adolescence in swaziland - zoller

8/14/2019 Adolescence in Swaziland - Zoller

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Title: "You learn and learn and learn.... and then you are an adult": parentalperceptions of adolescence in contemporary Swaziland.

Date: 6/22/2003; Publication: Adolescence; Author: Booth, Margaret ZollerThe developmental period of adolescence is explored in Swaziland from a

multidisciplinary perspective. The study compares early anthropological research

with contemporary interviews of Swazi parents. While the Swazi language, siSwati,

does not have a term for "adolescent," there is evidence of a definite developmental

period which could be defined as adolescence. Parents view this period as being

qualitatively different from childhood and adulthood, but they also have gender-

related interpretations of its nature and length. While biological maturation

(especially menarche for females) is viewed as a vital step in becoming an adult,

behaviors must be learned during this time (i.e., "adolescence") before one is

completely of adult status.

The universality of adolescence, as a developmental period apart from childhood

and adulthood, has been investigated, debated, and romanticized in the literature

both historically and cross-culturally. This paper examines Swaziland, a small

country in Southern Africa, as a case study in order to explore whether or not the

Swazi people conceptualize this phase of life as a separate developmental period. It

also analyzes common parental perceptions of the adolescent years, and what

constitutes the difference between childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Finally, it

qualitatively examines the behaviors which parents associate with becoming adults.

Historical Overview

Psychologists and anthropologists have gone from ignoring to being obsessed with

the concept of adolescence. Western cultures were heavily influenced by the writings

of G. Stanley Hall and his early 20th century recapitulation thesis of adolescence.

Hall's preoccupation with this developmental period was based on his conception of

it as being the "revealer of the past of the race" and "the only point of departure for

the superanthropoid that man is to become" (Hall, 1911, p. 94). In other words, Hall

looked upon adolescents as resembling early humans in terms of being devoid of


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highly developed cognition and moral maturity. This attitude influenced Western

(primarily North American) 20th century views which interpreted adolescence as a

universal, predetermined period of turmoil and disruption ("storm and stress").

Hall's writings set social scientists from every discipline to work exploring the stage

of adolescence with the hopes of either confirming or rejecting his negative,

evolutionary perspective. Margaret Mead (1928) explored this topic in Coming of Age

in Samoa, where she contradicted Hall's assertion that adolescence was necessarily

a time of stress and turmoil. She stated that adolescents in Samoa were gently led

through this developmental period, emphasizing the importance of traditional

institutions which provided young men and women a calm rite of passage.

Consequently, Mead interpreted this period as being shaped by the environment.

While she did not disagree that adolescence could possibly be universally present,

she did not believe that Hall's characterization of it as a time of biologically

predetermined turmoil was applicable to all societies, but rather as being relative to

the cultural context.

Over the past generation, Mead's theories regarding Samoan adolescence have

come under intense scrutiny. Derek Freeman (1983) has argued that Mead's

interpretation of adolescent behavior as being culturally influenced is not only wrong,

but represents flawed scholarship. However, others have noted that (among other

problems) Freeman does not take into account the historical nature of the research.

Mead's research in the 1920s took place with a culture that has changed throughout

the 20th century, especially as a result of post-World War II Western influence (Cote,

2000; Shankman, 2000). Consequently, when analyzing the cultural context of a

developmental period like adolescence, historical context is also an essentialvariable.

Taking the relativist view even further, some have described adolescence as a stage

that is not universal. This perspective analyzes adolescence as purely a social

construct; not present in every society, it is instead largely an invention of Western,

industrialized nations (Bakan, 2001; Sebald, 1992). Sebald contends that

"adolescence is an invention of modern civilization. It lacks the universality and

naturalness that are innate to such statuses as childhood and adulthood" (p. 1).


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Furthermore, Sebald's terminology parallels that of a disease, as he claims that the

"societies affected" are almost always urban and industrial. He points to Western

nations as being the source of "this modern occurrence" and suggests scrutinizing

the conditions within these societies which may help to answer the question: "Whyadolescence in our time?" (p. 1).

