, the exercise of parenthood seems to overlap the conjugality (Simões & Alberto, 2015).
Furthermore, Biale (2014) observed the role of family rituals in the psychological adjustment of HIV/AIDS patients in Cabinda, Northern Angola, and in Lubango. The author found that family rituals are positively related to family cohesion (r = .48, p = .01) and that higher levels of family rituals and family cohesion were associated with less anxiety (r = −.31, p = .01; r = −.36, p = .01, respectively) and a perceived better quality of life (r = .29, p = .01). Last, Gime (2014) found higher investment in cultural rituals: religious rituals, t(158) = −2.71, p = .01; ethnic rituals, t(158) = −3.65, p = .000; and special rituals, t(158) = −3.19, p = .002; for Cabinda individuals when compared with participants from Benguela. However, Biale (2014) and Gime (2014) do not provide any theoretical support on the type of family rituals performed by these families throughout their development.
In sum, rituals for the Bantu people seem to have different functions. They ensure the spiritual and social protection of family members and the inclusion of members in community life. Likewise, they help individuals cope with the difficulties and crises inherent in transitions in individual and family life. Rituals also facilitate the acceptance of and commitment to significant changes in the status or loss of family members, preventing curses and helping to maintain balance and harmony in human life and in the universe (Altuna, 2006; Kaylo, 2013; Melo, 2005b; Van Gennep, 1960).
Research (Igreja & Lambranca, 2009; Iliyasu et al., 2006; Melo, 2005b; Rabiu et al., 2016) has stressed the different rituals adopted in various cultures (e.g., Mozambique, Nigeria, rural Angola). However, it has been left unexamined how these rituals are experienced through the different stages of family development. Furthermore, research is scarce on the influence of factors such as ethnicity, religion, urbanity, and the alignment between the members of a couple in terms of the practice of each ritual.
Family Routines Over the Family Developmental Trajectory
Routines are typical rituals performed in the daily life of families. Families frequently perform these rituals, but these patterns are seldom studied within the African context (Boss, 2002; Crespo, 2011; Fiese et al., 2002; Goede, 2012; Lind, 2008; Simões & Alberto, 2017). Goede (2012) conducted a study in South Africa among mixed-race (colored people) families with young children and found that the families usually made “idiosyncratic accommodations” in their routines to integrate the children into the family. For example, when including children in social outings, some parents watched television with their children to enhance their mutual bonds, while others engaged the children in housework or performed the housework at earlier times of the day so that they could give full attention to their children and family.
These findings are similar to those found in an intercultural study in the United States among a subsample of African families with young children (Bradley, Pennar, & Glick, 2014). The authors found that these families tended to engage in joint activities—namely, having meals together, going shopping with the children, and watching television. Bradley, Pennar, and Glick (2015) found that on reaching adolescence, the children tended to participate in daily family meals and to do more household chores, such as making the bed. In a sample of families from the Angolan capital of Luanda, Sheehan and Yong (1999) and Oyebade (2007) identified activities similar to the ones mentioned above, namely, participating in family meals, especially dinner, as times when the family members gathered and had opportunities to discuss the day’s events, watching television, listening to the radio, going on picnics or safaris during the weekends and holidays, and engaging in social activities (e.g., going to the beach or visiting relatives).
These studies focused on identifying the rituals and routines performed by the participants during a particular developmental period were, mostly, based on the family life cycle model of Carter and McGoldrick (1995). This five-stage model was developed based on White, Western, intact nuclear families (Carter & McGoldrick, 1995; Relvas, 1996; Shange, 2010; Widmer & Gauthier, 2013), highlighting the role and relevance of the families of origin. Carter and McGoldrick (1995) noted that, over the life cycle, the family must deal with the increase in and exiting of members and their development in a process, which includes expansion, contraction, and realignment of the system. However, the literature on African families (e.g., Locoh, 1981; Shange, 2010; Simões & Alberto, 2015) has shown a poor fit of these models to African cultural contexts, where, for example, the predominance of the Western nuclear family (i.e., consisting of two parents and children living in the same house) is questioned, because the extended family seems to be the most prevalent family composition in this context (Locoh, 1981; Simões & Alberto, 2015).
Current Study
Rituals relating to birth, female and male initiation, marriage (i.e., alambamento, civil, religious, and traditional), funerals, and routines are common in Africa (Altuna, 2006; Igreja & Lambranca, 2009; Iliyasu et al., 2006; Kamya, 2005; Kayongo-Male & Onyango, 1984; Malisha et al., 2008; Melo, 2005b; Rabiu et al., 2016; Rudwick & Posel, 2014; Vincent, 2008). Although the psychological functions of rituals are widely referred to in the literature (e.g., Biale, 2014; Boyer & Liénard, 2006; Crespo et al., 2008; Crespo et al., 2011; Hobson et al., 2018; Watson-Jones & Legare, 2016), qualitative studies in psychology with a focus on family transition rituals are scarce. It has been a more predominant theme in anthropology (Boyer & Liénard, 2006; Hobson et al., 2018; Watson-Jones & Legare, 2016). Simões and Alberto (2015), also, observed the importance of family rituals in punctuating events of the family transition milestones, throughout the developmental trajectories of urban Southern Angola families. However, this theme was not studied in detail on their research. For this reason, in this study we intend to identify the family rituals and routines that organize the developmental life trajectory of urban Southern Angolan families, by seeking to understand the subjective experiences of professionals and couples. Due to the qualitative nature of the study, the scarcity of research on family rituals and routines in this context, and lack of a solid theoretical conceptualization, we have not established any predictions (Creswell, 2014).
Method
Sample
The study sample was composed of two groups, one labeled as professionals and the other as couples. One group was a multiethnic sample of professionals who worked directly with families from different ethnic and social groups. These participants were selected according to their capability to provide some information on the reality of the urban Southern Angolan families in terms of their rituals and routines, as the existing data derive from the anthropological and sociological literature, based on families living in quimbos, who have generally adopted the traditional life system characteristic of rural areas (Altuna, 2006; Melo, 2005b).
The second group was a set of couples at different stages of family development, grouped, after the recruitment process, according to the stages defined by Simões and Alberto (2015). Couples were included in this study with the aim of understanding, in detail, family traditions (e.g., how they celebrate moments of transition from one stage of development to the next) and everyday experiences (e.g., what are the routines they perform in their daily lives), to cross-check the information gathered from the group of professionals, in order to enable a greater understanding of the topics under study (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2012).
