Lobola Bridewealth in Contemporary Southern Africa Implications For Gender Equality 1St Ed 2021 Edition Lovemore Togarasei Editor Full Chapter

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Lobola (Bridewealth)
in Contemporary
Southern Africa
Implications for Gender Equality
Edited by
Lovemore Togarasei · Ezra Chitando
Lobola (Bridewealth) in Contemporary
Southern Africa
Lovemore Togarasei • Ezra Chitando
Editors
Lobola (Bridewealth)
in Contemporary
Southern Africa
Implications for Gender Equality
Editors
Lovemore Togarasei Ezra Chitando
Department of Theology and Department of Religious Studies,
Religious Studies Classics and Philosophy
University of Botswana University of Zimbabwe
Gaborone, Botswana Harare, Zimbabwe
ISBN 978-3-030-59522-7 ISBN 978-3-030-59523-4 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59523-4
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
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Acknowledgement
We are grateful to the participants of the Association of Theological

Institutions in Southern and Central Africa (ATISCA) conference held in
Harare in July 2016 who debated gender issues in Southern Africa with
passion and clarity. They prompted us to consider the production of a
book that addresses gender implications of the practice of lobola in
the region.
v
Contents
1 Introduction 1
Lovemore Togarasei and Ezra Chitando
Part I History and Background of Lobola 11
2 No to Bride Price/Bride Wealth, Yes to Roora:

Investigating the Meaning, Function and Purpose of
Roora as a Ritual 13
Nisbert Taisekwa Taringa and Godfrey Museka
3 Roora/Lobola Language, Meaning and Function: A

Keystone of Shona Culture 29
Francis Matambirofa
4 Bride Wealth in Southern Africa: Origin, Functions,

Rights, and Gender-Based Violence 45
John Chitakure
Part II Lobola in Sacred Texts and Literature 63
5 The Bible in the Lobola Debate 65

Lovemore Togarasei
vii
viii Contents
6 The Jewish and Shona Perspectives of Bride Wealth in

Light of Calls for Roora Abolition 79
Francis Machingura and Liveson Tatira
7 The Biblical and Cultural Bases for Lobola in Light of

Calls for Lobola Abolition in the African Context 95
Eliot Tofa
8 Disempowerment of Men by Men? A Comparative

Analysis of Lobola and Mahr Impact on Non-hegemonic
Masculinities in Zimbabwe109
Edmore Dube
9 Roora (Bride Price) and Femininity of Entrapment in

ChiShona Literature129
Beatrice Taringa
10 “Jojina,” “Marujata” and “Chihera”: Celebrating

Women’s Agency in the Debate on Roora in Shona Culture147
Ezra Chitando
Part III Lobola Practices in Some Southern African

Communities 165
11 Bogadi Practice and the Place of Women in the Botswana

Society167
Fidelis Nkomazana
12 Mutation of Lobola and “Othering” of Women in Ndebele

Culture185
Sambulo Ndlovu
13 African Culture and Modernity: A Critical Review of

the Vhavenḓa Lumalo Practice in Zimbabwe201
Silibaziso Mulea
Contents ix
14 A Critical Assessment of Lobola Marriage Practices in

Malawi: Mzimba Case Study217
Mastone L. K. Mbewe
15 Ndzovolo Practices Among Vatsonga in Zimbabwe and

Their Implications on Gender231
Steyn Khesani Madlome
16 Gender Implications of the Metaphorical Use of Mapere

(Hyenas) in Some Roora Practices Among the Shona
People in Zimbabwe247
Benard Pindukai Humbe and Excellent Chireshe
17 Commercialisation of Marriage Rites and

Commodification of Women in Contemporary Times:
The Discourse of Lobola in the Public Sphere in Zambia263
Nelly Mwale and Joseph Chita
18 Intersection of Lobola, Intimate Partner Violence and

Love Among Karanga Christians in Chivi District,
Zimbabwe283
Excellent Chireshe
19 Creating Alternatives to the Commercialisation of Magadi

Among Bapedi People in South Africa303
Mookgo Solomon Kgatle
Part IV Philosophical and Theological Reflections on the

Practice of Lobola 315
20 An Enquiry into the Value of Human Life: The Lobola

Perspective317
Clive Tendai Zimunya and Chipo Hatendi
21 Contextual African Theological Interpretation of Ilobola

as a Gender Issue in the Era of Globalisation329
Moji Ruele
x Contents
22 Lobola and Gender Equality: A Theological Hermeneutic

Approach343
Blazio Manobo
23 Our Debt to Our Parents: Perspectives on Lobola in the

Shona Culture361
Clive Tendai Zimunya
Index375
Notes on Contributors
Excellent Chireshe is Associate Professor of Religious Studies in the

