Practices and rituals. Morality. Traditions.

Practices and rituals There are more similarities than differences in all traditional African religions. Often, the supreme God is worshiped through consultation or communion with lesser deities and ancestral spirits. The deities and spirits are honored through libation, sacrifice(offerings) (of animals, vegetables, cooked food, flowers, semi-precious stones, precious metals, etc.). The will of God is sought by the believer also through consultation of oracular deities, or divination. In many traditional African religions, there is a belief in a cyclical nature of reality. The living stand between their ancestors and the unborn. Traditional African religions embrace natural phenomena.   The environment and nature are infused in every aspect of traditional African religions and culture. This is largely because cosmology and beliefs are intricately intertwined with the natural phenomena and environment. All aspects of weather, thunder, lightning, rain, day, moon, sun, stars, and so on may become amenable to control through the cosmology of African people. Natural phenomena are responsible for providing people with their daily needs.   Since Africa is a large continent with many ethnic groups and cultures, there is not one single technique of casting divination. The practice of casting may be done with small objects, such as bones, cowrie shells, stones, strips of leather, or flat pieces of wood. Some castings are done using sacred divination plates made of wood or performed on the ground (often within a circle). In traditional African societies, many people seek out diviners on a regular basis. There are generally no prohibitions against the practice. Those who divine for a living are also sought for their wisdom as counselors in life and for their knowledge of herbal medicine.   MORALITY     North Africa In North Africa, arguably central to the development of the ancient Egyptian philosophical tradition of Egypt and Sudan was the conception of "ma'at", which roughly translated refers to "justice", "truth", or simply "that which is right". One of the earliest works of political philosophy was the Maxims of Ptah-Hotep, which were taught to Egyptian schoolboys for centuries   West Africa The most prominent of West Africa's pre-modern philosophical traditions have been identified as that of the Yoruba philosophical tradition and the distinctive worldview that emerges from it over thousands of years of its development, as well as the cosmologies and philosophies of the Akan, Dogon and Dahomey.       Central Africa Many Central African philosophical traditions before the Bantu migration into southern Central Africa have been identified as a uniting characteristic of many Nilotic and Sudanic peoples, ultimately giving rise to the distinctive worldviews identified in the conceptions of time, the creation of the world, human nature, and the proper relationship between mankind and nature prevalent in Dinka mythology, Maasai mythology and similar traditions.   African Diaspora Some pre-Modern African diasporic philosophical traditions have also been identified, mostly produced by descendants of Africans in Europe and the Americas. One notable pre-modern diasporic African philosopher was Anthony William Amo, who was taken as a slave from Awukenu in what is now Ghana, and was brought up and educated in Europe where he gained doctorates in medicine and philosophy, and subsequently became a professor of philosophy at the universities of Halle Halle and Jena in Germany.   Modern Kenyan philosopher Henry Odera Oruka has distinguished what he calls four trends in modern African philosophy: ethnophilosophy, philosophical sagacity, nationalistic–ideological philosophy, and professional philosophy. In fact it would be more realistic to call them candidates for the position of African philosophy, with the understanding that more than one of them might fit the bill. (Oruka later added two additional categories: literary/artistic philosophy, such as the work of literary figures such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Okot p'Bitek, and Taban Lo Liyong, and hermeneutic philosophy, the analysis of African languages in order to find philosophical content.) In the African diaspora, American philosopher Maulana Karenga has also been notable in presenting varied definitions for understanding modern African philosophy, especially as it relates to its earliest sources.   Ethnophilosophy and philosophical sagacity Ethnophilosophy has been used to record the beliefs found in African cultures. Such an approach treats African philosophy as consisting in a set of shared beliefs, values, categories, and assumptions that are implicit in the language, practices, and beliefs of African cultures; in short, the uniquely African worldview. As such, it is seen as an item of communal property rather than an activity for the individual.   One proponent of this form, Placide Tempels, argued in Bantu Philosophy that the metaphysical categories of the Bantu people are reflected in their linguistic categories. According to this view, African philosophy can be best understood as springing from the fundamental assumptions about reality reflected in the languages of Africa.   Another example of this sort of approach is the work of E. J. Algoa of the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria, who argues for the existence of an African philosophy of history stemming from traditional proverbs from the Niger Delta in his paper "An African Philosophy of History in the Oral Tradition." Algoa argues that in African philosophy, age is seen as an important factor in gaining wisdom and interpreting the past. In support of this view, he cites proverbs such as "More days, more wisdom", and "What an old man sees seated, a youth does not see standing." Truth is seen as eternal and unchanging ("Truth never rots"), but people are subject to error ("Even a four-legged horse stumbles and falls"). It is dangerous to judge by appearances ("A large eye does not mean keen vision"), but first-hand observation can be trusted ("He who sees does not err"). The past is not seen as fundamentally different from the present, but all history is contemporary history ("A storyteller does not tell of a different season"). The future remains beyond knowledge ("Even a bird with a long neck cannot see the future"). Nevertheless, it is said, "God will outlive eternity." History is seen as vitally important ("One ignorant of his origin is nonhuman"), and historians (known as "sons of the soil") are highly revered   ("The son of the soil has the python's keen eyes"). However, these arguments must be taken with a