Article 1
Lobola/Roora
Lobola/Roora, in the Shona custom of Zimbabwe is the
payment, a man makes to his future in laws in order to marry their daughter.
This type of marriage is recognized by the Zimbabwean law as a Customary Law
union. Those who marry under General Law, are required or expected to marry
this manner, before they can proceed to wed in church or by any other marriage
officer.
The Charging and
Payment Ceremony
I have encountered a number of posts on social media asking
the list of things that are charged during payment of lobola. In brief, lobola
is composed of cash, livestock, clothes and in some cases, groceries.
The main actors in the ceremony are:
Man’s Side
·
Garikai, the man who is going marry
·
Choga, go-between (intermediary) or munyai who speaks and negotiates on
behalf of Garikai
·
Garikai’s support team composed of brothers,
uncles, aunts and friends. Garikai’s parents do not attend.
Woman’s Side
·
Rutendo, the woman to be married
·
Tete Chenai, Rutendo’s aunt, her father’s
sister. Danai, who is Rutendo’s elder sister or cousin can stand in for Tete
Chenai
·
Tongai, Rutendo’s elder brother or cousin
·
Mhofu, Rutendo’s father
·
Chibwe, Mhofu’s younger brother
·
MaSibanda, Rutendo’s mother
·
Rutendo’s support team composed of sisters,
cousins, friends and aunts
The lead actress is Tete Chenai. She is the one with access
to both families on both sides. Tete Chenai has held informal discussions with
both sides, prior to this day. She also knows their personalities. Choga speaks
on behalf of Garikai, while Chibwe and Tongai speak on behalf of Mhofu.
The charging and payment of lobola is done in 5 stages.
Stage 1,
Zvirevereve/Zvirehwarehwa/Zvibinge
At this stage Garikai is introducing himself, proving that
he is really interested in marrying Rutendo, he has known her for some time, he
is known by the family, he is willing to be fined for anything that Rutendo
might have done wrong, he…..
On the other hand Rutendo has to confirm that indeed she is
freely willing to marry Garikai. Tete Chenai and MaSibanda also confirm this.
The following items are charged in Stage 1
·
Kupinda
mumba – literally, entrance fee to
allow Choga to come into the room where every one is assembled. Rutendo is not
in this room at this stage
·
Vhura
muromo – literally, opening the mouth or request for dialogue
·
Kusunungura
homwe – literally opening the purse. You cannot go into other people’s home
and open your purse, you have to ask for permission to do so.
·
Ndiro
– all the cash is placed in a plate, which by custom belongs to MaSibanda.
There is a charge for that plate
·
Mutete/Bute
– snuff
·
Makandinzwaani
– literally, a question to Garikai, how he knew that Mhofu has a daughter
called Rutendo.
·
Dare –
travel expenses etc for people who came to participate or witness the ceremony
·
Pwanyaruzhowa
– literally breaking the security fence. These are damages that are paid if
Rutendo is pregnant.
·
Mafukidzadumbu/Mapfukudzadumbu
– Literally covering the pregnancy and for
unborn baby kicks in her mother’s womb. This is payment for MaSibanda for the
pregnancy with Rutendo
·
Matekenyandebvu
– literally for playing with the father’s beard. As a baby, toddler, girl and
woman, Rutendo might have disrespected her father.
·
Kuripa
– Fine for miscellaneous offences. The
offences are not literal. There is no defence. Garikai might be fined for
having met Mhofu in a bar and buying him or not buying him a beer.
·
Musikana
kunhonga – at this point Rutendo is invited in to confirm that she wants to
get married to Garikai. She does that by taking some money that would have been
placed in the plate.
·
Tete Chenai will do the same to concur
·
MaSibanda will also do the same to concur (in
other cultures, the mother is not required to confirm)
At this point of Stage 1, no
marriage has taken place. If any of the two withdraw, it is not considered a
divorce.
Stage 2 Rusambo/Rugaba
Rusambo/Rugaba –
this is the big one. This is THE LOBOLA. After the payment of rusambo/rugaba,
the couple is now considered married.
Stage 3.
Garikai and support team are called into the room. The
following payments are made:
·
Mauchiro –
literally clapping. A son-in-law is
required to clap hands in a certain way when greeting or calling for the
attention of his father or mother-in-law. This clap is called gusvi. Mauchiro will give Garikai the permission to do the gusvi as and when required.
·
Pasuru –
groceries. The groceries are a selection of food and other essentials that are
presented to the in-laws for use at the ceremony.
Stage 4. Clothes for
Mhofu and MaSibanda
At this stage Mhofu and MaSibanda outline the items they
want, colour and sizes. These are to be paid later. The list usually includes:
For Mhofu
·
Suit
·
Shirt
·
Shoes
·
Overcoat
·
Socks
·
Belt
·
Hat
·
Umbrella
For MaSibanda
·
Suit
·
Hat
·
Shoes
·
Blanket
·
Black Shawl
·
Wrapper
Stage 5. Livestock
This is charging only as the livestock can only be delivered
at a later date.
·
Mombe dze
Danga – the number of cattle
·
Mombe
yehumai – Heifer for MaSibanda. This is heifer is considered sacred. We
shall cover it in more detail in later articles.
·
Mbudzi
dzemunongedzo – goats
·
Imbwazukuru
– goats for the maternal grandmother
·
Jongwe
– a cock that is brought on the day that the cattle are delivered
There are a lot of variations to the above per Shona
subgroups or geographical location. The general rule is that the man follows
the woman’s custom. That is where Tete Chenai comes in. She makes sure that
each side knows the customs of the other.
Unfortunately, due to many factors, the formality,
anticipation, surprises, thrill of negotiations etc have now been compromised because lists are
emailed, cash is electronically transferred, Garikai or Rutendo might be
abroad, Tete Chenai has never met Rutendo and so on. Other customs are also
being roped in, for example you will find that Garikai and Rutendo wear
matching African print outfits!
After reading this, I am sure you are wondering what this is
all about. Your head is spinning with strange concepts such as entrance fees to
a place that is not a night club, frivolous fines for non-existent offences,
payment for pregnancies and scratching beards etc. and your answer is GREED. The
next article, will unpack the
significance of lobola and some of the items outlined above.
#paylobola
#don’tmarryinNovember
Well written and easy to understand and follow. Cannot wait for the next read.
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