Bakan (2001) attempts to answer Sebald's question regarding adolescence "in our

time" by arguing that "the invention or discovery of adolescence in America was

largely in response to the social changes that accompanied America's development

in the latter half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth century" (p. 5).

Furthermore, "the principal reason was to prolong the years of childhood .... in order

to fulfill the aims of the new urban-industrial society which developed so rapidly

following the Civil War" (p. 5). This interpretation has also been popularized by Hine

(1999) in The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager, which argues that the

"teenager was an invention of the Machine Age" (p. 4). Nevertheless, one must ask if

the nature of adolescence is being characterized as synonymous with the social

phenomenon in the U.S. Bakan's assertion that adolescence is an invention may be

appropriate only when characterizing the contemporary American adolescent. Social

scientists who identify adolescence as a contemporary phenomenon argue that

preindustrialized societies do not recognize this time period as necessary for youth

to learn adult roles, since they have already learned these gender-specific roles

throughout childhood (Segall et al., 1999).

These theories, however, have created a simplistic dichotomy between industrialized

and preindustrialized societies. They assume that the adolescent period is absent in

less industrialized peoples because cultural expectations, elaborate ceremonies(rites of passage), and other traditional institutions ensure a quick transition from

childhood to adulthood (Segall et al., 1999).

Other research examines the presence or absence of the word "adolescent" in a

language, which leads to hypotheses regarding the presence of such a stage. For

instance, Japanese is an example of a language which does not have such a term

(White, 1987). Researchers have noted the difficulty of discussing this

developmental period with Japanese teachers and parents because of the need to


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first define and describe adolescence as interpreted in the United States. Letendre

(2000) has found that "most Japanese teachers had no clear idea what adolescence

was and that many failed to recognize the English loanword adoresensu" (p. 1).

Nonetheless, the question becomes whether there is the absence of thisdevelopmental period simply because there is no direct translatable word for

adolescent.

Schlegel and Barry (1991) have conducted a comprehensive examination of

information available on 173 societies for boys and 175 societies for girls, concluding

that all of these societies (except perhaps one for girls) included periods which we

could call adolescence. However, many aspects of adolescence vary from culture to

culture, including parental perceptions of this period, its length, one's position in

society, and purpose in regard to social learning and preparation for adulthood.

Generally, they concluded that differences occur "according to subsistence needs

and constraints, property ownership or its absence, the structure of the family and

the community, and anticipations of adult life" (p. 200). Consequently, if Schlegel and

Barry are correct, the Swazi people traditionally have had and will today recognize a

form of adolescence.

Traditional Swazi Society

Traditionally the Swazi people do not refer to any particular age group as

adolescents. Furthermore, there is no direct siSwati term for adolescent, while there

are direct translations of the words child umntfwana) and adult (lokhulile). However,

the absence of terminology does not necessarily mean an absence of that concept.

Both Kuper (1947; based on research conducted from 1935 to 1937) and Marwick

(1966; based on research conducted from 1936 to 1939), anthropologists who

studied Swazi culture, stressed the importance of the "age-class" (libutfo) system--

which could be viewed as having developmental stage components--among the

Swazi nation. First, the Swazi believe strongly in respect for age. Kuper referred to

the often repeated dictum "respect and obey your elders" as a central element in the

process of socializing the young. Second, the Swazi nation as a military unit has

influenced its social composition and customs. The class hierarchy ranges from king


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(iNgwenyama) and queen mother (iNdlovukazi) down to commoners (Kuper, 1974;

Marwick, 1966; Booth, 1983).

Traditionally the siSwati language has reflected Swazi beliefs regarding the

importance of age. Thus, while there is no general term for adolescent, the language

does differentiate between younger and older boys and girls. Furthermore, the

terminology not only reflects their approximate age, but more importantly, their role in

society. As shown in Table 1, the terminology is the same for both boys and girls

until the third stage, when their ears are ritually cut and they begin to learn their

gender-related duties. According to Marwick, the fourth stage for both males and

females begins when they start to "show signs of adolescence," thus |inking this

stage to pubertal development (Marwick, 1966, p. 69). From this point on, the stages

are more differentiated, especially for females (see Table 1).