grain of cultural relativism, as the span of culture in Africa is incredibly vast, with patriarchies, matriarchies, monotheists and traditional religionists among the population, and as such the attitudes of groups of the Niger Delta cannot be construed to the whole of Africa. Another more controversial application of this approach is embodied in the concept of Negritude. Leopold Senghor, a proponent of Negritude, argued that the distinctly African approach to reality is based on emotion rather than logic, works itself out in participation rather than analysis, and manifests itself through the arts rather than the sciences. Cheikh Anta Diop and Mubabinge Bilolo, on the other hand, while agreeing that African culture is unique, challenged the view of Africans as essentially emotional and artistic, arguing that Egypt was an African culture whose achievements in science, mathematics, architecture, and philosophy were pre-eminent. This philosophy may also be maligned as overly reductionist due to the obvious scientific and scholarly triumphs of not only ancient Egypt, but also Nubia, Meroe, as well as the great library of Timbuktu, the extensive trade networks and kingdoms of North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, the Horn of Africa and Great Zimbabwe and the other major empires of Southern, Southeast and Central Africa.   Critics of this approach argue that the actual philosophical work in producing a coherent philosophical position is being done by the academic philosopher (such as Algoa), and that the sayings of the same culture can be selected from and organised in many different ways in order to produce very different, often contradictory systems of thought.   Philosophical sagacity is a sort of individualist version of ethnophilosophy, in which one records the beliefs of certain special members of a community. The premise here is that, although most societies demand some degree of conformity of belief and behaviour from their members, a certain few of those members reach a particularly high level of knowledge and understanding of their cultures' worldviews; such people are sages. In some cases, the sage goes beyond mere knowledge and understanding to reflection and questioning—these become the targets of philosophical sagacity.   Critics of this approach note that not all reflection and questioning is philosophical; besides, if African philosophy were to be defined purely in terms of philosophic sagacity, then the thoughts of the sages could not be African philosophy, for they did not record them from other sages. Also, on this view the only difference between non-African anthropology or ethnology and African philosophy seems to be the nationality of the researcher.   Critics argue further that the problem with both ethnophilosophy and philosophical sagacity is that there is surely an important distinction between philosophy and the history of ideas, although other philosophers consider the two topics to be remarkably similar. The argument is that no matter how interesting the beliefs of a people such as the Akan or the Yoruba may be to the philosopher, they remain beliefs, not philosophy. To call them philosophy is to use a secondary sense of that term, such as in my philosophy is “live let live."   Professional philosophy Professional philosophy is usually identified as that produced by African philosophers trained in the Western philosophical tradition, that embraces a universal view of the methods and concerns of philosophy. Those philosophers identified in this category often explicitly reject the assumptions of ethnophilosophy and adopt a universalist worldview of philosophy that requires all philosophy to be accessible and applicable to all peoples and cultures in the world[2] This is even if the specific philosophical questions prioritized by individual national or regional philosophies may differ.[2] Some African philosophers classified in this category are Paulin Hountondji, Peter Bodunrin, Kwasi Wiredu, Tsenay Serequeberhan, Marcien Towa and Lansana Keita. Nationalist and ideological philosophy Nationalist–ideological philosophy might be considered a special case of philosophic sagacity, in which not sages but ideologues are the subjects. Alternatively, it has been considered as a subcategory of professional political philosophy. In either case, the same sort of problem arises with retaining a distinction between ideology and philosophy, and also between sets of ideas and a special way of reasoning.     While many traditional African societies are highly religious, their religions are not revealed, and hence, ethics does not center around divine commands.[5] Instead, ethics is humanistic and utilitarian: it focuses on improving social functioning and human flourishing.[5] On the other hand, social welfare is not a mere aggregate of individual welfare; rather, there is a collective "social good" embodying values that everyone wants, like peace and stability.[5] In general, African ethics is social or collectivistic rather than individualistic and united in ideology.[5] Cooperation and altruism are considered crucial.[5] African ethics places more weight on duties of prosocial behaviour than on rights per se, in contrast to most of Western ethics.[5]   the link between the living holder of family or ruling authority and their ancestors   Ofo also symbolize the link they make between Chukwu the High God and Humanity, and between the living, the dead, and those yet to be born (Njaka).       Main Types of Myths and Legends The myths of people living along the Nile and on the fringes of the Sahara, as well as the Bantu around the Niger and Congo Rivers, are generally concerned more with the origins of social institutions such as clans and kingships than with cosmic themes such as the creation of the world. In contrast, the non-Bantu groups of the Niger River area, especially the Dogon, Yoruba, and Bambara, have complex and lengthy cosmologies. Fables, folklore, and legends about tricksters and animals are found in nearly all African cultures.   How Things Came To Be. Many myths explain how the world came into existence. The Dogon say that twin pairs of creator spirits or gods called Nummo hatched from a cosmic egg. Other groups also speak of the universe beginning with an egg. People in both southern and northern Africa believe that the world was formed from the body of an enormous snake, sometimes said to span the sky as a rainbow.   