Professional sample
The group of professionals comprised 11 men (55%) and nine women (45%). The average age of participants was 47 years (SD = 14.95; range 26-88 years). The professionals represented the following occupations: one clinical psychologist, one social worker, one missionary, one physician, one anthropologist, one politician/historian, two evangelical pastors, two lawyers, three nurses, and seven teachers (three university professors in the field of psychology, three secondary school teachers, and one primary school teacher). A particular effort was made to seek out professionals recognized and referenced—both by society in general and by their peers—as having a good understanding of the development and functioning of urban Southern Angolan families. The sample was thus composed of professionals who have had regular contact with families as part of their work. Almost all professionals were Portuguese native speakers, with the exception of the missionary, whose native language was English. All belonged to the same socioeconomic level (upper middle class), were married, and were at different stages of family development according to the model of Simões and Alberto (2015): 14 professionals (out of 20; 70%) were in the family with a middle-aged couple and the sandwich generation stage, three professionals (out of 20; 15%) were in the family with a young child stage, and three professionals (out of 20; 15%) were in the family with an adolescent or a young adult child stage. Most of the professionals (n = 13; 65%) were Protestants, members of the Ovimbundu ethnic group (n = 13; 65%) and had been working at their job for an average of 16.05 years (SD = 10.18; range 1-32 years). See Table 1 for a summary of the background of these professionals.
Professionals’ Sociodemographic Data.
Couple sample
This group was composed of 25 couples, 50 individuals in total, with an average age of 35 years old (SD = 11.04; 19-65 years). They had been married or living in a de facto union for an average of 11.52 years (SD = 11.92; 0-43 years). Most of the group was of the Ovimbundu ethnicity (n = 24; 48%) and Protestant (n = 28; 56%), and their educational level ranged from secondary school (n = 11; 22%) to higher education (n = 34; 68%). Most of the participants worked in the education sector (e.g., primary or secondary school teachers, university professors; n = 15; 30%). Most of the couples were in the family with a middle-aged couple in the sandwich generation stage (n = 20; 40%) and had an average of three children (SD = 1.80; 0-6 years). A summary of their background can be seen in Table 2.
Couple’s Sociodemographic Data.
Measures
Sociodemographic questionnaire
The participants in the two subgroups responded to similar questionnaires designed to gather sociodemographic data on gender, age, educational level, occupation, marital status, ethnicity, and religion.
Semistructured interview script for professionals
The script was developed based on a review of the literature on family development, which identifies rituals as important markers of family evolution and stresses the structuring and organizing role of family routines (e.g., Carter & McGoldrick, 1995; Crespo, 2011; Fiese et al., 2002; Fiese et al., 2006; Hines, 1995; Lind, 2008; Relvas, 1996). The semistructured interview schedule contained several questions, which were discussed with four clinical psychologists and professors of psychology with a strong knowledge of the Southern Angolan culture. The questions were the following: (a) How are the transitions/passages from one stage of development to the next marked in Southern Angola, throughout the evolutionary cycle of families? (b) What are the most common rituals in family life here in the urban region of Lubango? (c) What is the function of these rituals? (d) How are family tasks (e.g., of the husband, wife, father, mother, young children, adolescent children, adult children, grandfather, grandmother) distributed in Southern Angolan families? (e) What are the most common family activities in urban families in Lubango?
Semistructured interview script for couples
The format of the script adopted for the semistructured interviews with the couples was based on a graphic representation—the “family life timeline” (see Figure 1)—drawn on a sheet of A4 paper, where the participants indicated the events experienced by the two members of the couple throughout their family life (beginning at the point they perceived themselves as members of the same family and continuing through to their current stage at the time of the interview). The graphic representation was used only with the couples because this method facilitated the organization of their narratives and the contextualization of their experiences along the temporal journey. Additionally, this method allowed to collect a personal description of the main events of the couples’ lives and to have a global view of their families’ trajectories (Adriansen, 2012; Kolar, Ahmad, Chan, & Erickson, 2015). The semistructured guide contained questions, discussed with four clinical psychologists and professors of psychology, with a good knowledge of the Southern Angolan culture. The questions were the following: (a) What do you usually do in your family when someone marries, has a child, enters adolescence, and so on? (b) In your opinion, what is the role of these rituals in family life? (c) What daily activities do you do together, as a couple and as a family, in the different stages of family development? (d) What is the importance of these family activities?
An example of a family life timeline based on Couple 4’s narratives.
Procedures
The interviews with individuals in both groups were conducted by the first author, a 26-year-old female native of Lubango belonging to the Ovimbundu ethnic group, whose native language is Portuguese and who was a professor at a local university in Lubango at the time of the interviews. In both samples, participants voluntarily agreed to be interviewed and did not receive any type of compensation. In both groups, the researcher began by presenting the study, describing the objectives, the data collection procedures, and the ethical issues, specifically, the confidentiality and anonymity of personal data. Permission was obtained to record the interviews in an audio format. The procedures related to the interview itself are described below.
Professionals
The professionals were selected through nonprobabilistic sampling using the snowball method (Marôco, 2014). The first participants were contacted at the university and they referred other professionals who met the study’s criteria (i.e., working closely with families and having a good knowledge of Southern Angolan families’ rituals and routines). The initial contact was made in person and involved presenting the study’s objectives and scheduling a time and location for the interviews, always depending on the participants’ availability. The acceptance rate for participation in the study was 100%, and there was no withdrawal, possibly because the researcher was introduced to these professionals by someone who knew both of them, which resulted in a higher level of trust and commitment. Equally, the interviewing process occurred in a single day, with an average length of 1 hour, at a location that was accessible for the interviewees (e.g., their home, workplace, a space provided by the university in the city center). Another reason for this acceptance rate might have been the interest of Angolan society in the topic of “family” and the identification, by the professionals who participated in the study, of the need to do more research and increase knowledge about the topics under discussion. Due to the multicultural nature of the population of the target region, the professionals were allowed to base their responses on the ethnic groups with which they were in closer contact with or were more familiar about.
Couples
The participants in this sample were selected in a nonprobabilistic way through the snowball sampling process (Marôco, 2014). Initially, university students and professors were contacted to join the study, and then they introduced other couples known from the community who met the study’s criteria (i.e., monogamous, lived in the urban area of Lubango, belonged to different ethnic and racial groups, and were from different stages of the family developmental trajectory; see Table 2). Couples were excluded if they had remarried, were widowed or polygamists, or lived in rural areas.
The initial contact with the participants was made in person, presenting the study and scheduling a time and location for the interview. The interviews took an average of 1 hour and 30 minutes and occurred at the couples’ homes, at their workplaces, or at a place in the city center provided by the university. Both members of the couple were interviewed together, which made it possible to directly observe the way they constructed the narrative of their family life journey, and contributed to “bring[ing] out aspects of the topic that would not have been anticipated by the researcher and would not have emerged from interviews with individuals” (Babbie, 2004, p. 303). Each member of the couple was encouraged to answer the questions, commenting on and completing the responses given by their spouses, although most couples discussed, conversed, and spontaneously recalled the situations experienced.
