Lobola cultural practices in modern Zulu society as the shape of gender identity and constraint on marriage.

Abstract

Among Zulu people, marriage is percieved as an intergral ritual and aspect of socio-cultural life. Lobola cultural practice is the first step carried out prior to marriage. This practice is respected as a foundation for family formation that allows the bride and the groom to connect and connect their families. Lobola practice has been handed down from generation to generation and sustained from time immemorial to this date. Traditionally, lobola was determined by the family of the groom as a way of gratitude to the bride’s family for the upbringing of their daughter. There was no fixed number of cows were deemed valuable, the groom gives what he could afford. There was no monetary exchange and therefore, the term, “payment” was not utilized. Lobola was not regulated until 1869 when it was formalized by the then Natal Secretary for Native Affairs, Theophilus Shepstone. The aim of this study was to shed insights into lobola practice in modern Zulu society. It is essential to highlight that all Zulu people who participated in this study were married and still in the lobola process.This study strived to answer the following research questions (1) How lobola practices is practiced in Zulu society? (2) What are the lobola processes in Zulu society? (3)What is the relationship between cultural factors and lobola practices? The study adopted a qualitative research positioned with the interprevist paradigm. The data was collected from the sample of 50 participants using semi-structured interviews and questionnare. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 interviewees selected from Willowfountein community in Pietermaritzburg. The questionnaire was distributed to 44 participants, equally divided between male and female, at the United Ethiopian Church in Willowfountein. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The study will contribute to the younger generation and urban Zulu people who challenge lobola practice and African cultures and religion. The findings indicated that, lobola is well-known among Zulus and retains cultural value. Participants stressed that the significance of lobola is to link two families and to legalize marriage. This is even though as time passed, individuals lost sight of the meaning of lobola, resultantly commercialising the practice. Participants claimed that there is a link between lobola and marriage since lobola payment is needed for a marriage to be acknowledged. However, in post-apartheid and with the advent of democracy in South Africa marriage has decreased and lobola is identified as constraint on marriage especially among youth. Large amount of lobola and different stages that occur during lobola payment, in some cases,caused delays in marriage. Participantssaid that some families utilized the girl's virginity status and educational attainment to determine the amount of lobola payment. ii Apart from the challenges that participants experiened as married people, some participants' felt that lobola should not be a deciding factor for two people who wants to be together. Modern families have been portrayed as using lobola for financial gain. Since most people in modern times use money as a gift to the family of the bride and has been reduced to transaction or payment, it is recommended that before lobola negotiations commence, both families should advise individuals who are about to get married about the importance of true love and proceed with the negotiations once they can see that both individuals understand the importance of marriage. Although this peresent study has highlighted important aspects of lobola cultural practice and it will contribute to young people who continues to challenge lobola practice, the applicability of the findings to broader society is still questionable. However, while the outcomes of this study are no generalizability of results but rather a deeper understanding of lobola from Zulu people’s perspectives. It is recommende that a larger study of this nature be undertaken so as to make the findings more applicable to a larger society. Furthermore, all participants of this study belong to Zulu ethnic group. This was largely a function of that during data collection period all participants were infact of Zulu ethnicity.