Indigenous marriage in South Africa

Indigenous marriage in South Africa is a social and legal bond between two clans. This bond is built around a man and a woman in a ukulobola covenant. The delivery of ikhazi things like cattle or other valuables from the man’s family to the woman’s. This bond connects the two clans in a permanent relationship. Children the man and woman have make the bond stronger. 

The wife gets transferred from her clan where she enjoyed her maiden status as a princess inkosazana to her marital home where she is elevated to the status of the queen inkosikazi of the household. She excels in her stature as a paragon of love, care, diligence, reliability and resourcefulness. Symbolically a married woman is seen as a hen that spreads its wings to keep all the clan members including the young, the elderly, the sick and the orphans warm, served and satisfied.

References
 Ndima, D. D. (2013). Re-imagining and re-interpreting African jurisprudence under the South African Constitution (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Africa). Available online


Category:South Africa
Category:Marriage