Rural Culture & Settlement

• Rural culture, social values, and norms, including folkways and mores, are examined.

Rural Culture and Settlement Patterns

• Analysis of rural culture and the definition of a "rural area" are provided.
• Settlement patterns in rural communities are categorized into isolated/dispersed, nucleated, and colonial types.
• Culture involves learned behaviors and artifacts shared and transmitted among society members.
• Nigerian societies like the Ibo, Hausa, and Yoruba each possess unique languages, dressing codes, child socialization methods, marriage practices, dance, music, governance, etc.
• Cultural practices persist, even as urban areas see adoption of other ethnic groups' traits, such as English dressing and language.

Importance of Culture in Rural Areas

• Culture plays a critical role in the adoption of innovations.
• Cultural factors influence food consumption, greetings, addressing elders, eating habits, music, dance arrangement, dressing styles, and language/dialect.

Cultural Universals and Variability

• Cultural universals are to be discussed.
• Cultural variability is to be explored.
• Cultural lag is to be examined.

Rural Social Values in Nigeria

• Investigation into rural social values cherished by rural inhabitants in their interactions is conducted.
• Key values include respect for age, preservation of virginity, regard for traditional authorities, claiming township as home, complete dressing, honesty, and hard work.

Social Norms

• Social norms are standards of behavior expected within a society, with violations often leading to punishment.
• Norms include folkways and mores.
• Important social norms among the Yorubas involve dressing, eating habits, entertainment, burial practices, and marriage.
• Changes in social values and norms are addressed to understand shifts in values and norms.

Rural Social Institutions

• Discussions include family, school, religion, government, economy, and health.

The Family

• The family is defined as a kinship group linked by blood and marriage occupying a shared household.
• A household includes all persons occupying the same house, including relatives and lodgers, making it distinct from family.

Forms of Marriage

• Marriage involves the choice of mates, categorized as exogamy (marriage outside blood relations) and endogamy (marriage within a specified group).
• Marriage can also be classified by the number of persons involved: monogamy (one man, one woman) and polygamy (more than two people).
• Polygamy has three forms: polygamy, polyandry, and group marriage.