Old Age And Social Change An Anthropological Study Of The Lives Of The Elderly Among The Amhara Of Ensaro

Old people are important members of a given society. Nevertheless, the extent ofrnattention given to this group varies considerably. In Ethiopia, demographic reportsrnunanimously indicate that the conventional productive and reproductive age group rangesrnbetween 15-49 years. This implicitly shows that those aged over 50 are not consideredrnimportant.rnThis study was designed to explore the livelihoods of old people in rural area, anrnimportant and yet poorly studied group. The study was carried out among the Amhara ofrnEnsaro. The major objectives of the study were to describe the life of the elderly in therncontext of local social, cultural and economic frameworks. The study specificallyrnaddresses such questions as emic definitions of old age, dynamics of old people’s lifernstyles, gender related activities of old people and intra and inter generational ties betweenrnthe old people and the younger generation.rnData relevant to the stated objectives have been collected using a combination ofrntechniques. These include participatory observation, focus group discussions, in-depthrninterviews, sample survey, taking pictures, and recording daily routines and events.rnThese methods are designed to compliment each other. Forty informants were chosen purposefully from the total number of three hundred sixty three people aged fifty-five andrnabove.rnThe major findings of the study show that definitions of old age are based on biological,rnfunctional, psychological, and social attributes. However, functional attributes werernfound to be common markers of old age. As long as a person carries out his normalrnactivities he is not considered to be old. Based on a chronological definition, it wasrngathered that local people established the onset of old age and three categories of elders.rnAge 55 is regarded as the threshold of old age and age brackets 55-65, 65-75, and 76 andrnabove are considered young-old, middle-old and old-old respectively. The study exploresrnthe roles and statuses of old people under three Government administrations (HailernSelassie, Derg, and EPRDF). In the Haile Selassie (Monarchic) regime elders had a highrnstatus and role and commanded good respect. It can be argued that this is mainly becausernchildren were directly allocated land by their parents when they established households ofrntheir own which in turn strengthens filial piety and respect toward their parents. Eldersrnwere responsible to handle such social problems as blood feuds and other conflicts inrntheir community. During the Derg regime, however, land was nationalized andrnredistributed among members of the society. Most of the children who reached thernmarriageable age could be allocated land through leaders of peasant association. Thisrntrend had a negative impact with regard to respect and filial piety towards the aged.rnFurthermore, the emergence of various mass organizations eroded the role and status ofrnthe aged, most of the young became orators in public in the presence of elders, unlikernpreviously.rnUnder the present government (EPRDF) land was redistributed and those who werernlabeled as ‘feudal’ during the Derg regime suffered again during this regime and werernlabeled as kirit fudal (remnant-feudal) and those who were involved in the Dergrnbureaucracy within the peasant association were labeled as ‘bureaucrats’ and allottedrnonly four gemed (one hectare) irrespective of the size of their household. Most of thesernpeople (‘bureaucrats’) have already reached old age and were the subject of this study. Like other Amhara societies, Ensaro is a male dominated community. Despite this fact,rngender roles and activities are relaxed to some extent and sometimes reversed in old age.rnHousekeeping and looking after children by old people are some of the cases in point.rnIntra and inter generation ties are important strategies to adjust to different problems ofrnold age. Good relationships with spouses, children, and other kin group members arerntaken as vital mechanism to cope with problems. The support system between malernchildren and elderly parents is reciprocal where children are nurtured early in their lifernand latter benefit from their elderly parents property while elderly parents obtainrnimmediate care and attention from their male children.rnMost often social problems of the elderly are argued to be an urban phenomenon.rnHowever, this study clearly found that the problems are widespread in at least this area.rnIt was found that the poor elders are denied proper care and support from potentialrncaretakers mainly because this group do not have sufficient property to share. Thernmiddle-old and the old-old categories are vulnerable to socio-economic problems, mainlyrnthe later for they are not able to augment their income by participating in variousrnactivities. Abuse in old age such as neglect, exploitation, abandonment, and physicalrnattack are also prevalent among the old age group with relatively more effects on the poorrnelders. Elders follow various mechanisms to sustain their livelihoods. The poor youngoldrnparticipate in other activities such as daily labour, selling sugarcane and wild fruits,rnand some of them send out their male children to adjust the size of their households andrnalso to obtain income in the form of grain from the labour of their children. The middleoldrnand the old-old, mainly the later depend on caretakers, mainly children. They alsornattend church services and receive food alms around churchyards

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