The various stages reflect the military and hunting responsibilities of men and the

reproductive role of women. Early anthropological reports by both Kuper and

Marwick, supplemented by more recent research by Russell (1993) and McLean

(1995), have revealed a society which places greater importance on childbearing

and continuance of the patrilineal line than on premarital virginity. The activities of

the later teenage years for both males (lijaha) and females (lichikiza) emphasize the

importance of learning lovemaking and preparing for the later adult roles of husband

and wife (see Table 1). While it is preferable for children to be born after marriage,

children born as a result of these unions are easily incorporated into society.

According to Russell, "the very smoothness with which the birth of children to the

unmarried is accomplished in Swaziland suggests that the phenomenon is much

older, and normal rather than pathological in Swazi society" (p. 46). Furthermore,she states that there are "well-understood rules for allocating responsibility for

children outside marriage, within the existing homestead structure" (p. 47).

According to Marwick, the male stage of lijaha and female stage of lichikiza are

designed purposefully to prepare these young Swazi for the later stage of"complete

manhood and womanhood--marriage." But at this time, Marwick states, "they have

now passed out of childhood into manhood and womanhood, and their horizon is

extended from that of the household to the wider one of tribal life" (p. 70).


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Traditionally, at this time they also go through rites of passage symbolizing their

maturity and preparation for adulthood. Kuper (1947) referred to the umcwasho

ceremony as a means to honor young virgins and "is spoken of as sika sabantfwana

(a custom of children) or kubakhulisa (to make them grow up)" (p. 131). Thisceremony (which ends in a ritual dance, singing, and feasting) emphasizes the

desire for young maidens to be virgins, but with the understanding that as they "grow

up" this will change.

Similarly, the males go through the iNcwala or "first fruits ceremony." This is

designed to honor the Swazi king and additionally symbolizes the maturing of these

boys into men. According to Matsebula (1988), this ceremony also celebrates the

beginning of love relationships which these young men will have, but emphasizes the

importance of acquiring a lover who has not yet conceived a child, with virginity

being of secondary importance. According to Armstrong and Nhlapo (1985),

regulations regarding parentage are particularly important as a result of inheritance

laws. Thus, virginity is significant to the extent that one's paternity is certain and thus

the child's inheritance is not in dispute. If a woman should conceive a child before

marriage and her husband is not the biological father, the biological father can claim

the child whenever he is prepared to pay the requisite fine.

Consequently, the activities and ceremonies which traditionally have taken place

during the periods of lijaha and lichikiza are a celebration of those aspects of Swazi

society which are most important--reproduction, extension of the family, and

continuance of the clan lineage. It must be noted that this period of preparation for

adulthood extends much longer for males than females. The additional Swazi stages

for women (ingcugce and makoti) underscore the extreme importance placed onmarriage and childbearing for Swazi women. A Swazi woman enters new stages

when she is ready for marriage, marries, and becomes a mother. Thus, reproduction

and motherhood become the primary roles for women.

Based on the anthropological literature, we can say that traditional Swazi society

includes a period which we can define as adolescence if we employ Schlegel's

(1998) biosocial conceptualization. She states that the biosocial definition of

adolescence "derives from the observation that the human life cycle includes a


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period between childhood and adulthood during which its participants behave and

are treated differently than either their seniors or their juniors" (p. 11). Her argument

is that it is a stage whose primary purpose is to prepare individuals for their

reproductive roles in society. While this seems applicable to traditional Swazisociety, it is important to understand contemporary perceptions of this age group in

Swaziland in order to comprehend societal expectations for these young people.

