Abstract

Current studies show that indigenous African cultural traits are influenced by emerging sociocultural determinants that reshape the attitudes and behaviour of the natives, evolving with time into a new cultural paradigm that includes changes in the natives’ life and consequential adaptation of their patterns of thinking, feeling, and actions. This study aims at analysing the effects of sociocultural determinants on cultural dimensions. An ethnographic research design was conducted with two indigenous communities—Mbita and Mara—living around Lake Victoria in East Africa and including 248 participants from each. It unveiled, using a regression model, a strong correlation between sociocultural determinants (SCD)—land tenure systems, religion, globalisation, government regulations, monetisation of the economy, biodiversity patterns, and climate change—and cultural dimensions (CD)—power distance, uncertainty avoidance, femininity, collectivism, long-term orientation, and restraint. In the community of Mbita, religion, land tenure systems, and climate change showed a significant contribution to the variation in CD—64.2 percent, 87.6 percent, and 40.6 percent. In Mara, biodiversity patterns, religion, land tenure systems, and globalisation showed a significant contribution to the variation in CD—90.6 percent, 90.6 percent, 95.3 percent, and 93.4 percent. In addition, interviews revealed a significant decline in traditional practices and a significant increase in livelihood activities. The study concludes that SCD influence how natives think, feel, and act, and are considerably driving the community to abandon their ancestral practices and to adopt new activities for economic growth. Indigenous culture is indeed evolving.