The Fon people of Benin tell of Gu, the oldest son of the creator twins Mawu (moon) and Lisa (sun). Gu came to earth in the form of an iron sword and then became a blacksmith. His task was to prepare the world for people. He taught humans how to make tools, which in turn enabled them to grow food and build shelters. The San people (Bushmen) of the south say that creation was the work of a spirit named Dxui, who was alternately a man and many other things, such as a flower, a bird, or a lizard.   Myths from across Africa tell how death came into the world. The supreme god meant for humans to be immortal, but through an unlucky mistake, they received death instead of eternal life. Some stories relate that the god told a cautious chameleon to carry the news of eternal life to earth, but a faster lizard with news of death arrived first. The Mende people of Sierra Leone say that a toad with the message "Death has come" overtakes a dog with the message "Life has come" because the dog stops to eat along the way.   Gods and Tricksters Cross the Sea Between the 1500s and the 1800s, many thousands of Africans were brought to the Americas as slaves. Their myths and legends helped shape the black cultures that developed in the Caribbean islands and the United States. The Caribbean religion known as vodun or voodoo, for example, involves the worship of the vodu, West African gods. Enslaved blacks also told traditional stories about the spider Anansi and the trickster hare. Anansi came to be called Anancy, and the har became Brer (Brother) Rabbit, the character who appears in the Uncle Remus animal fables that were collected by Joel Chandler Harris in the late 1800s.   epic long poem about legendary or historical heroes, written in a grand style cosmology set of ideas about the origin, history, and structure of the universe trickster mischievous figure appearing in various forms in the folktales and mythology of many different peoples immortal able to live forever. Other myths explain that death came into the world because people or animals angered the gods. The Nuer people of the Sudan blame death on a hyena who cut the rope that connected heaven and earth. Their neighbors the Dinkas say that a greedy woman, not satisfied with the grain the high god gave her, planted more grain. She hit the god in the eye with her hoe, and he cut the connecting rope. A tale told by the Luyia people relates that a chameleon cursed people with death because a man broke the laws of hospitality by refusing to share his food with the chameleon.   Twins. Many African peoples regard twins as special, almost sacred, beings. Twins represent the duality—the tension or balance between paired or opposing forces—that is basic to life. Some groups, such as the non-Bantu peoples of the Niger and Congo regions, believe that twins of opposite sexes are symbols of this duality.   Twins appear in many African myths and legends. In some stories, they are brother and sister who unite in marriage; in others, they seem to be two sides of a single being. The supreme god of the Fon people of West Africa is Mawu-Lisa, usually described as brother and sister twins who became the parents of all the other gods, also born as twins.       Other stories about animals show them helping humans. The San Bushmen say that a sacred praying mantis gave them words and fire, and the Bambara people of Mali say that an antelope taught them agriculture. A popular form of entertainment is the animal fable, a story about talking animals with human characteristics. Many fables offer imaginative explanations of features of the natural world, such as why bats hang with their heads downward or why leopards have spots.   Ancestors. Many Africans believe that human spirits exist after death. According to some groups, these spirits dwell underground in a world much like that of the living—but upside down. The spirits sleep during the day and come out at night. Other groups place the realm of the dead in the sky. The Bushmen of southern Africa say that the dead become stars.   Many African groups believe that the spirits of dead ancestors remain near their living descendants to help and protect them—as long as these relatives perform certain ceremonies and pay them due respect. Believing that the spirits of chieftains and other important characters offer strong protection, the Zulu hold special ceremonies to bring them into the community. In some cultures, it is said that the soul of a dead grandfather, father, or uncle can be reborn in a new baby boy. Another common belief is that dead souls, particularly those of old men, may return as snakes, which many Africans regard with respect.   Ancestor cults play a leading role in the mythologies of some peoples, especially in East and South Africa. The honored dead—whether of the immediate family, the larger clan or kinship group, the community, or the entire culture—become objects of worship and subjects of tales and legends. An example occurs among the Songhai, who live along the Niger River. They honor Zoa, a wise and protective ancestor who long ago made his son chieftain.   Many groups trace their origins, or the origins of all humans, to first ancestors. The Buganda say that the first ancestor was Kintu, who came from the land of the gods and married Nambe, daughter of the king of heaven. The Dinkas of the Sudan speak of Garang and Abuk, the first man and woman, whom God created as tiny clay figures in a pot.     Rulers and Heroes. Ancestral kings and heroes may be transformed into minor deities for communities or entire nations. The line between legend and history is often blurred. Some mythic ancestors began as real-life personages whose deeds were exaggerated over time, while others are purely fictional. The Yoruba storm god Shango, for example, may originally have been a mighty warrior king.   The Shilluk, who live along the Nile in the Sudan, trace their ancestry to Nyikang, their first king. Later kings were thought to have been Nyikang reborn into new bodies, and the well-being of the nation depended on their health and vigor. The first king of the Zulu was supposed to have been a son of the supreme god. Many African peoples traditionally regarded their rulers as divine or semidivine.   cult group bound together by devotion to a particular person, belief, or god   Other legends involve culture heroes who performed great feats or embodied important values. The Soninke people of Ghana in West Africa have an epic song cycle called Dausi. In part of it, Gassire's Lute, a hero must choose between his own desires and his duty to society.   The Mandingo people built a large empire in Mali. Their griots recited tales of kings and heroes. Sunjata, a story of magic, warfare, kingship, and fate, is known over large portions of West Africa.   