Within East Africa, males are aware of their role within society at a very young age. Although roles of a male vary based on tribes and practices within those given tribes, the silver lining is eerily identical. Most tribes within East Africa such as the Kikuyu, Kamba, Maasai, and Kalenjin catalyze the idea of male dominance ("East Africa Living Encyclopedia," n.d.). Therefore, within these tribes, this enigma starts from childhood where males are given a sense of entitlement to keep them within power and control. Although, this is deeply rooted from the idea that the male is the overall provider of his family and his actions and/or mannerisms determine the overall betterment of his impending generation. Evidently, the overall …show more content…
Elders are known as either the parents of a husband or a wife or those before that hold wisdom and will guide the new generation. Elders are divided into two categories being either the council of elders or a single elder. The council of elders consists of more than one person therefore, resembling a collegiate dispute system (Kariuki, 2015, p. 1). Equally, a single elder holds just as much precedence although, their decisions hold more relevance and finality opposed to the council. Typically, one consults and elder or elders if they feel as if the males reasoning for a situation and/or choice is quite off or if there’s conflict …show more content…
Prior to westernization, East African societies, if not all, lived quite communally and were categorized, and still are, by tribal, ethnic, and culturally influenced lines. Overall, being a part of a community (tribal group / tribal land) is essential, if you’re a man, and quite important due to the aura of being a part of something bigger than yourself. Also, a male being accepted within his tribal community often ensured that he had fully earned his sense of authoritative dominance (Kariuki, 2015, p. 2). Hence, if roles or expectations weren’t met, as a social consequence, the elders ruling would be instilled within your household until they deemed the male to be up to par to uphold his title. Elders in East Africa hold legitimacy due to their maturity and the sanctions of unspoken law to ensure that homeostasis remains within the tribe and the caste system. Thus, social theories such as the Social Capital Theory, thoroughly explain and depict the reason as to why elders can maintain social and socioeconomically influence with East