Answer to Question #200669 in Sociology for Coral

Question

To what extent do you support the view that the social structure of the traditional

Ghanaian society is a function of the people's world view?

Answer 1

Social structure of the traditional Ghanaian society

The existing environmental conservation measures in Ghana, according to this essay, do not take indigenous religious traditions into account. As a result, I contend that policymakers, modern environmentalists, and scholars must learn from a traditional religion and society that was able to live in harmony with rivers, animals, and forests while still using them sustainably. The statement that the traditional Ghanaian society's social structure is a function of the people's world view would be supported by the Akan culture.

The Akan people have a well-organized social and political framework. Smelser et al., (2018) defines this as stratification systems predicated on the preservation of hereditary status related to their political order, which anthropologists refer to as a ranking society, which is a feature of Hofstadter's power distance and masculinity dimensions. "The fundamental posts consist mostly of titles arrayed in a graded hierarchy from the king who reigns over the whole state, to divisional chiefs in charge of subordinate districts, to town chiefs at the bottom of the administrative ladder," he writes (p. 6). The head or village leader serves the people in each community as the leader.

He does, however, meet with a council made up of the leaders of the separate lineages who live in the village or community and are responsible for certain political and social issues. With the exception of the queen mother's status, the most of these positions are restricted for males. There are no universal succession laws for the roles of lineage leaders, save for the queen mother and the king/chief, which require wide acceptance from the community, (Salm et al., 2010).

The installation of heads requires public backing in society, notwithstanding the hereditary basis of the political post. After the assassination of the incumbent, only a member of the respective rank could occupy his stool, although other candidates had to contest for office and campaign among the "kingmakers" in the municipality and in the public. An unpopular leader might also be robbed (deposed).

This type of stratification is characterized by the fact that 26 statuses are restricted, but fairly numerous and ordered in a complicated horary based in part on location The Akan classification scheme. Agriculture and land ownership are the economic functions of the bloodline. The country is investing in the ancestors, but the abusua panin (family leader) serves the group as a trustee. Therefore, land cannot be sold or permanently alienated otherwise. The actual allocation of agricultural plots is delegated to lesser lines responsible for worldly and everyday issues, (Salm et al., 2010). The home managers are left to the individual tenure and farm management who are mostly males and frequently utilize the land with the help of wives and children.

However, this shows that certain indigenous information that impedes advancement gets replaced by new information, as has always been the case throughout human history. But here I should want to highlight the point. It's like an iceberg culture. We can only see the tip that normally consists of the items; the values, standards and assumptions underneath which have been cherished.

Works cited

Smelser, Neil J., and Seymour Martin Lipset, (2018).eds. Social structure and mobility in economic development. Transaction Publishers, 1966.

Salm R., Steven J., & Toyin F. (2010).Culture and customs of Ghana. Greenwood publishing group, 2002.