African Mythology A vast and geographically varied continent, Africa is home to a great many cultures and to a thousand or more languages. Although no single set of myths and legends unites this diverse population, different culture groups and regions share some common elements.   Like myths from other parts of the world, those of the African peoples reflect beliefs and values. But while the mythologies of many cultures are carefully preserved relics of ancient times, African myths and legends are still a meaningful part of everyday life. Some African myths deal with universal themes, such as the origin of the world and the fate of the individual after death. Yet many spring from the continent's own settings, conditions, and history.   Roots of African Myths and Legends The Sahara runs from east to west across the widest part of Africa, a vast desert dividing the continent into two main regions. North Africa consists of the Mediterranean coast from Morocco to Egypt and includes the valley of the Nile River as far south as Ethiopia. With strong ties to the Mediterranean and Arab worlds, North Africans felt the influence of Christianity by the A.D. 300S, and in the 700s, much of the area came under the influence of Islam.   South of the Sahara is the region inhabited by black Africans. Before the modern era, they had relatively little contact with the rest of the world. Islam entered Africa south of the Sahara very slowly, compared with its sweep across North Africa, and Christian missionaries were not very active there until the 1800s. Since then, the spread of Islam and Christianity has weakened the indigenous religions, myths, and legends of sub-Saharan Africa. However, the traditional beliefs have not disappeared. In some places, they have blended with new religions from other cultures, so that an African Muslim might combine Islam with the traditional practice of ancestor worship.   Myths and legends developed over thousands of years in Africa south of the Sahara. Among the influences on their development were the mass migrations that took place from time to time. About 7,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Hottentot and the Bushmen began moving from the Sahara toward southern Africa. Five thousand years later, people who spoke Bantu languages began spreading out from Cameroon, on Africa's west coast, until they eventually inhabited much of sub-Saharan Africa. Such migrations caused myths and legends to spread from group to group and led to a mixing of myths and legends. The migrations also gave rise to new stories about events in the history of those peoples. For instance, as Bantu groups settled in new homelands, they developed legends to explain the origins of their ruling families and the structure of their societies.   The peoples of Africa did not use written language until modern times. Instead, they possessed rich and complex oral traditions, passing myths, legends, and history from generation to generation in spoken form. In some cultures, professional storytellers—called griots—preserved the oral tradition. Written accounts of African mythology began to appear in the early 1800s, and present-day scholars labor to record the continent's myths and legends before they are lost to time and cultural change.     Main Gods and Spirits African mythologies include supernatural beings who influence human life. Some of these beings are powerful deities. Others are lesser spirits, such as the spirits of ancestors.     Deities. Most African traditional religions have multiple gods, often grouped together in family relationships. Nearly every culture recognizes a supreme god, an all-powerful creator who is usually associated with the sky. Various West African peoples refer to the highest god as Amma or Olorun, while some East Africans use the name Mulungu. Africans who have adopted Christianity or Islam sometimes identify the supreme deity of those faiths with the supreme deity of traditional African religion and mythology     Spirits. African mythology is filled with spirits, invisible beings with powers for good or evil. Spirits are less grand, less powerful, and less like humans than the gods, who often have weaknesses and emotions. Many spirits are associated with physical features such as mountains, rivers, wells, trees, and springs. Nations, peoples, and even small communities may honor local spirits unknown outside their borders.   deity god or goddess pantheon all the gods of a particular culture   All humans, animals, and plants have spirits, as do elements such as water and fire. Some spirits are helpful, others harmful. People may worship spirits and may also try to control them through magical means, usually with the aid of a skilled practitioner—sometimes called the medicine man or woman or the witch doctor—who leads rituals. People thought to have evil spirits are considered dangerous witches.     After giving birth, a mother is expected to remain secluded in her house for at least ten days. In Xhosa tradition, the afterbirth and umbilical cord were buried or burned to protect the baby from sorcery. At the end of the period of seclusion, a goat was sacrificed. Those who no longer practice the traditional rituals may still invite friends and relatives to a special dinner to mark the end of the mother's seclusion.     Male initiation in the form of circumcision is practiced among most Xhosa groups. The   abakweta   (initiates-in-training) live in special huts isolated from villages or towns for several weeks. Like soldiers inducted into the army, they have their heads shaved. They wear a loincloth and a blanket for warmth. White clay is smeared on their bodies from head to toe. They are expected to observe numerous taboos (prohibitions) and to act deferentially to their adult male leaders. Different stages in the initiation process were marked by the sacrifice of a goat.     The ritual of female circumcision is considerably shorter. The   intonjane   (girl to be initiated) is secluded for about a week. During this period, there are dances, and ritual sacrifices of animals. The initiate must hide herself from view and observe food restrictions. There is no actual surgical operation. Read more: https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Xhosa.html#ixzz6613fKeJo     Rites of passage Further information: Xhosa clan names The Xhosa are a South African cultural group who emphasise traditional practices and customs inherited from their forefathers. Each person within the Xhosa culture has his or her place which is recognised by the entire community. Starting from birth, a Xhosa person goes through graduation stages which recognise his growth and assign him a recognised place in the community. Each stage is marked by a specific ritual aimed at introducing the individual to their counterparts and also to their ancestors. Starting from imbeleko, a ritual performed to introduce a new born to the ancestors, to umphumo (the homecoming), from inkwenkwe (a boy) to indoda (a man). These rituals and ceremonies are still practiced today, but many urbanised Xhosa people do not follow them rigidly. The ulwaluko and intonjane are also traditions which separated this tribe from the rest of the Nguni tribes. These are performed to mark the transition from child to adulthood. Zulus once performed the ritual but King Shaka stopped it because of war in the 1810s. In 2009 it was reintroduced by King Goodwill Zwelithini Zulu, not as a custom, but as a medical procedure to curb HIV infections. This topic has caused arguments and fights among Xhosa and Zulus; each side sees itself as superior to the other because it practices or forsakes some customs.   