Contrary to Kuper's and Marwick's earlier studies, expectations for young people

have changed as a result of Westernization and industrialization. There have been

major modifications among this age group in terms of attitudes regarding sexual

practices, due to the missionary influence and Western schooling (Booth, 2000). In

1997, 55 percent of males and 54 percent of females of high school age were

enrolled in secondary school (UNICEF, 2001). While this represents just over half,

the majority of children hope to attend secondary school, as it has become a

prerequisite for gainful employment (Booth, 1983). Furthermore, the umcwasho and

iNcwala ceremonies are voluntary and have seen a decrease in participation in

recent years. Young, educated women in particular have begun to view the ritual

"reed dance" as being backward, insofar as it emphasizes their traditional

procreative and domestic roles (Booth, 1983).

Based on these recent societal changes, it may be that a more Western approach,

incorporating training in social and professional skills which have not necessarily

been part of the lijaha and lichikiza stages, is being taken. Consequently, in order to

understand contemporary expectations for this age group, it is necessary to

investigate present-day interpretations of "adolescence" in Swaziland, to the extent

that such a concept exists.

METHOD

Student Sample

Interviews were conducted in 1998 with the parents of Swazi students who had been

participating in a longitudinal study conducted in Swaziland from 1990 to 1998

(Booth, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000). The original sample consisted of 80 Grade 1students (45 females and 35 males), between the ages of 5 and 8 years (M = 6.5),


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from six rural schools distributed throughout Swaziland. The study followed the

school progress and academic achievement of those students for nine years. All

schools were visited by the researcher and a Swazi research assistant in 1990,

1994, and 1998. As a result of the high drop-out rate from school and severaldeaths, only 54 of the students (26 males and 28 females) remained in the school

system in 1994.

In the final year of the study, the students, if they had continued through school on

the proper trajectory, should have been in Form II (the second year of secondary

school). In 1998, information gained from school records, interviews with students, or

discussions with relatives and friends indicated that 42 students remained in the

school system. Of these 42 students, 21 were males, constituting 60% of the original

sample of boys, and 21 were females, or 47% of the original sample of girls.

Information collected during 1998 revealed that only 11 (5 males, 6 females) of the

original 80 students (14%) managed to continue through the school system at the

proper rate and were located in Form II. Another 17 students (7 males, 10 females)

were found in Form I; 5 students (1 male, 4 females) were in Grade 7; 7 students (6

males, 1 female) were in Grade 6; and 2 male students were in Grade 5. The

students who remained in the sample in 1998 ranged in age from 13 to 16 years (M

= 14.6, SD = .80).

Interviews

During each of the three principal phases of the study, the student, his/her teacher,

and a parent or guardian were interviewed. The present study explores the parent

interviews which took place in the home in 1998. Interviews were conducted in the

language in which the parent(s) felt most comfortable, this being siSwati for the

majority of these rural parents, whose average level of education was 4.8 years. A

Swazi research assistant (a female undergraduate student from the University of

Swaziland) conducted the interviews using a set list of questions. The primary

researcher's comprehension of siSwati allowed her to follow the interviews, ask

additional questions, and take notes which were later compared with the research

assistant's records to check for accuracy.


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The 1998 homestead interviews were comprehensive in their discussion of

developments during the years since the researcher's last visit. While much

information was gained regarding the family, homestead, and student, that part of

the interview pertaining to the "adolescent status" of the student is the focus here.While some descriptive statistics were analyzed, the qualitative information gleaned

from the interviews was most vital. This is the case in part because of the dwindling

size of the sample. Of the 42 students remaining in 1998, only 29 of their parents (17

for male students and 12 for female students) were available for interviews (parents

were often away or only a nonrelative guardian was available). The extended Swazi

family leaves open the definition of who may constitute a make (mother) or babe

(father). For this study, the definition of "parents" included stepparents, as Swazilandis a polygynous society and there may be many stepmothers in the home.

RESULTS

Parental Perceptions Regarding Childhood, Adolescence and Adulthood

As noted in the description of traditional Swazi beliefs regarding development, the

siSwati language includes various terms for males and females (see Table 1).

