In And About Culture

Becoming Mrs In the Nazareth Baptist Church (Shembe) way of life, a young man approaches the girl through her leader in church to ask for her hand in marriage. If the girl agrees, the young man will send biscuits and cool drinks to her. Then the procedure of sending a delegation to the girl’s home to ask for her hand in marriage begins. After this, the couple have to go to the main church or temple for blessings that they are both ready to be husband and wife and they are going to respect each other according to the laws of the church. This is done before the white wedding. On this day, they both have to wear their traditional attires. Getting these blessings does not permit them to engage in sexual activities, they are encouraged not to until all the proceedings are done. On the day of their wedding, the bride will dance in the yard of her husband’s home. She will be covered on her shoulders with a navy blue cloth to symbolise that she is a virgin. #ReligionMeetsCulture #ZuluGirl

Womanhood In All Levels Today I will be talking about things drama, the lows and highs of Ilobolo Umkhehlo and Umembeso. Ilobola is the most important thing that needs to happen when the Zulu girl finally says "mom and dad I've met the one" however she does not say it herself but the family members of the person that wants to marry her has to come to the girls home and have people formally presenting on his behalf. Lobola starts the process of marriage. Lobola is an expression of honour to the parents but also an undertaking of responsibility to the spouse.Paying lobola shows commitment on the part of the bridegroom and it is a serious demonstration of the love of the man for the woman – love not just in words but also in deeds. Lobola is a public acknowledgement that the marriage is genuine. Because of lobola, the husband and wife cannot easily separate and divorce. There must always be discussion with the family members before marital separation. In the olden days

The 21st! When it comes to Zulu culture everyone if not most know about this ritual only because it's believed by the people that this is when the girl can give the cake to who they feel deserve it. Zulu culture allows yes because at this stage your family gives thanks to the Zulu child, saying "Thank for controlling yourself, it's now time for you to start your own family because you're no longer a child but an adult" However with the Shembe religion the girl has to stay a virgin till they meet someone who is willing to pay lobola meaning that to the family yes the 21st has been done but to then you're still a child. Our topic for today, umemulo. Umemulo is a traditional Zulu coming of age ceremony for women. The rituals involve slaughtering a cow and the traditional Zulu dance Ukusina involving a spear.A woman's Umemulo ceremony signifies that the she is now ready for marriage. The Umemulo ceremony, for the whole week the girl who is turning 21 ye

When It's All Forgotten Nature Calls For Culture Fourteen to fifteen years down the line the next step comes to life. Umhloyana o Umhloyana  is a ritual performed when a girl reaches puberty (when they get their first menstruation) exactly than, usually between the ages 14-16. Umhlonyana is a name of a plant that was, in the old days, used to cleanse the girl when she got her first menstruation; it was also used to make the girl firm in order to survive in the outside wold, the girl has to drink it while preparing for the actual ritual. But nowadays ‘umhlonyana’ the plant is not used as it is no longer available, the only umhlonyana plant that still exist is said to be in Newcastle . This ritual is done to introduce a girl to the different stage and to tell her she must be careful and be watchful of her behaviour. It is also meant to teach girls how to behave when they reach the puberty stage. As I have mentioned above that it is for girls who have reached puberty but some pe

When Religion Meets Culture Ever sat and wonderd what happens when a child of any race, culture, let alone religion is born? Well wonder no more when it comes to the Zulu culture and Shembe religion because I will be giving you the insights, the in between, the stages of which a Zulu girl goes through from being a baby to womanhood. When the baby girl is born there are certain procedure, steps of which the two families need to follow. If the mother and father of the child are not married they do things abit different from a child that is born in wedlock. If they are not married, the father of the baby has to pay inhlawulo (damages) for him to have titles when it comes to the baby. If they are married, then the the stages are much easier hence the families move straight to what we call Imbeleko. Our topic for today. Imbheleko is done in most cultures even though some families don't give it the same term as Zulu people. Imbeleko is a ceremony that is conducted on the 10th