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
• Dayana, Ndima, Dial (November 2013) (in en). Re-imagining and re-interpreting African jurisprudence under the South African Constitution. http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/13854.