However, in contemporary society, one rarely hears these terms used when referring

to a particular individual. Generally, one is referred to as either a child (umntfwana)

or an adult (lokhulile). For children in particular, parents and teachers will utilize

umfana for a boy and intfombatana for a girl. While umfundzi means "student,"

teachers will often utilize this term and umntfwana (child) interchangeably. During the

first two phases of this longitudinal study (1990 and 1994), the participants were

undeniably children, with average ages of approximately 6 and 10 years,

respectively. Parents and teachers consistently referred to the students as children.

As formal education has become increasingly important to Swazi society, more

students have remained in school longer than was the case during the colonial

period (1903-1968). Consequently, the question becomes whether Western

influences have modified traditional perceptions of childhood and adulthood. A

second question is whether Swazi parents consider there to be a stage which we


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might refer to as adolescence. The following are the results of the discussions which

took place with parents.

First, parents were asked about their offspring, "When you think of [name of student],

do you think of him/her as still a child or do you think of him/her as an adult?" Of the

29 parents interviewed, 21 (72%) believed that the student was still a child, while

only 8 (28%) now viewed him/her as an adult. There was no correlation between the

actual age of the student and parental perspective on child/adult status. This is not

surprising insofar as the Swazi traditionally have not held the actual age of a person

to be vitally important. Evidence of this was revealed during the first year of the

longitudinal research (1990), when it was necessary to verify the age of the Grade i

students entering the study. The students themselves were often uncertain as to

their exact age, and during homestead visits parents often needed to retrieve their

child's birth certificate (Booth, 1991, 1995).

On the other hand, a strong correlation was found between parental view of their

female offspring, but not male offspring, as adults (r = .58, p < .01). Interestingly, 16

of the 21 labeled "children" were males and only 5 were females, while 7 of the 8

labeled "adults" were females. In terms of percentages for each gender, 58% of the

females, but only 6% of the males, were looked upon by their parents as now being

adults. Even with such a small sample size, chi-square analysis revealed this

difference in parental perceptions of males and females to be statistically significant,

[chi square](1, N = 29) = 9.68, p < .01.

Most important for this type of study, parents were then asked to give reasons for

their answers. The types of justifications for their classifications revealed a great deal

regarding parental perceptions. The largest percentage (46%) cited the individual's

behavior; 21% attributed their offspring's stage to physical change; 18% of the

responses had to do with "listening to parents" and being respectful of them; 11%

related their child/adult classification to "work patterns"; and only 4% cited actual

age. Examples of reasons given by parents for categorizing their offspring as

children or adults are presented in Table 2.


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Following the discussion of the child/adult status of their offspring, the primary

researcher defined the English term "adolescent" for the Swazi parents as a word

commonly used in the United States to describe individuals of the age group of your

child because we think it is a separate time period when one is no longer a child butnot really yet an adult; they are still learning to be an adult. Parents were then asked

if they agreed with this concept. If they did agree, they were then asked if they would

now think of classifying their offspring as an adolescent or keep their original

classification (child or adult). Interestingly, only 3 of the 29 parents did not agree with

the concept of adolescence (see Table 3). Those who did not argued that an

individual is a child and then an adult. Of the 26 parents agreeing with the concept of

adolescence, 18 wanted to label their offspring as an adolescent, while the other 8kept their original label (7 of those 8 had originally classified their offspring as a

child). Notably, 7 of the 8 parents who originally classified their offspring as an adult

changed their label to adolescent, and these 7 were all speaking of daughters.

Gender Differences

After the discussion concerning their particular offspring, the parents and researcher

had a general conversation regarding adulthood. Parental interviews always included

a woman (mother, stepmother, and/or grandmother); however, only 6 conversations

included a father or grandfather. Parents were asked, "What important

characteristics are needed for a person to be considered an adult; specifically, what

constitutes a 'man' or a 'woman'?" They were also asked to think back to when they

were younger and try to define when they thought they had actually became an adult

and why. While these conversations helped to explain the gender differences in the

labeling of their children, they also helped to clarify traditional Swazi beliefsregarding life-span development.