Data Analysis
The data analysis process involved the following steps: data organization, creation of categories, identification of patterns and themes, and data coding (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2012). First, the audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim. Second, the information obtained was organized and coded (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2012; Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011).
Professionals
The information obtained from the professionals was subjected to a manual systematic content analysis with the theme as a recording unit (Bardin, 2011; Bloomberg & Volpe, 2012). This type of analysis is considered appropriate in exploratory studies where there is little information about the phenomenon under study, as was the case here. It also made it possible to analyze the main themes that emerged from the interviews and assess their frequency (e.g., identify how many participants referred to marriage as a transition ritual in family development; Bardin, 2011).
Based on the semistructured interview script and the model of Simões and Alberto (2015), the main categories of this study were created (e.g., the stages of the family’s developmental trajectory). Subcategories were then identified (e.g., ritual of introduction of families; alambamento), and all the recording units were coded based on Bardin’s (2011) guiding principles of mutual exclusivity, exhaustiveness, relevance, and objectivity of the categories. After the categories and subcategories were defined, revised, and refined by comparing them with the coded extracts using the entire set of data, any subcategories that did not constitute a true theme (i.e., there were no sufficient data to support them [e.g., funerals]) were eliminated and any subcategories that incorporated similar themes were grouped. Data saturation was considered reached when no new data or themes emerged from analyzing the interviews (Fusch & Ness, 2015).
Couples
The interviews with the couples were analyzed via the interpretive phenomenological analysis method (Smith & Osborn, 2003), using the NVivo 10 software, which facilitated data storage, categorization, retrieval, and comparison (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2012). The interpretive phenomenological analysis method was used for the following reasons: (a) It is consistent with the social constructionist paradigm used in the study with this sample and (b) it is intended to obtain detailed information about the reality of people’s daily lives, to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon in question (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2012).
The analysis of the information began by identifying the main themes (family rituals and routines), which was achieved by becoming familiar with the content through repeated readings of the texts under analysis (Smith & Osborn, 2003). The information was then grouped into categories and subcategories hierarchically (e.g., the main events marking the family’s life trajectory: dating, childbirth, marriage, etc.). Finally, the main themes that were obtained were organized in a table, and those that were shown to be inadequate for the emerging structure or were not consistently referenced in the different participants’ narratives were excluded (e.g., funerals; Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2014). The themes that emerged with convergence in the two members of the couple—even in interethnic couples—were considered, taking into account agreement on the type of ritual they performed, or did not perform, as a couple.
Criteria of reliability/trustworthiness of the results
After coding the data and reviewing them systematically, the final categorization was submitted to a set of procedures that sought to guarantee its validity and reliability (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2012; Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011). To this end, the data obtained from multiple information sources (i.e., professionals, the two members of the couple, and the literature) were cross-checked to evaluate the different perspectives on the rituals and routines performed throughout family development (Altuna, 2006; Goede, 2012; Melo, 2005b; Oyebade, 2007; Sheehan & Yong, 1999).
In the second phase, the data coding process was discussed with the coauthor, who is a White female of Angolan ancestry with a PhD in psychology and whose native language is Portuguese. To establish the trustworthiness of the emerging data, the preliminary results were presented at the First National Congress of Psychology, held in Lubango, Angola, which facilitated a discussion on the information gathered and the categorizations made with colleagues in the field of psychology who lived in other parts of the country, particularly in the South (e.g., Cunene, Namibe), people belonging to different ethnic groups (e.g., Ovambo, Nyaneca, Ovimbundu) and those who had experience in intervention and research work with different ethnic groups. This process ensured a greater reflexivity and refinement of the results (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2012; Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011).
Results
The results are presented in two sections, based on the samples of professionals and couples. 2 In each section, the rituals (see Figures 2 and 3) and routines (see Figure 4) and the respective emerging themes are presented and organized according to the Simões and Alberto (2015) model of family developmental trajectories: the family with an adolescent or a young adult child, the family with a young child, the couple formalization and the establishment of the new family, and the family with a middle-aged couple and the sandwich generation.
Family rituals from the professionals’ perspective.
Family rituals from the couples’ perspective.
A depiction of family routines.
Professionals’ Results
Based on a content analysis of the professionals’ narratives, five rituals were identified (i.e., the efico, the introduction of families, the okupita pondje, the alambamento, and the marriage). These rituals were associated with the different stages of the developmental trajectories, both of the family and of the individual, as well as one ritual (i.e., circumcision) transversal to the evolutionary cycle.
Rituals
The rituals identified by the professionals were the efico, the introduction of families, the okupita pondje, the alambamento, and the marriage.
Family with an adolescent or a young adult child
In this stage, the professionals reported the rituals of efico and introduction of families. Most of the professionals (n = 13 out of 20; 65%) stated that the efico marked the passage from puberty and adolescence into adulthood and served to prepare girls to assume adult female roles and perform housework. One participant stated the following: “The girls perform efico, which is the ritual of passage from childhood to adolescence” (Pro2, 60-year-old, female, lawyer); where “girls are given a series of orientations, and there’s a period of isolation . . . to prepare them for life” (Pro7, 45-year-old, male, university professor). The efico is thus important “because it begins the process of intimate relationships or reproduction” (Pro8, 42-year-old, male, nurse).
The introduction of families was a ritual mentioned by 18 professionals (out of 20; 90%) and was related to a ceremony that usually occurred when dating became more serious. Its function was to allow the members of the families of origin to meet each other. Generally led by a maternal uncle, it might function as a request that a blessing and permission be granted to the couple. One participant said, “There always has to be that presentation of the groom, the young man interested in the young woman” (Pro20, 55-year-old, female, secondary teacher). Another informant added, “The introduction of families is a formality that facilitates the knowledge of both families, so that each side gets to know their children’s partner” (Pro4, 27-year-old, female, lawyer).
Family with a young child
In this developmental stage, most professionals (9 out of 20; 45%) reported the okupita pondje. It has been primarily performed by members of the Nyaneca ethnicity group and has involved presenting the baby to the extended family and the couple’s friends after a period of confinement (Melo, 2005b). An interviewee explained, “When the baby is born, there is an okupita pondje [ritual] and only after they go through this ritual can the baby go out into the street, usually after the first month of life” (Pro12, 38-year-old, male, pastor). Another interviewee noted the following: “Okupita pondje . . . means ‘to come out,’ to show the child the way, to show it where the sun rises. [sic] So it is the beginning of the process of the child’s socialization” (Pro7, 45-year-old, male, university professor).
Couple formalization and the establishment of the new family
Most professionals (n = 18 out of 20; 90%) mentioned the alambamento and the marriage as markers of the transition to the couple formalization and the establishment of the new family stage (Simões & Alberto, 2015). It is considered an important step to perform before the marriage. Pro17 (57-year-old, male, university professor) noted the following about this ritual: Where the family actually recognizes the couple’s union or intention to unite, and the matrilineal side is the one that has more weight there, with the maternal uncle, of either the bride or the groom, taking on a slightly more dynamic position in this relationship.
