Dispelling the utopian notion of ‘family’ in South Africa, illuminating the lived reality of the African clan system raising children with Down syndrome

Abstract

The notion of 'family' as a Western construct describing the basic social system does not resonate with the African conceptualisation of the foundational social system found among African communities. The indiscriminate use of the word 'family' within the African context breeds conceptual confusion. This chapter utilises the lived experiences of African clans raising children with Down syndrome to illuminate the silenced but traceable contours of an indigenous social institution referred to as an African clan. A qualitative research approach was adopted and complemented by a phenomenological research design. Data were sourced through semi-structured clan interviews and focus group discussions with clan members raising children with Down syndrome and analysed using a thematic approach. The findings uncovered a clan system characterised by a clan name, totem, rendition of clan praises and an inherent clan-based approach to raising a child with Down syndrome. The main thrust of the arguments advanced by this chapter is that the African clan as a foundational social institution should form the cornerstone and vital unit of intervention for Afrocentric or decolonial social work. Thus, theories and techniques may be constructed in South Africa based on empirical research findings such as the one on which this chapter is based.