All these rituals are symbolic of one's development. Before each is performed, the individual spends time with community elders to prepare for the next stage. The elders' teachings are not written, but transmitted from generation to generation by oral tradition. The iziduko (clan) for instance—which matters most to the Xhosa identity (even more than names and surnames) are transferred from one to the other through oral tradition. Knowing your isiduko is vital to the Xhosas and it is considered a shame and uburhanuka (lack-of-identity) if one doesn't know one's clan. This is considered so important that when two strangers meet for the first time, the first identity that gets shared is isiduko. It is so important that two people with the same surname but different clan are considered total strangers but the same two people from the same clan but different surnames are regarded as close relatives. This forms the roots of ubuntu (human kindness) – a behaviour synonymous to this tribe as extending a helping hand to a complete stranger when in need. Ubuntu goes further than just helping one another – it is so deep that it even extends to looking after and reprimanding your neighbour's child when in the wrong. Hence the saying "it takes a village to raise a child".   One traditional ritual that is still regularly practiced is the manhood ritual, a secret rite that marks the transition from boyhood to manhood, ulwaluko. After ritual circumcision, the initiates (abakwetha) live in isolation for up to several weeks, often in the mountains. During the process of healing they smear white clay on their bodies and observe numerous taboos.   In modern times the practice has caused controversy, with over 825 circumcision- and initiation-related deaths since 1994, and the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, via the practice of circumcising initiates with the same blade.[8] In March 2007, a controversial mini-series dealing with Xhosa circumcision and initiation rites debuted on South African Broadcasting Corporation. Titled Umthunzi Wentaba, the series was taken off the air after complaints by traditional leaders that the rites are secret and not to be revealed to non-initiates and women.[9] In January 2014 the website ulwaluko.co.za was released by a Dutch medical doctor. It features a gallery of photographs of injured penises, which sparked outrage amongst traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape.[10] The South African Film and Publication Board ruled that the website was "scientific with great educative value", addressing a "societal problem needing urgent intervention".[11]   Girls are also initiated into womanhood (Intonjane). They too are secluded, though for a shorter period. Female initiates are not circumcised.[5]   Other rites include the seclusion of mothers for ten days after giving birth, and the burial of the afterbirth and umbilical cord near the village. This is reflected in the traditional greeting Inkaba yakho iphi?, literally "where is your navel?" The answer "tells someone where you live, what your clan affiliation is, and what your social status is and contains a wealth of cultural information. Most importantly, it determines where you belong".[12]   Rituals surrounding umtshato (Xhosa marriage) Xhosa marriage, umtshato, is one that is filled with a number of customs and rituals which relate to the upkeep of Xhosa traditional practices. These rituals have been practiced for decades by the Xhosa people and have been incorporated into modern day Xhosa marriages as well. The purpose of the practices is to bring together two different families and to give guidance to the newly wed couple throughout.[13]   Ukuthwalwa To start off the procedures the male intending to marry goes through Ukuthwalwa which entails him choosing his future bride and making his intentions of marriage known.[14] In modern day, the man and woman would most likely have been in courtship or a relationship prior to Ukuthwalwa. Decades before Ukuthwalwa would entail legal bridal abduction, where the man could choose a woman of his liking to be his bride and go into negotiations with the family of the bride without her knowledge or consent. She would have to abide to the marriage as per tradition.[15]   Isiduko Following Ukuthwala, the man will then be in discussion with his parents or relatives to inform them of his choice in bride. During this discussion the clan name, isiduko, of the woman would be revealed and researched.[13] If it were found that the woman and the man share the same clan name they would not be allowed to proceed with the marriage as it is said that people with the same clan name are of the same relation and cannot be wed.[16]   Ikhazi Once discussions with the family are complete and satisfactory information about the woman is acquired then the family of the man will proceed to appoint marriage negotiators. It is these very negotiators that will travel to the family of the woman to make known the man and his intentions. Once the negotiators reach the family of the woman they will be kept in the kraal, inkundla, of the woman's family. If the family does not possess a kraal they will simply be kept outside the household as they will not be allowed to enter the household without the acknowledgment and acceptance of the woman's family. It is here where the lobola (dowry) negotiations will begin. The family of the woman will give them a bride-price and a date for which they must return to pay that price. The bride-price is dependent on numerous things such as her level of education, the wealth status of her family in comparison to that of the man's family, what the man stands to gain in the marriage and the overall desirability of the woman. The payment of the bride-price could be in either cattle or money depending on the family of the woman. The modern Xhosa families would rather prefer money as most are situated in the urban cities where there would be no space nor permits for livestock.