This ritual can also function as an alternative to marriage, as stated by this professional: Alambamento can function as a marriage. As soon as this ritual is performed, the groom can take the young woman to his house, since from that moment on she is considered his wife. Even if they do not have a wedding, the alambamento has the same meaning. (Pro20, 55-year-old, female, secondary teacher)
The marriage ritual “marks” the beginning of a new family system and of the independence of Southern Angolan youths (Carter & McGoldrick, 1995; Ihinger-Tallman & Henderson, 2003; Relvas, 1996; Simões & Alberto, 2015). All of the interviewed professionals (n = 20 out of 20; 100%) observed that ceremonies could be civil or religious, a sign of the influence of the Western culture. One professional noted, “After the engagement, we have the marriage . . . [sic]. But we are now living in a time when it is becoming an obligation to formalize the marriage at the church and through the civil registry” (Pro6, 36-year-old, male, pastor). Another participant (Pro7, 45-year-old, male, university professor) stated, “In urban areas, an actual marriage is common, either through the civil registry or at the church, and thus, the new couple emerges.”
Rituals Transversal to the Family Developmental Trajectory
Across the narratives of the professionals, circumcision was presented as a ritual that crossed the family developmental trajectory. This ritual was mentioned by 15 professionals (out of 20; 75%) and was included in the transversal rituals category because, in the urban context, it can be performed at any stage or time the family considered most appropriate. Pro14 (63-year-old, male, secondary teacher) described this ritual as such: “[They] do not tend to wait until puberty, there’s the circumcision party . . . it might be at age five, seven, eight years old.” According to Pro4 (27-year-old, female, lawyer), “circumcision . . . might be made at age eight days old, it might take place at age two, three, five years old until the onset of adolescence.”
Routines
The routines identified by the professionals were the same in all stages of the family development, particularly the household chores, going to church, and visiting family.
Household chores
The professionals (N = 20 out of 20; 100%) organized domestic activities according to gender, with women primarily responsible for the family’s daily routines. The following professional stated, “The mother is overworked at home. When she gets home, she always has something to do, such as cooking or tidying up the house” (Pro3, 53-year-old, female, clinical psychologist). Girls made responsible for household chores was noted as a progressive process throughout family development, but this process was intensified with their pregnancy and entry into the parental role. One participant noted, “The mother is always seen as the housewife and the children’s mother, [sic] she is responsible for ensuring the children’s education, food, and health” (Pro19, 88-year-old, male, retired primary school teacher).
Going to church
Almost half of participants (n = 9 out of 20; 45%) reported the importance of religious activities in families’ daily lives, facilitating fellowship with other people who profess the same faith, “fellowship with the Christian community” (Pro1, 55-year-old, missionary); and providing patterns and strategies that have served as resources for the difficulties that may arise throughout family development. One participant stated, “There are families that regularly go to church, primarily seeking comfort and more appropriate ways to educate their children” (Pro18, 26-year-old, female, university professor).
Visiting family
This routine performed by couples, primarily on weekends, was reported by 35% of the professionals (n = 7 out of 20) and included adult children visiting their parents, or elderly couples visiting their children and other relatives. A participant stated, “Usually, the children go to their parents’ house, take their grandchildren and great-grandchildren to visit their grandparents” (Pro9, 50-year-old, male secondary teacher). Another one stated, “When the children become adults, the couples will go to their house, especially those couples who have no other family living with them at home” (Pro5, 49-year-old, female, social worker).
Couples’ Results
Rituals
The couples’ sample reported six rituals along the family developmental trajectory, such as the introduction of families, the okupita pondje, the banhos de assento the alambamento or a Western-style wedding proposal, and the marriage. They also reported one ritual (i.e., the circumcision) transversal to the family developmental trajectory, which will be detailed below.
Family with an adolescent or a young adult child
Some couples (n = 8 out 25; 32%) reported that the introduction of family rituals was important in this stage, demonstrating respect and the consolidation of the romantic relationship. Co16 (27-year-old, male, Nyaneca) stated, “When we realize our relationship is sound we go and tell about it . . . You let your parents know, and [sic] I let mine, that we’re going steady.” Another participant (Co4, 34-year-old, male, Nyaneca) stated the following: Here in Lubango, when a respectful relationship is to be made official, the general rule is that a counsellor or highly regarded relative is called in and they go and talk to the bride’s family, and in a conversation, [sic] without much ado, it is simply said: “I’m so-and-so and I came to tell you I’ve been dating your daughter. Although you’ve seen me here often, today I came with someone who is responsible for me, to say before my partner that I’m making our relationship official so that it gets official recognition.”
Family with a young child stage
The couples reported two types of rituals commonly performed during this stage of development, the okupita pondje and the banhos de assento, or “sitting baths.” The okupita pondje is a ritual celebrated after birth, when the baby is presented to the community (Melo, 2005b). The banhos de assento are special herbal baths that women take during the postpartum period, ending with body massages.
Okupita pondje
Seven couples (out of 25; 28%) mentioned this ritual. The performance of this ritual is to assure that the baby’s period of confinement is respected, ensuring greater protection against potential diseases. Co16 (27-year-old, male, Nyaneca) said, “It is an old tradition that we have . . . after the baby is born, [sic] it has to stay at home, safe and sound.” The symbolic character is believed to emerge through the family celebration, in which the child is presented and integrated into society: After the baby is born, a ceremony called “getting the child out” is performed eight days later; the child is seen by everybody, a small party is organized, close acquaintances and relatives show up, one eats and drinks. Eight days is a reference, but it can be [held] 15 days or even one month after [the baby’s birth]. (Co13, 55-year-old, male, Nyaneca)
There are differences in what the ritual has been called and in the imposition of the confinement period. While the Nyaneca group has called this ritual okupita pondje and has established a period of confinement for the baby’s protection from and prevention of illnesses, other groups, such as the Ovimbundu, have called the ritual “naming the newborn,” and there have been no restrictions on the baby leaving the house. Co11 (35-year-old, female, Ovimbundu) stated, I remember that my son was born on a Wednesday and on Saturday we went on a walk, because we usually went out on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, so we were already outside on the street . . . for many neighbors, this is scandalous.
A small percentage of couples (n = 2 out of 25; 8%) stated that they did not perform any of these rituals, following only the religious tradition of dedicating the baby to God (see Figure 1): “After the baby’s first birthday, we made the dedication to God at church” (Co4, 34-year-old, male, Nyaneca).
