MUCHATAZINA SECONDARY SCHOOL

English Assignment

Theme of Work

Wedding in Mozambique

Grade :11aclass:B02

students
Armando João Manaisse Nº13
Dias José Zibane Nº20
Elisa Victor André Nº26
Júlia Moisés Titosse Nº53
Luísa Januário Nº60
Ramada Yahaya Nº73
Sara Joaquim Chaderuca Nº81
Teacher
dr. Lúcio Mucaisse

Beira, October 2023

Índices

1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................3

2 Theoretical Foundation............................................................................................................4

2.1 Wedding concept...............................................................................................................4

2.2 Classification of Marriages in Mozambique.....................................................................4

2.2.1 Civil marriage............................................................................................................4

2.2.2 Assumptions of the wedding celebration...................................................................4

2.2.3 Declaration for marriage............................................................................................4

2.2.4 External form of the declaration................................................................................4

2.3 Necessary documents and requirements...........................................................................5

2.4 Religious And Traditional Weddings...............................................................................5

2.5 Urgent and Proxy Marriages.............................................................................................6

2.5.1 Urgent weddings........................................................................................................6

2.5.2 Proxy Marriages.........................................................................................................6

3 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................7

3.1 Reference Bibliography....................................................................................................8

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1 Introduction
This research work “wedding in Mozambique”. However, the analysis of the different types of
marital unions is fundamental when studying families; both in terms of their internal structure and in
terms of the relationships they develop with the surrounding social structure. This analysis clarifies
the relative weight that different cultural referents and social representations have within the family
and allows us to understand the way in which these referents and social representations are
articulated.

The variety of marriage unions among the families studied is immense. When the actors say they are
married, they may be referring to numerous types of marriage. There are unions formalized
simultaneously in the Civil Registry, in the Catholic Church and through lobolo; There are couples
who have only partially completed the different ceremonies and services that lobolo involves.

According to UNICEF, girls who have completed secondary education are 53% less likely to be
married before the age of 18 than girls who do not have access to education. Another aspect is that
there are more early marriages in rural areas. Here, 56% of women aged 20-24 were married before
the age of 18, and in urban areas, the percentage is 36%.

This situation becomes quite alarming as it puts the sexual and reproductive health of girls at risk,
which is why it is important to study marriages in Mozambique as one of the determining factors of
maternal and child health.

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2 Theoretical Foundation
2.1 Wedding concept
According to the Mozambican government portal, Mozambican law defines marriage as a voluntary
and singular union between a man and a woman, with the purpose of creating a family, through full
sharing of life. Marriage can be civil, religious or traditional. In Mozambique, monogamous,
religious and traditional marriage is recognized as having the same value and effectiveness as civil
marriage, when the requirements that the law establishes for civil marriage have been observed. See
article number 7 of the Family Law.
According to CHIAVENATO (2001:69) the term matrimony, synonymous with marriage, comes
from the Latin matrimonial. It is the union of a man and a woman that takes place through certain
rites or legal procedures. In recent years, more and more States have authorized marriage between
people of the same gender, meaning that this conjugal union is no longer the heritage and exclusivity
of heterosexuality.
Marriage bonds are recognized at a social level, both through legal norms and customs (the wedding,
for example). When entering into marriage, the spouses obtain rights and obligations, as it is a civil
contract. Marriage also legitimizes the filiation of children who are procreated by its members.
From the perspective of ANDRADE (2000:63) it is possible to distinguish, at least in the Western
world, two major types of marriage: civil marriage (which takes place in the presence of a competent
state authority) and religious marriage (which legitimizes the union to eyes of God).
From the perspective of the Catholic Church, marriage is a sacrament and an institution whose
essence lies in the divine creation of man and woman. Catholic marriage is perpetual: it cannot be
broken according to religious precepts (unlike civil marriage, where divorce exists). A separated
person, therefore, cannot remarry through the Church.
2.2 Classification of Marriages in Mozambique
2.2.1 Civil marriage
2.2.2 Assumptions of the wedding celebration
The celebration of the marriage is preceded by a publication process, regulated in civil registration
legislation and intended to verify the absence of impediments.

The organization of the preliminary process of publications for marriage is the responsibility of the
civil registry office or delegation of the area in which either of the bride and groom has domicile or
residence established through the residence continues for at least the last thirty days prior to the date
of declaration or presentation of the application referred to in the following.
2.2.3 Declaration for marriage
Those who intend to marry must declare it, in person or through a proxy, before the civil registry
officer and request the initiation of preliminary proceedings.
2.2.4 External form of the declaration
The declaration for marriage must be contained in a document signed by the bride and groom, with
no need to recognize the signatures, or in a document drawn up in a form to be made available by the
civil registry office or delegation, if they know and can do so.
The declaration must contain the following elements:
 The full names, age, state, place of birth and habitual residence of the bride and groom;