[17]   Upon return of the man's family on the given date, they will pay the bride-price and bring along gifts of offering such as livestock and alcoholic beverages, iswazi, to be drunk by the family of the bride. Once the lobola from the man's negotiators is accepted then they will be considered married by the Xhosa tradition and the celebrations would commence. These include slaughtering of the livestock as a grateful gesture to their ancestors as well as pouring a considerable amount of the alcoholic beverages on the ground of the bride's household to give thanks to their ancestors. The groom's family is then welcomed into the family and traditional beer, Umqombothi, will be prepared for the groom's family as a token of appreciation from the bride's family.   Ukuyalwa To solidify their unity the family of the bride will head to the groom's household where the elders will address her with regards to how to carry herself and dress appropriately at her newly found household, this is called Ukuyalwa.[13] Furthermore, a new name will also be given to her by the women of the groom's family and this name signifies the bond of the two families.   Xhosa burial practices Burial practices and customs include a specific sequence of events and rituals which need to be performed in order to regard a funeral as dignified. Once the family has been notified that a member has died, the extended family comes together in preparation for the burial of the deceased.   The "umkhapho" (to accompany) ritual is performed in order to accompany the spirit of the deceased to the land of the ancestors. The local male clan leader or his proxy is the one who facilitates the process. The purpose of umkhapho is to keep the bonds between the deceased person and the bereaved alive so that the deceased may be able to return later and communicate as an ancestor. During this ritual, an animal such as a goat is slaughtered. A larger animal like a cow may also be slaughtered for an important person like a head of the family whilst a goat without a blemish may be slaughtered for others.   Further customs include the emptying the main bedroom of the bereaving family, known as 'indlu enkulu'. This room is where most of the last respects will be paid by family and friends. The emptying of the room is done in order to create space for extended family members to be able to mourn in the main room. The first family members and/or neighbours to arrive arrange the main bedroom to accommodate this seating arrangement by placing a traditional grass mat (ukhukho) or mattress on the floor.   Mourners do not require an invitation to attend a funeral and everyone who can and would like to attend is welcome. This means that the bereaved family has to cater for an unknown number of mourners. Traditionally, mourners were fed with 'inkobe', which is boiled dried corn and water, and the corn was taken from the family food reserves as well as donated by family members and neighbours. In the 21st century, it is regarded as taboo to feed mourners with 'inkobe' and, as a result of shame, funeral catering has become a lucrative business for the industry during burial events.   On the day of burial, before extended family members disperse to their homes, the ukuxukuxa (cleansing) ritual occurs and a goat or sheep or even a fowl is slaughtered.[18][19]   A cleansing ritual is done the day after the burial, in which the bereaved women of the family go to the nearest river to wash all the materials and blankets that were used by the deceased before death. Furthermore, the clothes of the deceased are removed from the house and the family members shave their hair. The shaving of hair is an indication that life continues to spring up even after death.   Umtsimba A traditional Swazi wedding ceremony is called umtsimba (Swazi: [umtsʼimɓa]), where the bride commits herself to her new family for the rest of her life.[1][2] The ceremony is a celebration that includes members of both the bride's - and the groom's - natal village. There are stages to the wedding that stretch over a few days. Each stage is significant, comprising symbolic gestures that have been passed on from generation to generation. The first stage is the preparation of the bridal party before leaving their village. The second stage is the actual journey of the bridal party from their village to the groom's village. The third stage is the first day of the wedding ceremony that spans three days, and starts on the day the bridal party arrives at the grooms’ village. Thereafter the actual wedding ceremony takes place which is the fourth stage of the umtsimba. The fifth stage takes place the day after the wedding ceremony and is known as kuteka,[3] which is the actual wedding. The final stage may take place the day after the wedding day, and is when the bride gives the groom's family gifts and is the first evening the bride spends with the groom. Although the traditional wedding ceremony has evolved in modern times,[4] the details below are based on historic accounts of anthropologist Hilda Kuper[5] and sociological research describing the tradition[6]       Before the bridal party leaves The bride's father notifies friends and relatives that his daughter is to be married, and the chief of the village is informed that there will be a wedding. Thereafter, the father informs and invites the neighbours to the wedding. The father also appoints two men and two women to accompany the untsimba to the groom's homestead.[7] Grass mats and grass brooms are made by the young bride, her relatives and friends, which the bride will take with her when she leaves her parental home. She also takes along hand-made presents for her in-laws, which signals to them a spirit of friendliness and generosity.   Almost all Swazi functions and ceremonies include traditional beer called umcombotsi, which is brewed together with other beverages by the elderly women of the village for the bride's journey to her groom's homestead. Should the groom live close by, the bride takes a pot of beer known as tshwala beliqaka to the groom's home, which indicates to them that she has come with her family's full consent.[5]   Once a message has been sent to the future family that preparations have been made, the bridal party (umtsimba) is gathered together, mostly young girls and women that are relatives and friends of the bride. The size of an umtsimba is a matter of pride for a bride's family and may exceed fifty people. The important parties of the bride's maids are 1) ematshitshi (girls who have reached puberty but have not chosen a lover) 2) emaqhikiza (girls who have chosen a lover) 3) tingcugce (these are girls who have chosen a lover and are preparing for marriage).