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Butovskaya M., Dronova D., Semenova O., Mabulla A. Respect and Care for Elders: Association with Personality Traits, Emotional Empathy and Cultural and Economic Types in Three Traditional Societies of Tanzania

M. Butovskaya
Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences; Russian State University for the Humanities
Moscow, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0002-5528-0519
E-mail: marina.butovskaya@gmail.com

 

D. Dronova
Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Moscow, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0002-2735-6248
E-mail: dariadronova@yandex.ru

 

O. Semenova
Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Moscow, Russia
ORCID: ORCID 0000-0002-0015-243X
E-mail o.semenova@iea.ras.ru

 

A. Mabulla
University of Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
ORCID: 0000-0001-9591-5497
E-mail: aumabu@gmail.com

 

 Download  |  Go to Issue #2. 2023

 

ABSTRACT. Respect for elders and supporting fellow tribesmen are the cornerstones of traditional African societies that consolidate social ties in the vertical and horizontal dimensions. Gerontocracy, the presence of age classes, and the primacy of an older man in an extended family create favorable conditions for attitudes of respect for the elders. During socialization, children learn to observe moral norms and cultural rules; however, this may vary depending on individual predispositions among representatives of the same culture. The study aims to assess the correlation between personality profiles, including a five-factor personality model and emotional empathy, and the attitude of respect for elders and support of fellow tribespeople among the representatives of three traditional African societies: Hadza, Maasai, and Haya. The studies were conducted in March and August 2022 in Tanzania. The differences in the types of farming and the peculiarities of the family way of life influenced the manifestation of the entire spectrum of personal qualities. Gender differences in personality traits and emotional empathy were not expressed in Hadza and Haya. In contrast, Maasai men were more extroverted than women and showed more pronounced respect for elders. The variability of assessments on personality traits in the studied groups determined the variability in the provision of assistance and empathy in relation to the elderly relatives and the selectivity in providing support to the members of their ethnic group.

 

KEYWORDS: Hadza, Haya, Maasai, empathy, personality traits, mutual assistance, attitude to older relatives, Tanzania

 

DOI 10.31250/2618 -8 6 0 0 -2023 -2 (20) -111-138
УДК 316.346

 

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