Banhos de assento
This ritual, mentioned by 11 couples (out of 25; 44%), referred to the help a female member of the extended family (i.e., mother, aunt, or grandmother) provided to a new mother with respect to her intimate hygiene (bathing) during the postpartum period. The most traditional configuration of the bath is related to the need for it to be performed with hot water and some herbs (castor oil leaves), which allowed a “cleanse” of the uterus in order to facilitate the mother’s physical recovery. Co4 (25-year-old, female, Ovimbundu) stated the following: “After labor, I had to take those baths, right? Hot water baths with castor oil leaves in it, some tree bark; it was awful. . . . It was all about massaging the whole body from head to toes.” According to participant Co10 (57-year-old, female, Ovimbundu), it is an intergenerational tradition: “Banho de assento is a ritual passed on to us by our mothers, which has to be performed as soon as we leave the maternity ward.”
This ritual is used also to imply a period of the woman returning to the home of her family of origin: Usually after childbirth, the mother has to live in the house of her mother or one of her aunts for a period of time, so that they can give her the bath and teach her how to bathe the baby, how to breastfeed, when and how to change its clothes, how to feed it, among other things. (Co4, 25-year-old, female, Ovimbundu)
Some couples stated that they have not always followed the ritual of leaving the home or “postpartum confinement,” because a female family member who is more experienced with parenting can spend several months with the couple to provide help. A participant stated, Because of the baths? [sic] That depends on the husband. If the husband lets her [the wife] go, she goes to her mother’s house. If he doesn’t, the mother comes, or else someone more experienced, who has already been a mother, comes to help the new mother with the baths. (Co15, 23-year-old, female, Ovimbundu)
Couple formalization and establishment of the new family
Most couples (n = 16 out of 25; 64%) reported that they had done the alambamento (usually directed by one of the bride’s uncles), which included the delivery of items requested by the bride’s family and the payment of all fines for having entered the family “through the window,” that is, via sexual intercourse and premarital pregnancy. One participant noted the following: Yes, indeed, there was actually a list . . . you have to deliver all the bride’s family asked for . . . until the day came to go there and deliver what they asked for; we went there (me and my parents) with my uncles and delivered everything they had requested. The uncles (mine and the bride’s) set a possible date for the wedding. (Co21, 45-year-old, male, Ovimbundu)
Eight couples (out of 25; 32%) reported that the groom made a Western-style wedding proposal (Lind, 2008), including the delivery of the engagement ring and setting of the wedding date: “We had nothing of that [alambamento]. [sic] I went gratis, they didn’t perform the alambamento for me . . . my husband gave me the engagement ring in the car” (Co11, 35-year-old, female, Ovimbundu). Another participant reported the following: “There was only the [marriage] proposal. He’s the one who proposed and gave me the engagement ring” (Co20, 32-year-old, female, mulatto). Proposing marriage through the alambamento or simply in a more Western way appeared as a ritual prior to the wedding ceremony.
Sixteen (out of 25; 64%) couples reported that they had celebrated their wedding ceremony, either in a church or a civil one. As one participant noted the following: “There was a wedding. We got married in a Catholic church . . . in addition to the civil [ceremony]” (Co11, 35-year-old, female, Ovimbundu). Simões and Alberto (2015) found that most marriages occurred after the woman had become pregnant, which at times precluded the performance of a religious ceremony, particularly, among Protestants (Mugambi, 2004). However, five couples (out of 25; 20%) reported that, due to strong religious commitment, they only became parents after the marriage. For example, Co14 (32-year-old, male, Ovimbundu) stated, “We had a Christian courtship. Every kind of physical contact is allowed but not sexual involvement or intercourse. We waited until our wedding day . . . and only after that we had our first child.”
Ritual Transversal to Family Developmental Trajectory
The circumcision ritual was reported by all the couples (N = 25; 100%) and described as a process that sons must go through, but which is performed in a hospital context at no particular age. For example, Co8 had their son circumcised when he was 2 years old: “The boy went through it when he was two” (Co8, 48-year-old, female, Nyaneca). Participant Co22 (25-year-old, female, mixed of Ovimbundu and Nganguela) stressed that it must be done at the hospital: “[We had him circumcised] but in the normal way. At the hospital, not like . . . Not like a [ekwendje] tradition.”
Routines Transversal to Family Developmental Trajectory
The couples reported a set of routines that organized the daily family life, including the household chores and activities related to religious practice and leisure time (e.g., sharing meals and going out together). The categories that emerged were the same in all stages of the family life trajectory, and we have thus included them in the transversal routines section.
Household chores
According to the couples’ perspectives (n = 24 out of 25 couples; 96%), women were expected to take responsibility for looking after the home and children, with a clear distinction between genders in terms of roles and tasks. Women seemed to take on all the responsibilities inherent to domestic life from the beginning of the marriage or cohabitation. As this participant stated, “In the beginning of the marriage the adjustment was a bit difficult. . . . I was responsible for 100% of the housework, I did everything myself” (Co6, 39-year-old, female, mixed of Ovimbundu and Nyaneca). A newly married participant mentioned the following: “I do everything [at home]” (Co22, 25-year-old, female, mixed of Ovimbundu and Ngangela). Men seemed to take financial responsibility and addressed more technical situations (e.g., cleaning the car, buying gas or fixing appliances), as this participant stated: In a way, I’m responsible for bringing the money home. Ensuring the family’s livelihood, but I’m also responsible for buying gas, taking care of home safety. It’s really a man’s job, at home. To fix things, tighten screws and buy gas. (Co9, 21-year-old, male, mulatto)
Attending church
The routine of attending church was mentioned by 10 (out of 25; 40%) couples at different developmental stages. For couples in the family with a middle-aged couple and in the sandwich generation stage, going to church represented time spent with the family, cultivated since the children were small. One participant stated, “Our children used to go to church with us [since they were] babies. They sat with us . . . whenever we went to service gatherings or to mass on Sundays we always went together” (Co5, 65-year-old, male, Ovimbundu). They also pointed to the advantages of their commitment to the church, particularly because it helped them manage their children as they went through adolescence. Co8 (42-year-old, female, Nyaneca) stated, “Religion helped our daughter to pass quietly through adolescence.” Co24 (40-year-old, male, Ovimbundu) added, The Protestant [church] provides more education to children; thus, we do prefer they go there . . . they can get into any social setting, but as they have religious principles (for instance, not to drink alcohol), then we feel at ease when our son goes out with his friends.