[7] The umtsimba also serves to test the hospitality of the future husband.   Day of departure The day of departure is marked by intense activity, with young people wearing their finest traditional attire. Inkomo yekususa umtsimba (a cow to send forth the bridal parties) is killed and the meat cooked and eaten.[7][8] The bride's father and elderly relatives ensure that the meat is correctly allocated among members of the group. The inyongo (gall bladder) is set aside for the bride by the lisokancanti (first born son) of her paternal grandfather. The Lisokancanti performs a ritual where he squeezes the gall on to the bride's mouth, forehead, down the centre of her face, down the right arm and the right leg. This is done to strengthen her and give her good luck.[7] The bladder is then inflated and tied with a string above her forehead.[3][5] This is her lusiba (feather), which is the sign that she leaves her parental home with her father's consent[5]   The bride is then schooled by older women on the hardships of marriage. She is urged to practice restraint, never to answer insult with insult, and is strongly reminded that she represents the honourable name of her family. She is forewarned against accusations of jealous co-wives of witchcraft and laziness, and possible beatings from her husband. After the marital schooling, the father of the bride bids his daughter farewell and blesses her. The lisokancanti of the bride's grandfather, then issues instructions and advice to the appointed two men and women. He instructs them to ensure to return the insulamyembeti (tear wiper) cow, which will be mentioned later.[7] The bride and tingcugce have a ludzibi (a girl that helps with carrying luggage) to carry clothes and blankets for the bride and the older girls. The young men also assist. The bridal party then start singing and dancing wedding songs and they depart. Two of the songs they sing are the following:   Naye lodzabula bantfu timvalo, Bambizile izwe lonkhe, Nangok' etile, Siyamsunduzela [7]   Udaba ludabula abantu izimvalo, hyye mbize izwe lonke, siya msunduzela [6]   These songs explain that the bride is in great demand. As a special favour, she is being sent to the bridegroom.[7] Depending on the distance between villages, the journey to the groom's homestead could take a number of days. Along the way, the bridal party is accommodated at the homes of specific kinsmen and friends. Today, the journey to the groom's homestead tends to be of much shorter duration, in part due to availability of modern transport.   Arrival of bridal party (day 1) The bridal party aims to arrive at the groom's homestead as the sun sets as it is believed that the ancestral spirits are at their most active and so welcome and bless the bride.[5] When the bridal party approaches the groom's homestead, members of the bridal party dance in order to make their presence known. They wait outside the gates and await to be welcomed. The bridal party forms an arc, with the bride at its centre, the men start loudly praising her clan name and praising her ancestors. The singing ends when the groom's female relatives, wearing rattles on their ankles, emerge to welcome the party.[6] As the bride starts singing the first song, a boy from the groom's village leads the bride and her tingcugce (single women) to her future mother-in-law. Kneeling, the bride places a string of white beads in front of her mother in law, and says: "I come to pay allegiance". The mother-in-law replies: "From whom do you come?" The bride answers "I was sent by my father".[7] The bride and her party are then led away to rest while the groom's family continues to sing and dance as a sign of joyful welcome. The bride and her 'girls ' sleep in the same room. She has not seen the groom.   Before sunset, the bridal party goes to the river where they eat and drink. The groom's family arranges that a cow or goat known as the sahukulu. Each member of the umtsimba accepts a portion, however mature girls are not permitted to eat the offal.[5] The bride herself is excluded from the sahukulu feast and only eats meals prepared for her from home or from relatives. The party then returns to the prepared rooms provided by the groom's family.   The wedding ceremony (day 2) The bridal party arrives early to prepare and get dressed, away from the homestead and wedding activities. Preparations are lengthy as the bride intends to impress all with her entry: she wears a cow leather skirt from home and a garment with fur called sigeja. Beads and wool cover her face, and her head is adorned with a crown (sidlodo) consisting of two bunches of large black feathers of a long-tailed widowbird.[6] The community arrives, expecting to be entertained by the umtsimba’s dancing. The women of the village carry long carving knives while the men hold spears and shields, as they know that the group will be dancing on that afternoon.   The umtsimba remains at the river. A young male emissary is sent to the bride from the groom's family to invite the party to join the groom.[7] The bride, hidden by her 'brothers', dances alone towards her mother in law, flanked by her bridesmaids, and is later joined in dancing by the community. The audience give out little presents including coins, fruits and sweets to the dancing group. The ummiso (traditional dance) starts as the group approaches the traditional yard which has been prepared for the wedding. The groom wears a sidvwashi around his waist (printed skirt) topped with emajobo (loin skins made from cow or leopard skin) and beaded ornaments on his chest. Towards the end of the ceremony, he joins his bride in dancing. This is the climax of the dancing ceremony. Afterwards, the bridal party gives a cow (umganu) to the groom's family as a sign that the bride comes from a good family, and in a legal sense, it also portrays her independent status. The only people to eat the meat of the slaughtered beast are the members of the man's family, including the daughter-in-law. These people are referred to as ‘bomakoti’.[2] The gift of the umganu plays a central role in any future successionary claims.   At the end of this day, a cow is killed – a sidvudvu (porridge) or inkhomo yemtsimba (cow of the umtsimba),or indlakudla (eat food). This gives the bridal party the legal right to eat at the groom's homestead, and must be distinguished from the sahukulu which in theory is taken by force and eaten away from the homestead.   