area, but in the end, the king’s authority was
curbed by the will of the majority. In a way,
the Pedi represent one of the most nonviolent
philosophies in Africa. They have learned to
accept their condition as part of their inheri-
tance. Few strive to achieve superiority over their
neighbors or to desire the land or wealth of their
neighbors. However, in past times, the Pedi have
been known to capture women and children and
bring them to Pedi territory. These days are long
gone, and the Pedi people have established them-
selves as one of the great peoples of southern
Africa. In fact, they believe in their own deities
and ancestors and have built much of their ethi-
cal life around their faith.
The Pedi moral and ethical system is based on
devotion to ancestors. They have always believed
that the presence of the ancestors is necessary for
a society to prosper in terms of children, fertility,
and harmony. Consequently, a part of the initia-
tion process of young men and women is dedi-
cated to teaching them the traditions, customs,
and behaviors of Pedi people. It is required that
every boy and girl go through initiation training.
It becomes impossible to have a celebration of ini-
tiation without the proper training. Among the
things that children learn is that violation of the
traditional behaviors means that the person
should be banished from the community. Taking a
person from the village is a way to demonstrate
that the people in the village do not want to be
associated with a person who will bring harm to
them. The ancestors cannot be pleased when they
see that the traditions have been violated and that
the proper rituals have not been performed.
Marriage among the Pedi is arranged. The
elders are responsible for choosing a partner for
young people. Once someone is identified for a
person, the family members go and arrange for a
meeting of the two people. Family members are
introduced, and they discuss the amount of cat-
tle to be paid to the girl’s family for the opportu-
nity to marry her. If a man marries a woman and
then dies, his unmarried younger brother would
marry the widow to support the children and the
woman. During a marriage, when the wife is
ready to deliver a child, she will go to her
parents’ house. After the baby is born, she will
return to her husband, who will usually build her
a new homestead.
All marriages and births are accompanied with
joy and merriment. The Pedi believe that the
ancestors share in the beauty of the expansion of
the community. Villagers will usually bring food
and drink to the party for the new mother and
child.
The Pedi believe that a person who dies should
be buried within 7 days. This allows the family
time to inform everyone, and it also allows the rel-
atives who live afar to return home for the going-
away celebration. The day prior to the burial of
the deceased, they cover the corpse with cows’
skins. Everyone who wants to see the corpse can
see it for thego tlhoboga, the last time, because on
the next day they bury the body.Molefi Kete AsanteSeealsoAncestors; MarriageFurther Readings
Afolayan, F. (2004).Culture and Customs of South
Africa. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Asante, M. K. (2007).The History of Africa. London:
Routledge.
Mazama, A. (Ed.). (2007).Africa in the 21st Century.
New York: Routledge.PERSONHOOD
Personhood in the African religious system
begins with the question, “Who is a human?” In
effect, personhood is the quality of acquiring the
status of being human. One example of this
African notion of personhood is seen in the case
of the Akan people. Those who have little con-
ception of the role that humans play in the social
reality may have distorted the entire issue of the
Akan’s relationship to the community or the
African connection to the collective group. There
are those who maintain that the African view,
including that of the Akan, makes being primary.
In fact, the notion that ontological primacy
trumps community primacy is anathema to most
of these thinkers. Actually what this means is
that the reality of the person is secondary and
derivative and the community is basic, original,Personhood 521