In 13 of the 29 conversations (45%), parents indicated physical development to be

an important part of the transition to adulthood. Of these 13 parents, 7 (24% of the

total) indicated that it was the only measure of becoming an adult. By and large,

when any of the parents (male or female) discussed physical development, they

referred to the importance of menstruation for females. Once a female begins to

menstruate, they indicated, she is an adult. However, only 4 individuals mentioned


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physical development as being vitally important for males. In this case, it was a more

holistic description; males were adults when they had reached their maximum height,

were strong, had a deep voice, and even had "body odor."

Physical maturation (specifically sexual development) was also important for female

parents when discussing their own entrance into adulthood. While 10 specifically

mentioned beginning menstruation as their entrance into adulthood, another 6

indicated that adulthood began when they "became pregnant" or "took on a lover."

Thus, a total of 16 (55%) of the women associated their own adulthood with

reproductive capabilities. Of the men, one said he became an adult when he first

realized that he felt like he "needed a woman." All of the other men stated that their

own adulthood was related to their ability to take on responsibilities and live

independently.

The emphasis on female sexual maturation (menarche) prompted the researcher to

ask, at the end of the final few interviews, whether a male (boy) could, similar to a

female, be considered an adult if he were physically capable of fathering a child.

Invariably, this question produced laughter, followed by the response, "of course

not."

Parents were then asked to confirm that if a female in secondary school became

pregnant, she would now be considered an adult, but conversely if a male secondary

school student fathered her child, he would not be considered an adult. Again, the

response was invariably "of course not," with the rationale being that the male

secondary school student would not be capable of supporting that child. Unless he

left school in order to find a job and create a homestead independent of his family,

he would not yet be considered an adult. Furthermore, parents were reluctant even

to discuss this sort of situation because they stated that it rarely occurs. They

insisted that high school girls who get pregnant generally do so as a result of

relationships with older men, including teachers. However, it should be noted that the

Swazi research assistant, a university student, found herself unable to remain quiet

regarding this issue. After leaving the interviews, she indicated that "parents today

do not know what is going on." She said that unlike the time when these parents

were young, more boys and girls attend secondary school today, and therefore these


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relationships happen. She noted that when they do happen, the girl is expelled from

school and sent home to have her baby, while the boy is not forced to take any

responsibility.

There is evidence supporting the research assistant's opinions regarding sexual

relations. McLean (1995) reported that, in a sample of 202 Swazi high school

students, 57.5% of the males and 68.4% of the females indicated they began having

sexual intercourse at or before age 16. Furthermore, two recent pronouncements by

the king of Swaziland reveal the extremely patriarchal attitude still prevailing

regarding youthful sexual relations. King Mswati III announced an order forbidding

high school girls from wearing miniskirts, blaming the skirts for enticing men and high

school boys into raping them (LeRoux, 2001; Cauvin, 2001). This, together with the

recent ban on sexual activity among young females for five years, constitutes part of

the king's plan for slowing the spread of HIV, which presently has spread to

approximately 25% of the adults in Swaziland (Cauvin, 2001). According to Sizakele

Shongwe of the Fundza Centre (an AIDS education organization), "Men won't take

responsibility for their bodies, so they're trying to control ours" (Le Roux, 2001).

However, whether the king bans it or not, according to administrators at St. Mark's

High School in the capital, "students are having sex, and the ones who want to will

not be dissuaded" (Cauvin, 2001). Consequently, parents' notions that high school

girls, but not high school boys, are sexually active no longer apply.

The Importance of Behavior

While many parents described girls' entry into adulthood as sudden, largely as a

result of physical maturation (menarche), most also recognized the importance of

behavioral and attitudinal changes which take place during this period. Furthermore,

parents suggested that these changes do not happen overnight; rather, it takes time

for youths to learn, practice, and demonstrate competent adult behavior. Regarding

characteristics necessary to become an adult, 21 (72%) stated at some point in the

discussion that emotional maturity, responsibility, independence, and the ability to

complete work without assistance were necessary. While 7 also mentioned physical

maturity, they emphasized that behavioral characteristics were vital for adult status.