The killing of the sidvudvu is emblematic – during skinning, juices from the umsasane (stomach) should not be spilled as it could indicate that if it is spilt, it means that the groom has put the bride in the family way and would therefore have to pay a fine, in form of a cow.[7] The umsasane is washed at the river by the men, and then sent to the mother of the bride (or if she lives far away, to an elderly woman of the bride's group) together with the left hind leg of the cow.[5] The rest of the meat is divided between the two families, the bride's receiving the right-hand section and the man's the left.   The wedding day (day 3) The mekeza The marriage day is known as lilanga lokuteka.[3] The elders in the groom's family members are gathered before sunrise to summon the bride:[9] "Come out, mother, and mekeza, now I marry you".[5] Mekeza has no English equivalent, but it describes the mourning of the bride in leaving her family and her girlhood behind.   The bride stays symbolically silent and sad.,[10] as a man from the groom's side family calls her to mekeza, while her companions shout at him to go away. As the day progresses and the sun rises, the bride is accompanied by her girls to the groom's cattle-byre to mekeza, wearing simply her loin skirt from home[3][5][6][7][9]   The bridesmaids walks slowly from east to west in the cattle-byre,[3] while the bride leans on a spear from her husband's home, crying. The spear is symbolic, consisting of iron and wood, with iron symbolising death and the wood from the tree symbolising life.[3] The bride wears a black leather skirt (sidvwaba),[3][11] which signals her new position in society.[5][7] Her girls follow behind her singing woeful songs. Mekeza songs are repeated continuously, and traditionally deal with the importance of family, the hardships of marriage and the significance of cattle to her family. The songs also serve to highlight the importance of respect, obedience and docility to the bride.[12] Finally the bride gives the signal for her brothers, who have been in hiding, to ‘rescue’ her – a symbolic gesture.[10] She sings:   Come and rescue me, my brother, Arm and let us go. The bird wanders. Bring me back to my virgin room, Back to my home. Come and rescue me, Rescue me, my brother.   The bride 'escapes' to her room with her bridal party, while the groom's family call to her: "We bring you back, mother, with your cow, a cow with a red stripe". This cow, always light in colour, is known as the insulamnyembeti[2] - the wiper away of tears - and shows the bride's mother that the groom's people appreciate the care she lavished on her daughter.[7][13][14] The mekeza can last from two to four hours and is very tiring for everyone.   Umhlambiso After the bride's display of reluctance to leave her family, she now endeavours to find favour with her new family. The umhlambiso – the gifts for the future in-laws - is prepared and traditionally includes general domestic wares such as blankets, dishes, grass mats, clay pots, and brooms.[2][8][10] Next, the bride extend her hand to her husband's, which contains red and white beads (libendlu), with white being the sign of virginity. Should the groom be absent, the bead is placed on his sister or other kinsman as a sign of acceptance. Today, this custom is not very common anymore. The bride gives gifts to the immediate family members and is increasingly incorporated into her husband's home.   The next gesture displays the bride's duty to bear children: she is led to the cattle-byre by an old woman, where the bridesmaids surround her singing mekeza songs. The old woman covers the bride with fat and her face with red ochre. A child from the groom's family is placed on her lap and is told: ‘Here is your mother’, and the child too is smeared with fat.[5][6][7][10] Then the bride is given a skin apron, tied under her armpits, which is a sign of a new wife or a woman in her first pregnancy. The bridal party return home, and the bride stays in her new home.   Transfer of lobola occurs, which includes the transfer of cattle from the groom's family to the bride's family. This can occur months or years after umtsimba.[5][14] The Swazi tradition states:"akulotjolwa intfombi kulotjolwa umfati" which means that, the bride price is paid for a woman who is legally bound in marriage and not for a single woman.[15] However, nowadays lobola is mostly paid before the couple is married, when the woman is not as yet legally bound.   Special occasions Initiation In Ndebele culture, the initiation rite, symbolising the transition from childhood to adulthood, plays an important role. Initiation schools for boys are held every four years and for girls, as soon as they get into puberty stage. During the period of initiation, relatives and friends come from far and wide to join in the ceremonies and activities associated with initiation. Boys are initiated as a group when they are about 18 years of age when a special regiment (iintanga) is set up and led by a boy of high social rank. Each regiment has a distinguishing name. Among the Ndzundza tribe there is a cycle of 15 such regimental names, allocated successively, and among the Manala there is a cycle of 13 such names.   During initiation girls wear an array of colourful beaded hoops (called iinrholwani) around their legs, arms, waist and neck. The girls are kept in isolation and are prepared and trained to become homemakers and matriarchs. The coming-out ceremony marks the conclusion of the initiation school and the girls then wear stiff rectangular aprons (called iphephetu), beaded in geometric and often three-dimensional patterns, to celebrate the event. After initiation, these aprons are replaced by stiff, square ones, made from hardened leather and adorned with beadwork.   Courtship and marriage Marriages were only concluded between members of different clans, that is between individuals who did not have the same clan name. However, a man could marry a woman from the same family as his paternal grandmother. The prospective bride was kept secluded for two weeks before the wedding in a specially made structure in her parents' house, to shield her from men's eyes. When the bride emerged from her seclusion, she was wrapped in a blanket and covered by an umbrella that was held for her by a younger girl called(Ipelesi) who also attended to her other needs. On her marriage, the bride was given a marriage blanket, which she would, in time, adorn with beadwork, either added to the blanket's outer surface or woven into the fabric. After the wedding, the couple lived in the area belonging to the husband's clan. Women retained the clan name of their fathers but children born of the marriage took their father's clan name.