#mkomanawamamoyo

Before colonialism there were rituals that the Ndebele people conducted to seal a marriage covenant between two families. These rituals were done to hand over the bride, after the lobola ceremony. Marriage was viewed as an irreversible contract. Under no circumstances were spouses supposed to divorce. To appease an aggrieved man who married a barren wife, the family of the wife would arrange another wife for him. A woman could not divorce an infertile husband. One of his brothers would privately step in to assist the man to have children by sleeping with his wife. This happened where the traditional doctors had failed to cure the man of his infertility. Now back to the marriage ceremonies. There were elaborate rituals done to hand over the wife to her new family. The first ritual conducted before the wife was handed over was known as UKUCOLA. Ukucola means to cleanse, to express happiness or wish one success. A day before the marriage party, the bride’s father slaughtered a goat, or cow for ukucola the daughter. The father would then anoint the girl with the bile/inyongo on her head, back of the neck, joints etc. The process was known as ukuthela inyongo. The bitter, yellowish green substance worked as some form of libation to the ancestors. As the father applied inyongo he informed the ancestors of the marriage contract. Ukucola was thus a prayer and special appeal to the ancestors to look after their descendant in her new role as a wife. The second ritual was conducted was when umthimba /wedding entourage left the next day after ukucola, to go to the groom’s home. Before departing a special ritual known as UKUPHEHLELA ISITHUNDU was performed at the bride’s home. The bride and her father entered the cattle kraal. The father used a stirring device known as uphehlo. With it he stirred the contents of a gourd/iqhaga until there was a white form. He would pour it over his daughter’s head and body. As he did so he prayed for the marriage. The girl then left the kraal not through the entrance, isango, but through the fence, umbelo. As she did so she was handed a special knife by her father or brother. The empty gall bladder from the beast killed for ukucola was blown like a balloon using umsingazana or usezi grasses and tied with a string. It was then hung around the neck of the best bridesmaid, usonyongwana. The rest of the entourage helped carry the wedding gifts as they headed to the groom’s place. They walked in a special formation to ensure that the bride was concealed from the public eye. The wedding party sang, ukuklaza, as they followed the bride, umlobokazi. The entourage comprised of the matron of honour known as ingqwele, the bridesmaids, osonyongwana and those who were to sweep the groom’s homestead, osomthanyelwana.
To be continued…………….