Responses relating to behavior and attitude included the following: "when someone


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is able to take care of himself/herself better"; "when you are responsible and are able

to differentiate between what is right and wrong"; "the way a person acts--if they are

able to keep their room or place tidy"; "the way people start doing things--if they can

do work without telling them"; "a person will just do what they are supposed to dowithout being told"; "you are able to speak your mind and offer opinions."

One mother's response may reveal the essence of the Swazi concept of

development during this period of life. She stated, "Only the first stage of becoming

an adult is menstruation. Then you learn and learn and learn. And by the time you

are 30, you know how to differentiate between what is right and wrong and then you

are an adult." This seems to summarize many of the parental responses. This

mother, along with many of the other Swazi parents, recognized that biological

maturation is an important step in the process of becoming an adult, but it is only one

step. Cognitive maturity and going through the process of learning adult behaviors

are also necessary. Thus, in the eyes of these Swazi parents, there is a distinct

period of time between childhood and adulthood during which one learns to be an

adult. As Swaziland remains a highly patriarchal, patrilineal society, adult roles

remain gender-determined, emphasizing motherhood and domesticity for women

and being the breadwinner of the family for men.

DISCUSSION

We have several paradoxes in regard to adolescence in Swaziland. First, while

parents seem to agree with the concept of adolescence as a developmental period,

many of them, especially women, define adulthood as beginning with physical

changes such as menarche. Yet traditionally in the West, the early stages of

adolescence have been thought to involve the physical maturational changes

associated with puberty. Further, while for many Swazi women menstruation, with its

reproductive significance, symbolizes the beginning of adulthood, the men tend to

view adulthood as a stage in life which begins later, associating it with family

responsibilities and financial independence.

These paradoxes regarding the existence of adolescence and the initiation into

adulthood can be explained, in part, by returning to the traditional stages of growth


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within Swazi culture. Where a male experiences a single stage (lijaha) between the

ages of 17 and 27, which we could call his "adolescence," a woman goes through

three distinct stages during similar years, each one taking her to a higher level of

"womanhood." The physical changes which happen for a female (generally twoyears earlier than for a male) propel her into a new developmental period. While

mothers remembered this as the "beginning of [their] adulthood," they indicated that

behavioral changes are also important. Thus we can conclude that puberty may

change a girl into a woman physically, but extra stages (ingcugce and makoti) are

required to help her make the behavioral and attitudinal changes needed to be a full

adult.

For males, physical changes are not equated with adulthood, and therefore they are

not forced to think of themselves in adult-like ways until they are independent and

responsible for themselves and their own families. This contemporary thinking also

mirrors the traditional view that males enjoy a much longer period of "seeking lovers"

and learning their adult roles. That males learn how to be adults during one long

developmental stage (lijaha), in relation to the female three-stage process, indicates

an acceptance of an extended period of time during which they are permitted to

continue to behave in somewhat "adolescent" ways.

In conclusion, while the term "adolescent" is not traditionally used in Swaziland to

refer to young people, it is apparent that the Swazi people do have, and have always

had, a developmental stage which, as Schlegel (1998) defines it, "includes a period

between childhood and adulthood during which its participants behave and are

treated differently than either their seniors or their juniors" (p. 11). In other words,

they have a period of adolescence. Furthermore, in line with Schlegel's biosocialtheory, this middle developmental period in Swaziland traditionally has had as its

primary focus the preparation for one's reproductive role in society. It is also the case

that Western institutions, in particular Western schooling, have greatly influenced the

social structure, gender roles, and need for higher education within Swaziland, in

turn influencing perceptions of this middle developmental period. While preparing for

motherhood and fatherhood is still important, the Swazi youth of today is becoming

more similar to the American adolescent in his/her exploration of, and preparationfor, a professional career, and response to other social expectations which were not


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present a century ago. Consequently, in order to become an adult, today's Swazi

adolescent undeniably does have to, as one mother indicated, "learn and learn and

learn."