For some couples in the formalization and the establishment of the new family stage, going to church seemed to represent time spent in fellowship with friends, most of them also married for varying lengths of time. It also served as an important contribution to the transition and adjustment that they were experiencing. One participant stated, Many of these friendships we have are Christian-based friendships . . . our parents, married friends, godparents who have more experience than us. When we are facing difficult situations, we rely on them to help us and so things have been getting easier and easier. (Co16, 27-year-old, male, Nyaneca)
Family meals
Eight (out of 25; 32%) couples described these meals as part of their everyday life. They are seen as a “sacred” time of the day, when all the family members can be together and share events from their day. The couples reported that given professional challenges, they try to have at least one meal a day with all members of the household. One participant voiced this: “Weekdays are all busy: He goes to his work and I go to my internship, but meeting at lunchtime is sacred. Everybody has to be there” (Co24, 40-year-old, female, Mulatto). Another participant noted that families also “try to have meals together, dinner mainly” (Co8, 42-year-old, female, Nyaneca). Based on the statements of the participants, particularly those who were older, in addition to the value attributed to eating meals together, it seemed important for them that their children have the same customs in their own homes. One participant (Co5, 65-year-old, male, Ovimbundu) stated as such: “[During the meals] everybody would sit at the table, [sic] then we all helped ourselves in an organized way. That’s our custom to this day and happily also our [married] children have this same habit.”
Recreational activities
Most of the couples stated that they did different family activities—mostly outdoors activities—on weekends. Particularly important was taking family trips (n = 10 out of 25; 40%). Co9 (21-year-old, male, Mulatto) stated, “Whenever we have time we go out, we go to the Namib [desert] and to the Serra da Leba, for instance, and walk around there.” Another family activity involved going to restaurants or recreational parks, which was done mainly by couples with young children. Co23 (26-year-old, female, Mulatto) stated, “On the weekends we go out with the girls for lunch, we go to the park so they can play a little bit.”
Moreover, some couples reported routinely visiting relatives (n = 5 out of 20; 20%) and spending afternoons and evenings with their family, regardless of their developmental stage. Couples in the couple formalization and the establishment of the new family stage visited their parents, while couples in the family with a middle-aged couple and the sandwich generation stage tended to visit their married children. Co22 (25-year-old, male, Ovimbundu) stated, “We go either to his mother’s house or to my mom’s house”; whereas, Co8 (42-year-old, male, Nyaneca) noted, “We always visit our daughter at her home.” The frequency of these visits varied according to the rhythm of the people’s life, limiting the gatherings to weekends or once a month, so that more relatives could attend. One couple stated this situation separately. The male of the couple noted, “We have more family gatherings. For example, usually what happens is that once or twice a month, there are always those family lunches, so we go out” (Co12, 35-year-old, male, Bakongo). The female of the couple added, “Yesterday, for example, we had lunch at my cousin’s house, and my whole family was there” (Co12, 33-year-old, female, Ovimbundu).
A Comparison of the Samples’ Findings
Comparing the professionals’ narratives about family rituals with those of the couples, we found convergences and discrepancies. Both groups converged on reporting the following rituals: the introduction of families, the okupita pondje, the alambamento, and the marriage. Both groups referred to the circumcision as a ritual performed transversely at different stages of the family developmental trajectory in the urban area of Lubango.
The two groups differed in their perspectives on the efico and the banhos de assento, and only the couples referred to the Western-style wedding proposal. The professionals described the efico as a ritual with a high participation rate, especially by the Nyaneca ethnic group, stating that the urban families who performed it were required to go to quimbos. One professional noted, “People who live in cities do it. They go to their villages and do it” (Pro11, 33-year-old, male, anthropologist). Another professional stated, “Even urban people, with a high education level, such as, for example, a senior technician, still perform the efico and the ekwendje rituals” (Pro5, 49-year-old, female, social worker). None of the couples’ female members, however, reported that they had performed the efico or that they had celebrated it when their daughters reached puberty or adolescence. One female participant stated, “Well, we can no longer celebrate the efico because our religion no longer lets us” (Co8, 42-year-old, female, Nyaneca). Another added, “We don’t do many rituals because now we’re part of a church. We no longer do many things that we might have done once, they had to be stopped” (Co15, 25-year-old, male, Ovimbundu). Regarding the banho de assento, although it was reported by almost half of the couples (11 out of 25; 44%), only two professionals (out of 20; 10%) reported this custom.
In what concerns family routines and tasks, both groups emphasized gender inequality in the organization of household chores, which were entirely the responsibility of the female members. The activities related to going to church and visiting relatives also emerged in the interviews conducted with the two samples, thus emphasizing the structuring role of family and religion. The couples provided a richer and more comprehensive description than the professionals, in terms of the way they spent time with family, detailing family meals and recreational activities, such as family outings and going to restaurants and playgrounds.
Discussion
The purpose of the study was to identify the family rituals and routines that organize the developmental life trajectory of urban Southern Angolan families. Both groups reported the performance of the following rituals: the efico, the introduction of families, the okupita pondje, the alambamento, the marriage, and the circumcision. The couples also described the banhos de assento and a Western-style wedding proposal. Regarding family routines, the professionals reported the practice of household chores, going to church, and visiting family. The couples besides reporting the household chores and attending church pointed out to family meals and recreational activities.
Rituals
The literature and research on family psychology highlighted the protective function of family rituals and their contribution to family adjustment throughout the individual and family developmental cycle (e.g., Fiese et al., 2002; Lind, 2008; Santos et al., 2015). For example, according to Erikson (1980; Poole & Snarey, 2011), in adolescence, the fundamental task is constructing the identity of the adolescent, which requires a realignment in relations between parents and children (Alarcão, 2000; Carter & McGoldrick, 1995; Poole & Snarey, 2011; Relvas, 1996). In traditionalist societies, this process seems to be facilitated by the rituals of passage from childhood to adulthood (Altuna, 2006; Melo, 2005b).
In this study, the group of professionals referred to the female initiation ritual the efico, performed in the family with an adolescent or a young adult child stage, to define the entry into adulthood. The emphasis given by this group to the efico is congruent with Simões and Alberto’s (2015) views on the importance attributed to the preparation of the girls to their roles within the family (e.g., housewives) and as a milestone signaling the social permission for the beginning of intimate and sexual relationships (Altuna, 2006; Simões & Alberto, 2015). Regarding male initiation rituals (i.e., ekwendje), there are differences between the results of this study and the literature on African rituals (e.g., Altuna, 2006; Igreja & Lambranca, 2009; Malisha et al., 2008; Melo, 2005b). The two groups of participants reported the circumcision performed in the hospital during early childhood, not signaling the transition from puberty or adolescence to adulthood, diverging from its traditional ekwendje roots (Altuna, 2006). The reference to the efico and the circumcision also diverges from the study of family rituals performed in the Western context, where specific rituals that mark adolescence are not identified (Crespo, 2011; Lind, 2008).
