Models of old age among the Samia of Kenya: Family support of the elderly

Family support for the elderly is a growing concern in contemporary subsaharan Africa. Presented here are 3 case studies of elderly Samia, a Luyia subgroup in western Kenya, which illustrate different experiences of old age among rural Africans living under conditions of modernization and rapid socio-economic change. These mini-biographies demonstrate the continued salience of family support networks in the lives of elderly Samia. They are examples ("models of") more and less successful aging as variations on the Samia (and African) theme of familial interdependence. These personal experiences are compared with Samia ideologies ("models for") old age and are also examined in a theoretical framework combining ideas of the life course with exchange theory and the concept of lifetime intergenerational reciprocity (Caldwell 1982). Data come from two years' ethnographic research (1983-85), including participant observation, informal and focused interviews, collection of life history materials, and a survey of 416 older Samia women and men using a questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions which was designed during the research and administered by Samia assistants.