Table 1

Traditional Stages of Growth for Swazi Males

and Females (Adapted from Kuper, 1947)

Stages of Growth for Males

Age Swazi Activities/

(approx.) Name Ritual

3 months Luswane Kept in hut.

3rd year Umntfwana Taught to walk

or ingane and talk.

Weaned.

Until 8 Umfana Plays. Herds

goats. Ears

cut.

8-17 Lijele Herds cattle.

17-27 Lijaha or Seeks lovers.

libungu Fighter/hunter.

27-60 Indvodza Married man.

On councils/

has manyresponsibilities.

Over 60 Lichegu or Grandfather.

umhlaba Works less.

Stages of Growth for Females

Age Swazi Activities/

(approx.) Name Ritual

3 months Luswane Kept in hut.

3rd year Umntfwana Taught to walkor ingane and talk.

Weaned.

Until 8 Sidzanzane Plays. Helps

mother. Ears

cut.

8-15 Litshitshane Helps in home

and field.

15-17 Lichikiza Has a lover.

Knows a

woman's job.


17/21

17-21 Ingcugce Ready for

marriage.

21-24 Makoti or Wife in

umlobokati husband's

home.

24-55 Umfati Wife and

mother.

55-65 Isalukati Grandmother.

Works less.

Over 65 Umhlaba or No work.

lidloti Treated with

respect.

Table 2

Examples of Reasons Given by Parents for Categorizing Their

Offspring as a Child or an Adult

Gender/Category Category and Representative Quotes

Individual's Behavior

Male/child He's still a child; even though he is in Form II,

he still acts like a child.

Male/child He still always sleeps here at home, and I never

see him smoking.

He also still respects the gogo (grandmother) like

someone should if still a child.

Male/child He does everything like a child. He still likes to

play like a child.

Male/child He still likes playing like a child and if he does

wrong, I can still beat him.

Female/child By the way she does things, I can tell she is

still a child.

Female/child She still acts like a child.

Male/adult He acts like an adult. He doesn't play with young

children any more; he beats them instead.

Physical Changes Apparent

Female/adult She has started menstruation. She is able to be a

mother, so she is an adult.

Female/adult Her physical changes have made her an adult. She

just looks like an adult.

Female/adult She has started menstruation. She is in high

school, and in high school you are an adult

because you can physically have children.

Listening to Parents


18/21

Male/child He still listens to me when I send him somewhere.

He still obeys me.

Female/child She does whatever you tell her to do.

Work Pattern

Female/adult She is now able to work very hard at home. She canpull a wheelbarrow and she can collect a lot of

wood.

Female/adult She is able to do all the adult jobs now -- all

the adult chores.

Age in Years

Male/child He is still under 18 years old, so he's still a

child. If he were 18, he could get a job and help

support the family. Then he would be an

adult.

Table 3

Parents' Attitudes Regarding the Concept of Adolescence

Agreed with

Agreed with Concept and

Original Labeling Concept but Did Changed Label

of Offspring Not Change Label to Adolescent

Child n 7 11

% of child category 33.3% 52.4%

% of total 24.1% 37.9%

Adult n 1 7

% of adult category 12.5% 87.5%

% of total 3.4% 24.1%

Total n 8 18

% of total 27.6% 62.1%

Original Labeling Did Not Agree

of Offspring with Concept Total

Child n 3 21

% of child category 14.3% 100%

% of total 10.3% 72.4%

Adult n 0 8

% of adult category 0% 100%

% of total 0% 27.6%

Total n 3 29

% of total 10.3% 100%

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This study was supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation. The author is

grateful to Nomthandazo Shongwe for her assistance with homestead interviews in

Swaziland.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Margaret Zoller Booth, Educational

Foundations and Inquiry Program, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green,

Ohio 43403. E-mail: [email protected]

COPYRIGHT 2003 Libra Publishers, Inc.

This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group,

Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the

Gale Group.

This document provided by HighBeam Research at http://www.highbeam.com

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