Nowadays, we differ from each other more than ever,
meaning much more diverse. This also can be associated with weddings and how
we’re planning them and celebrating them.
Today I’d like to tell you about the traditional Zulu wedding. Zulu is one of
the many tribes in Africa that managed to survive until today.
The entire thing starts not by celebrating, but rather by making the bride
wear different clothes so that she can show all the people around her how
pretty she is. Despite being colonized by the British Empire, the traditional
British picture of the fiancee wearing a white dress isn’t as common in a
Zulu’s culture as some might think. The suits that the maid is intended to wear
are much more animal-like, often resembling a tiger’s hide, or implementing
distinctive hats with tribal drawings on them and such.
It's worth pointing out that the wedding is separated into several stages. The first one being ‘lobola’ in which the bride’s family is given livestock from
the future husband’s family. Then ‘izibizo’
happens, when the bride’s family receives gifts and little trinkets. Then we
have ‘umbondo’ when groceries are being put into the basket and then
given to the future wife and husband. After all of that, we get to the actual
wedding, called ‘umabo’.
The wedding must always take place in the family groom’s home. The bride will
leave her home early covered with blankets. Then the bride’s father leads her
to her new home. It is important not to look back, cause it may bring
misfortune in the future. This is treated as the official departure from the
previous family to join a new one. The bride’s father is going to call out the
clan names of the family informing the ancestors that his daughter left her
home to join another. Then, the bride gets introduced to the rest of her new
family. It’s good to mention that she
enters the home through the kitchen as if not to be spotted.
The actual celebration begins by slaughtering two cows for food to be eaten
that day. Then the head of the family has a speech. After that, a goat is killed
as well, which is brought to the bride’s father having a speech too -
confirming that he approves the union and forming a bond between the clans or
families. Afterwards, the fun can begin. The families of the newlyweds are
exchanging gifts with each other. For the record, the celebration has some
competitions too, such as a dancing competition.
Author: Jakub Kostecki