Tag: Lobola-negotiations-in-zulu-culture. Although historically the lobolo ritual predates colonialism, ‘the Europeans who codified Zulu law and the missionaries, regarded lobolo as being in the nature of a business transactio in which a fixed price had to be arrived at,’ so argues social anthropologist Absalom Vilakazi in his celebrated book on aspects of Zulu culture and tradtions, Zulu Transformations. Someone familiar with the lores, customs and traditions and also spoke the language. Isibhoma – cow that also get slaughtered on the wedding day. Lobola or Lobolo in Zulu, Swazi, Xhosa, Silozi and northern and southern Ndebele (Mahadi in Sesotho, Roora in Shona, Magadi in Setswana, Lovola in Xitsonga), and Mamalo in Tshivenda language, sometimes referred to as "bride wealth" is property in livestock or kind, which a prospective husband or head of his family undertakes to give to the head of a prospective wife’s family in gratitude of letting the husband marry their daughter. © 2021 All rights reserved. Are you taking personal responsibility? Also on the side of umkhwenyana, you are unmkhwenyana of the izalukazi zase mzini. Ilobolo is cattle (regardless of number) paid by umkhwenyana for his umakoti. This law clearly stipulates that in order for the customary marriage to be legally recognised, it has to be entered into by a man and woman over the age of 18 years who have the intention of getting married under customary law. Izibizo zikamama or her mother’s customary dues are paid as part of the lobolo process. Customarily Zulus consider marriage as an opportunity through which new bonds are formed between two families in the main, that of the bride and the bridegroom. A customary marriage is valid in South Africa once agreement has been reached on lobola. Ubhaqa – The cow given to the umakoti’s father in order to light the way. It’s important to understand the differences in cross-cultural settings. On . 10 cows is the minimum amount for a bride in Zulu culture. From there we went on to negotiate for the bride so that we will be given our makhoti without the wedding. Isiqodo – the cow that is paid by the umakoti family for slaughtering on the wedding day. When the price is being decided upon, the ultimate decision goes through much debate of the value of the bride-to-be and it has been known to reach peak levels of impasse – especially when destructive family members are entrusted with the delicate process. Lobola procedures There is an organised process that lobola ceremony follows, and that begins with scheduling a meeting by the groom family with the bride's family. It is various cattle with their specific names and functions paid to the father and also to the mother of their daughter. After all formalities were done we were were treated to some ukuGida dances! To return to the matter at hand, the following points are worth considering : Umsamo Institute is comprised of indigenous African Healers and researchers who are able to provide our clients with insights into the African spirituality. We are delivering all the requested cows. With the cows settled, the remainder to be presented as live beasts, they saluted again then we were called outside and shown a goat for uMkhwenyana which we could slaughter or take live. Where I … Ever since I moved to... © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - B A Y N H A M G O R E D E M A 2018. The primary purpose of lobola is to build relations between the respective families as the union would involve the extended family living in the homestead as well. Initially we had been warned that makhoti would come covered with three other maidens and we had to correctly pointe her out and we had worked on a sign from makhoti but this never happened.Cos if we got it wrong we would be ‘fined’. Lobola within the Zulu culture is a traditional Southern African custom whereby the man pays his fiancée family a dowry for their marriage. Imbeka | Inkomo yamalobola. Abalingani mase bechazeliwe ngohlelo, kwakubeke sebenquma usuku lokuyovela lena ekhaya lentombi abazimisele ukuyilobola. Everyone was happy no-one felt hard done. We were there for a while until the same boy came back who was acting as the apprentice. It was all about negotiating the quantity and value of the cows. Lobola is a process where the husband-to-be introduces himself to the girls family, ask for her hand in marriage and shows his appreciation towards the family for bringing up a well cultured woman he now wants to call his wife. To refer to Vilakazi again: ‘By Zulu customary law, the very essence of lobolo was its indeterminate character, for it was part of the gifts that pass to and fro between the contracting families as long as the marriage persists. It was only the men. My grandfather then passed away about 2 weeks later and my family had to go through a mourning period. Umumba – Cow also given to the Makoti’s mother, but part of the ilobolo, Imvulamlomo/Ingqaqhamazinyo – cow given to the father in order for him to talk to the abakhongi (people sent to pay lobola). Those who don’t agree with lobola should find partners and their parents who believe in the same. Some desired for their daughter to go after the wedding. LOBOLA CUSTOM. That is why people do not pay all the ilobolo, because of the belief that one day umkhwenyana will be of help to the family (umkhwernyana isiphuzi sokuhquzula). So that I sound educated I’ll throw in an expert (Monica Wilson, UCT Anthropology) quote for emphasis “a customary marriage in true African tradition is not an event but a process that comprises a chain of events”. Disclaimer: This account of traditional Zulu #lobola negotiations is just my experience and my interpretation of as a first hand witness of this specific one. Ubikibiki – This cow is given to the mother by umkhwenyana. The lobola process is when the groom-to-be along with his family pay a certain amount of money to the bride’s family in order to obtain the right to marry their daughter. Hello Friends,We are getting married, so we decided to take you along our wedding journey. It will be then where the father will know for the first time. Since traditionally Zulu and other African societies frowned the idea of a divorce, the widow or a divorced woman can be paid whatever that can be negotiated by the two parties without the involvement of her direct parents as she no longer belongs there. These cattle are a sign of pride and showing that ‘your daughter will never starve when she joins the family.’ It is ubumnumzane of the umkhwenyane’s father, that we are not that poor. Ilobolo is not a gift or thanking to the parents of the daughter for raising her up. After counting they gave a salute which was a sign of appreciation and this happened twice after this. This I will not miss! vi By admin. He stopped to chat and we exchanged pleasantries and he said this is a good thing you are doing! But no one wanted his/her child to get married to the family which is poor and not really well doing. This number may go up or down a cow depending on certain factors. Apparently with the number of cows, if the makhoti has children from a previous relationship, a cow is deducted per child. Also other people do not want to pay lobolo because of the fear that their marriage will not last long. Should she divorce or her husband die, for her second marriage lobolo is not required. Assuming that a woman is getting married for the first time, her lobolo rites often comprise sending a delegation from the future bridegroom’s party who start a process towards paying all 11 cattle to the future bride’s family. Lobola is the practice of offering cows or equivalent sum of money from the groom to the bride’s family. My great take away from this is that the whole lobola process when done right with the intended purposes is good thing which we do need to preserve! Traditionally lobola is amounted to about 6 cattle – depending on the bride’s family’s request. The first step is lobola, it is a process, one is not expected to pay all the lobola in one day, then izibizo (bringing of gifts for the bride’s mother and close family) may follow, umbondo ( the bride brings groceries for the groom’s family) may follow and then the wedding / umabo. In the Zulu culture, a man chooses his own wife, ... he has gone up a tree and therefore money is needed for him to come down and discuss lobola with them. ilobolo. No doubt this will be a profession in its own right in the near future! They would put up their hands and in unison they said the surname of uMkhwenyana. So during those days people use to charge whatever number of cattle for ilobolo. They are as follows: (Remember that these cows in some other areas are all collectively called AMABHEKA), The other two cattle just accompany these cows; hence we say (Umakoti akaqedwa). Those who say their marriage will never last, it won’t last if these processes were never done. On that selected day, abakhongi will arrive early in the morning and shout at the gate by saying ‘sizocela isihlobo esihle’. Insizwake mase izimisele ukuthatha intombi, iyaye ibikele uyise ngalezinhlelo zayo. This is effectively a negotiation process between the bride and groom’s families that can take months before the ‘white wedding’ happens. Compared to the list from Zimbabwe. No women were present. It is the process governed by the amathongo, as the belief is that to have people coming and initiate ilobolo is a gift from the ancestors. The izibizo are part of this general pattern.’. It is viewed as an outward sign of love when a man saves up and gives his bride’s family gifts in recognition for giving him a beautiful woman to marry. We paid the amount and placed in a plate and the young man only came later to collect. Lenkomo ihlatshwa emuva kwesithathi umakoti egcagcile. The first critical question is Why Lobola? If the groom is to be is accepted, the groom, together with his uncles, would visit the family of the bride. Zulu is a 1964 British epic war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War. The first part called umembeso, were my in-loves presented gifts to my parents and family in the form of blankets, doeks and pots. ... ancestors into their family process. Secondly, it is a token to the Amathongo (ancestors) that isibaya is growing, and as it grows it will create strong umuzi for them (amathongo). When inside the house they will be asked to repeat what they have been saying. The first cow that will be requested will be iMvulamlomo for the father. He will see people sweeping the yard, doing all the cleaning, but he will never ask. The first person who happens to know that there will be abakhongi (representatives from the umkhwenyana) coming, is the mother of the daughter. But even though, it is these goats’ inyongo which connects umkhnwenyana and amathongo, also umakoti and amathongo. Father | Graphic Designer | Print Maker | Social Commentator. Thirdly, umnumzane for him to see that Umsamo is alive (uyaphila) and his ancestors are strong and present, he would see that by having many cattle (Umhlambi wezinkomo) and all his children get married. Such blessings are done through various rituals, where either a goat is slaughtered or a cow for the inyongo to be used for either umakoti or umkhwenyana. The lobola negotiations then kicked off on the 24th of March 2018 and got finalized the same day. It is in the context of this particular historical moment in Natal that saw then governor Sir Theophilus Shepstone uSomtsewu as Zulus called him, impose a figure of 11 cattle as a standard for ilobolo. On . This was a first for us but we were assured this was the cultural norm so we negotiated for a later time as we were coming from 2hrs away and by 830 we were there. That is why these cows have various names and meaning. ingquto. When an Zulu woman falls pregnant out of wedlock, there are firm traditional procedures to adhere to and inhlawulo usually comes into play. Someone familiar with the lores, customs and traditions and also spoke the language. I admired the passing of indigenous knowledge This boy can actually carry out the whole procedure if need be. Secondly, getting a girl, on the other side does not guarantee the continuation of the family name instead it symbolizes the wealth (ukungena kwezinkomo) ekhaya and also an outside extended relationship. ILOBOLO PROCESS. Lobola is essentially the "bride price" that the prospective groom must pay to the bride's family in order to enter into marriage. For centuries, the Nguni tribes of Southern Africa have practiced lobola — paying a bride price to ensure a union between two tribes, similar to the dowry’s of Western Civilization. Lobolo is a problem in our era because we do not have people who have a clear know how of what it is, and why was it or is it still being practiced. For most black people, however, this is only the beginning of a process called Lobola. Lobola is usually paid in head of cattle – an amount agreed upon by the two families. A traditional Zulu wedding is quite different, but also has distinctive stages, with the first being the payment of lobola, something that’s the subject of great debate these days. Lobola within the Zulu culture is a traditional Southern African custom whereby the man pays his fiancée family a dowry for their marriage. The process varies from culture to culture, but … As uMkhwenyana we expected to sit on the floor but we didn’t expect our uBabezala (tezvara) to also sit on the floor. He must send delegates to negotiate lobola prices on his behalf. Enjoy the read! was formalized by the Natal Secretary for Native Affairs, Theophilus Shepstone, to ten cattle for commoners (plus the . The Shona Lobola procedure takes place in stages, as detailed below. There was no fixed number of cattle. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save.
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