Still, in the family with an adolescent or a young adult child stage, the two groups (professionals and couples) reported the performance of the introduction of families’ rituals. Unlike other rituals, this one is seldom mentioned in the literature (e.g., anthropological, sociological, and psychological studies). However, the introduction of families serves one of family ritual functions by putting together the most important relatives from each side and strengthening the ties between the couple and their extended family (Campbell & Ponzetti, 2007; Crespo et al., 2013; Fiese et al., 2002; Hobson et al., 2018; Santos et al., 2015). The practice of this ritual may have arisen because of changes in family and social dynamics. Until the mid-20th century, in the rural setting, the proximity of neighbors and “tribes” made it easy for people to know each other, and the intimate relationships they established were based on matrimonial arrangements organized and authorized by the families of origin. Families chose candidates for their children and rejected others considered to be less adequate to avoid transgressing marriage restrictions (e.g., marriage between direct/consanguineous relatives or members of a same clan; intimate relationships with youths from families with a history of sterility or severe chronic diseases; Altuna, 2006; Igreja & Lambranca, 2009).
The group of couples stressed the importance of the practice of baths, related to the belief that they contribute to the mother’s rapid physical recovery (Iliyasu et al., 2006). Iliyasu et al. (2006) found that, regardless of the women’s educational level, most practiced the ritual of hot baths, wakan jego (Rabiu et al., 2016), not only believing that this ritual would make them healthier in the postpartum period but also because of issues related to culture, religion, and the prevention of serious consequences (e.g., illness, death of the mother or the baby). Interestingly, only two professionals reported this ritual, which may be related to the perception that these baths might be ineffective or inadequate in this area of Angola. The period when the couple are separated, with the new mother and the baby temporarily living in the extended family’s home was also reported by Simões and Alberto (2015). And it can be a challenge for the couple’s consolidation, which is why, in some families, an older woman goes to the couple’s home to help during the postpartum period; in most cases, a child or adolescent (i.e., the third element) is sent to help with the household chores.
The practice of the okupita pondje ritual in the family with a young child stage is consistent with the anthropological literature (Melo, 2005b). This ritual is seen as the first event of socialization that a child goes through, and it underlines the protective role of rituals during the transition to parenthood, helping to cope with the uncertainty and changes that occur in this stage of development (Campbell & Ponzetti, 2007; Hobson et al., 2018). Although such rituals were reported primarily by couples belonging to the Nyaneca group (Melo, 2005b), other ethnic groups also have performed naming rituals for newborns, but without the period of confinement required for Nyaneca babies. Therefore, regardless of ethnic group or religious values, it seems to be important for infants to be presented to society because “without these rites no birth is recognized by the family nor accepted by society” (Altuna, 2006, p. 275). Otherwise, the baby is considered to be more vulnerable to the possibility of evil spells or deeds from others (Pourchez, 2013).
All participants in our study unanimously reported the alambamento and the marriage as important rituals for the couple’s formalization. This is consistent with the model proposed by Simões and Alberto (2015) about the role and the commitment of the whole family in the couple formalization. Thus, the marriage is the only celebration also reported in a Western context (e.g., Carter & McGoldrick, 1995; Crespo, 2011; Pinto & Ribeiro, 2010; Relvas, 1996), highlighting its role in the articulation between individuality and conjugality (Carter & McGoldrick, 1995; Crespo, 2011; Pinto & Ribeiro, 2010; Relvas, 1996; Simões & Alberto, 2015). However, the analysis of the results showed that, contrary to what Simões and Alberto (2015) defended, the couple formalization may also occur before a pregnancy and the childbirth, especially in families with a strong religious commitment.
Several scholars (Altuna, 2006; Granjo, 2006; Malisha et al., 2008; Rudwick & Posel, 2014) observed that the alambamento functions as a public and official way for both families of origin to approve the couples’ union. The practice of the alambamento increases the expectation that a marriage will take place; thus, brides starting this stage with a premarital pregnancy might have their concerns and worries of a possible abandonment by the groom reduced (Simões & Alberto, 2015). This result is congruent with psychological studies (Campbell & Ponzetti, 2007; Crespo et al., 2013; Fiese et al., 2002; Hobson et al., 2018), which support that the practice of rituals helps families to cope with stress and contributes to reduce anxiety levels.
The marriage seems to have a similar function in urban Southern Angolan as it has in Western countries. It validates the conjugal subsystem and guarantees the couples’ independence from the extended family (Carter & McGoldrick, 1995; Ihinger-Tallman & Henderson, 2003; Relvas, 1996; Simões & Alberto, 2015). Although the practice of the alambamento was reported by some professionals as a sufficient ritual to validate the marital union, most of the couples of the current study performed a civil or religious marriage, or both, as a result of the influence of Western culture, which imposed these forms of marriage through missionary organizations and colonial authorities (Ngundu, 2011).
Taken as a whole, the collected data show that family rituals function to signal and mark the changes that families and their members experience over time, facilitating the feeling of belonging to a certain community, as well as to make it possible for the members of the couple and their extended families to become closer (e.g., the practice of the introduction of families ritual; Altuna, 2006; Campbell & Ponzetti, 2007; Crespo, 2011; Crespo et al., 2013; Fiese et al., 2002; Granjo, 2006; Hobson et al., 2018; Pourchez, 2013). Rituals also seem to ensure the protection of young children, as well as the couple and family’s fertility and harmony, from ancestral spirits or other negative forces (e.g., envy, evil eyes; Altuna, 2006; Boyer & Liénard, 2006; Granjo, 2006; Pourchez, 2013). There were no discursive dissonances between the couples’ members with regard to the performance of rituals, as the narratives within a single couple were similar. Some different perspectives emerged regarding the practice of rituals that reflected primarily ethnic contexts (e.g., Nyaneca couples seemed to more strictly perform the okupita pondje) and the religious commitment of each family (e.g., Evangelical couples, despite having a Nyaneca cultural tradition, decided not to perform the efico because it goes against their religious values). In fact, the religious commitment of the families seems to influence their developmental trajectories, by determining which rituals are allowed or not and the specific time they will occur (e.g., marriage before a pregnancy).
Routines
Analysis of the interviewees’ narratives showed that family routines remain the same in the various stages of the family developmental trajectory. The participants in both samples unanimously considered the household chores to be a central responsibility of the female members. These data are consistent with the Simões and Alberto’s (2015) study.
Our data indicate, however, that urban Southern Angolan families seem to exhibit a more traditional attitude than African American families (Lam, McHale, & Crouter, 2012; Simões & Alberto, 2015) regarding the distribution of the household chores throughout the family developmental trajectory. The difference between urban Southern Angolan and African American families is found in the way the husbands perform the household chores. While there is a greater participation by the husband in the latter over time, in Lubango, there seems to be little participation by husbands regardless of the family’s developmental stage. In the current study, several participants mentioned that throughout childhood, children of both genders are prepared for the roles they will perform within the family, with the boys’ chores progressively decreasing throughout life while the girls’ chores increasing, likely because of the strong influence of traditional African education. This type of education establishes a strong differentiation between genders, emphasizing the complete responsibility of the household chores to women (Falola & Amponsah, 2012; Victor & Ombati, 2012).