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  The full names and status of the parents and, if one of them has died, mention of this
circumstance;
 The full name and status of the guardian, if any of the spouses is a minor and has
guardianship established;
 In the case of a second marriage of one of the bride and groom, mention of this fact and
whether or not there are children from a previous marriage;
 The registry office or delegation in which the marriage must be celebrated;
 The mention of the marriage being celebrated with or without a prenuptial agreement;
 The number, date and issuing office of the bride and groom's identity cards, or the protest for
their subsequent presentation.
2.3 Necessary documents and requirements
 The initial declaration must be accompanied by the following documents:
 Certificates proving the current residence of the spouses;
 Birth registration certificates of the bride and groom;
 Death registration certificate of the father or mother of non-emancipated minor spouses,
when they wish to benefit from the exemption or reduction in fees provided for in the Law;
 Certificate of the prenuptial deed, if applicable; It is
 The identity cards of the bride and groom.
The first four documents must be presented at the time of declaration, the rest can be presented later,
but before the celebration of the marriage.
The birth certificates of the bride and groom, as well as the death certificates necessary for the
process, may be replaced by certificates of notoriety issued under the terms provided for in the Law
by authenticated photocopies or public forms.
Identification tickets will be returned to presenters after their presentation has been noted in the
process.
Foreign couples who are not resident in national territory will be exempt from presenting an identity
card as long as they present their passport.
If it is impossible to present the death registration certificate of the father or mother of non-
emancipated minor spouses, it may be replaced by a declaration of consent issued by whoever is
responsible for the minor, confirmed by the political entity of the place of residence, in which the
precise situation of the minor will be mentioned and the reasons for this impossibility will be
specified.
2.4 Religious And Traditional Weddings
Religious and traditional marriages can only be celebrated by those who have the marital capacity
required by law.
In this type of marriage, the marital capacity of the bride and groom is proven through a preliminary
publication process, organized in the civil registry offices at the request of the bride and groom or
the religious dignitary, in accordance with the registration law. Once the final order of the
preliminary publication process confirms that there are no impediments to the marriage, the civil
registry officer extracts the marriage certificate, which is sent to the religious dignitary and without
which the marriage cannot be celebrated.
For the religious wedding to take place, it is essential to be present:
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  The spouses or one of them and the attorney for the other;
 From the religious signatory competent to celebrate the act; It is
 From two witnesses
 For a traditional wedding to take place, the presence of:
 Of the contracting parties;
 From the community authority; It is
 Two witnesses.

2.5 Urgent and Proxy Marriages

2.5.1 Urgent weddings

When there is a well-founded fear of the imminent death of one of the bride and groom, the
celebration of marriage is permitted independently of the preliminary publication process and
without the intervention of the civil registry officer.
A provisional certificate is drawn up unofficially for the urgent marriage. Therefore, the civil
registry employee is obliged to draw up the provisional record, provided that the minutes of the
urgent marriage are presented to him for this purpose, in accordance with the terms prescribed in the
civil registry legislation.

2.5.2 Proxy Marriages

Mozambican legislation allows one of the brides and grooms to be represented, at the time of the
marriage celebration, by a proxy. The power of attorney that the representative will hold must
contain special powers for the act, the express designation of the other spouse and the indication of
the type of marriage.

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3 Conclusion
However, we conclude that the practice of marriage in Mozambique is a very old custom, with
distinct habits and practices, following a process determined by what has been done since the
beginning of these peoples, based on ancient and often superstitious beliefs with the aim to carry out
marriage by giving the bride in exchange for a monetary value that varies in its composition, to give
value to the care and work that the bride's family had to educate her.

Traditional marriage in Mozambique is recognized by law as it is part of our oldest and most distinct
customs, it comes from the beginnings of Mozambican civilizations and is a way of carrying out
marriage between suitors, generating descendants who carry this same culture from generation to
generation and becoming To this day, in Mozambique there are different ways in which these
marriages are practiced, varying some aspects from region to region, and it is important to address in
this work the northern region of the country, which has very curious customs.

Finally, we highlight that there are consequences in terms of sexual and reproductive health, linked
to early pregnancy because the girl is not prepared to have a child, which can result in infant and
maternal mortality or the contraction of obstetric fistula

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3.1 Reference Bibliography
Legislation

MOZAMBIQUE, CONSTITUTION (2004), Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique, Maputo,

Plural Editors, 2004.

MOZAMBIQUE, Family Law, approved by Law nº 10/2004 of August 25, 2004.

Doctrine:

ARTUR, M. J. premature marriage as a violation of human rights. gorongoza, sofala,

mozambique .2010

ANDRADE, Maria. Public health, 7th edition, Atlas, São Paulo 2000

ARTUR, Domingos do Rosário (Coord.). Tradition and Modernity: what a place for African
Tradition. Maputo, CIMISAU, 1999.

CHIAVENATO, Isaac. Me and World. Volume I. 6th Edition. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Campos,
2001.