In addition to traditional values, religion plays an important role in the type of family routines performed. The participants’ narratives stressed the role of the church as an institution that can help the family cope successfully with the process of educating their children, especially when they reach adolescence. This role of the religion for urban Southern Angolans is consistent with the perspective of Waite and Lehrer (2003) that attending church often has a positive effect on young urban African Americans.
The emphasis given by some couples to the family having at least one daily meal together and passing down this habit to subsequent generations is convergent with psychological and sociological literature (Bradley et al., 2014, 2015; Oyebade, 2007; Sheehan & Yong, 1999). Empirical studies (Bradley et al., 2014, 2015; Fiese et al., 2006; Sheehan & Yong, 1999) indicate that interactions at meals are vital for the construction and transmission of the family identity because they facilitate the family members’ closeness and unity. Thus, according to the participants’ narratives, family activities contribute to a better regulation of the children’s behaviors and thus reduce the likelihood of problematic behaviors (Crespo et al., 2008; Santos et al., 2015).
The couples also reported performing outdoor activities, which is consonant with what is reported in psychological studies on African American families (Churchill & Stoneman, 2004; Ferreti, 2011). The authors found that African American families reported engaging in outdoor activities with the children more frequently than engaging in bedtime routines and reading to children. The absence of bedtime or reading routines for children, in our study, may be related to the introduction of television, as watching television programs is a routine that brings family members together, regardless of the children’s age. While watching television, small children fall asleep on couches or their parents’ laps, thus replacing the African ancestral rituals of putting children to bed with storytelling (e.g., tribal stories, riddles), which has served to strengthen family ties and establish knowledge of the culture of ethnic groups (Kaylo, 2013).
Limitations
This study has made contributions to the literature on urban Southern Angolan families. However, it has several limitations. First, due to its qualitative nature, which results from reports based on the professional and personal experiences of the participants, the data obtained cannot be generalized for the entire regional population. Second, due to the sampling method (snowball sampling), the couples included in the sample had a higher educational level than the general population (Instituto Nacional de Estatística de Angola, 2016). Therefore, the results may not be reflective of the Lubango population. Third, it is difficult to identify and control the extent to which the couples are omitting reports about the performance of certain rituals (e.g., the efico), given that both the professionals’ statements and the anthropological and sociological literature on African studies (Altuna, 2006; Granjo, 2006; Igreja & Lambranca, 2009; Iliyasu et al., 2006; Malisha et al., 2008; Melo, 2005b; Rabiu et al., 2016; Rudwick & Posel, 2014) indicate that rituals seem to remain rooted in family traditions, despite the urbanity and educational level of some African families. The couples may have chosen to let their narrative be regulated by social desirability because certain rituals are considered “primitive” acts by urban society and they may have wanted to uphold their “status” with the researcher. The fact that the interviews were conducted with both members of the couple at the same time may have facilitated the recollection of the rituals and routines that are part of the family’s history and organization. Last, another limitation to the study is the absence of psychological questions regarding coping and the implications of maintaining these rituals.
Implications for Future Research and Practice
Despite these limitations, the study provides some support and insight for the model of family developmental trajectories in urban Southern Angola as posed by Simões and Alberto (2015), by identifying the rituals that professionals and couples referred to as markers of the transitions between stages of the life cycle that converged with this model. Overall, the sequence of events described by the participants was consistent with the developmental stages presented by Simões and Alberto (2015). However, we observed the influence of religious factors in the celebration of the rituals and in the variation of the succession of some stages, namely, those related to the marriage and the childbirth. With some couples reporting a family developmental sequence a little bit different from the one proposed by Simões and Alberto (2015), it will be an interesting topic to investigate in-depth in future studies.
This study also allowed recognition of the influence of cultural factors in the way families break down the stages of development and define the family tasks in each one (McGoldrick, Heiman, & Carter, 1993). Thus, the results of this study can serve as a reference for the work of family psychologists and therapists regarding family assessment and/or individual and family therapeutic interventions in the Angolan context, specifically in Southern Angola.
From the standpoint of psychotherapy, knowledge of the rituals and routines commonly performed by Angolans may serve as a resource during the intervention process, either as facilitators of transitions between stages of the family developmental trajectory or in the daily functioning of the family system. For example, the alambamento is performed to signal the creation of the conjugal subsystem; sometimes it precedes marriage or even replaces it. So the celebration of this ritual helps families to deal with crisis by validating a premarital pregnancy and facilitates the acceptance of the new couple (Simões & Alberto, 2015). The additional payment of “fines,” due to premarital pregnancy, ensures the protection of the couple and of the new family member (Granjo, 2006). At the level of the routines, for example, during family meals, besides understanding the family dynamics, it could also be a prescribed way to improve the communication within the family (e.g., use of games such as “20 questions” about a family memory; Fishel, 2016).
This study also opens a debate on the need to review and adapt some practices associated with the alambamento. Kamya (2005) suggests that this ritual is performed to protect the woman throughout her married life. However, it can be a source of tension and conflict between families when the amount of money and goods required by women’s extended family is perceived as excessive. Ansell (2001) calls it a “financial transaction” performed out of concern for the woman’s well-being, which according to Altuna (2006) is a distortion of the ritual’s essence. This negative use of the alambamento also seems to occur in other African countries (e.g., South Africa). In fact, some reports indicated that couples must delay the wedding date because of the difficulty of obtaining the goods needed to perform the ceremony (Ansell, 2001; Rudwick & Posel, 2014).
More research is needed in the psychological field that seeks to examine the functioning of urban Southern Angolan families, and its association with the perceived family stress, strengths, and the degree of family ritualization throughout the different stages of the family trajectories. It would also be pertinent to explore family rituals and routines in other family configurations (e.g., single-parent, polygamous families) and from other Angolan geographic areas. It would be interesting to include a larger number of family members in the interviews, as well as to collect data by direct observation of the participants’ everyday lives or other components of the family system (e.g., children, youth, or the third element as noted earlier). Furthermore, it is crucial in future studies to assess the consequences of not performing the bedtime and reading routines for children, on the individual development and family functioning (e.g., cohesion), considering the benefits they bring to the child’s development, in terms of academic skills, health, and general well-being (Crespo et al., 2013; Fiese et al., 2002; Santos et al., 2015; Spagnola & Fiese, 2007), insofar as they create opportunities for strengthening family ties (Campbell & Ponzetti, 2007; Crespo et al., 2013; Fiese et al., 2002; Hobson et al., 2018; Santos et al., 2015).
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Monica McGoldrick, MA, LCSW, PhD (Honorary), and Barbara Fiese, PhD, for their support and discussion of certain aspects of this research.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