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Great Zimbabwe
University, and a research fellow at the University of the Free State. She
holds a doctorate in Religious Studies, with a focus on gender-based vio-
lence. Her research interests include religion and gender, religion and eth-
ics and sociology of religion. She has a considerable number of publications
in reputable outlets, mostly on religion and gender.
Joseph Chita is a Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at the
University of Zambia.
John Chitakure is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at The
Mexican American Catholic College, and Adjunct Professor of the
Religious Quest at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio,
Texas. He is the author of, among others, Things That My Father Forgot to
Tell Me (2019).
Ezra Chitando is Professor of History and Phenomenology of Religion
at the University of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa Regional Coordinator
of the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy, World
Council of Churches. His research interests include religion and gen-
der, sexuality, health, politics, development and security.
Edmore Dube holds a PhD in Christian-Muslim Dialogue from the
University of Zimbabwe. He has also published on post-Conciliar mar-
riage in Africa (2015). His recent publication on the Bible and gender in
xi
xii NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Africa interrogates how modern trends of viewing marriage have given rise
to perceptions of marriage as a perpetual burden on the woman (2019).
Chipo Hatendi is Lecturer of Philosophy in the Department of Religious
Studies, Classics and Philosophy at the University of Zimbabwe and a
PhD candidate in Applied Ethics at the University of Zimbabwe. Her
research interests lie in applied ethics, reproductive ethics, logic and
philosophy of education. She has published articles in applied ethics,
reproductive ethics and philosophy of education.
Benard Pindukai Humbe is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy
and Religious Studies at Great Zimbabwe University and a PhD candidate
with the University of Free State, South Africa. His areas of research inter-
est include symbolism of animals in African Indigenous religion, onomas-
tics, traditional law and social development, religion and entrepreneurship,
religion and social transformation, and religion and power.
Mookgo Solomon Kgatle is Associate Professor of Missiology at the
University of South Africa and a visiting scholar at the Centre for
Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, University of Birmingham
(2020–2021). He is a National Research Foundation (NRF) Y Rated
researcher (2019–2024) in the area of African Pentecostalism. He has
published several peer-reviewed articles in various high-impact journals
and a book, The Fourth Pentecostal Wave in South Africa: A Critical
Engagement (2019).
Francis Machingura is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies in the
Curriculum and Arts Education Department at the University of
Zimbabwe. His areas of special interest are interaction of the Bible and
gender, Bible and politics, Bible and health, Bible and inclusivity, Bible
and sexuality, Music and Pentecostal Christianity in Africa. He has pub-
lished books, several articles and book chapters.
Steyn Khesani Madlome is Lecturer in the African Languages and
Culture Department at Great Zimbabwe University. He holds a PhD
degree in Xitsonga and a Masters of Arts in Xitsonga from the University
of Venda (RSA). His areas of research are culture, translation studies,
Indigenous knowledge systems, sociolinguistics, African studies and inter-
disciplinary research.
Blazio Manobo is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Systematic
Theology of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe and a PhD candidate at
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xiii
the University of KwaZulu Natal. He has published several articles in the-

ology and development including two books. His research interest is in
black theology, theology and development, practical theology, and politi-
cal theology.
Francis Matambirofa is an associate professor in the Department of
African Languages and Literature at the University of Zimbabwe.
Mastone L. K. Mbewe teaches in the Department of Theology and
Religious Studies at Chancellor College, University of Malawi.
Silibaziso Mulea is Lecturer in African Languages and Culture
Department at Great Zimbabwe University and a PhD candidate with the
University of South Africa. Her area of research includes Indigenous
knowledge systems, culture, orature and African languages literature.
Godfrey Museka is Lecturer in Content and Pedagogical courses in
Religion and Ethics in the Department of Curriculum and Arts Education,
University of Zimbabwe. His recent publication is an article titled Towards
the Implementation of a Multifaith Approach in Religious Education: A
Phenomenological Guide (2019).
Nelly Mwale is a special research fellow and lecturer in the Department
of Religious Studies in Zambia, University of Zambia.
Sambulo Ndlovu is Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Culture in the
Department of African Languages and Culture at Great Zimbabwe
University.
Fidelis Nkomazana is Associate Professor of Church History and Head
of Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of
Botswana. He has widely researched and published on church history,
women and other related aspects. His research focus is on Pentecostalism.
He has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals, chapters in
books and attended several international conferences.
Moji Ruele is a senior lecturer in the Department of Theology and
Religious Studies, University of Botswana. He has research interest in con-
textual theology.
Beatrice Taringa is Coordinator & Lecturer in Research Methods and
Indigenous Languages, Department of Professional Studies and
Contemporary Subjects at Belvedere Technical Teachers College,
Zimbabwe.
xiv NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Nisbert Taisekwa Taringa (late) was the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of
Arts and an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies,
Classics and Philosophy, University of Zimbabwe. His vast research inter-
ests and publications included African traditional religions, African inde-
pendent churches, the environment, method and theory in the study of
religions, human rights and gender.
Liveson Tatira holds a PhD in Literature (Shona) and a PhD in Arts
(Onomastics). He is a senior lecturer in the Department of Curriculum
and Arts Education at the University of Zimbabwe. He has published in
literature, folklore, Indigenous knowledge, Onomastics, education and
linguistics. He is also a published Shona poet.
Eliot Tofa is a senior lecturer in the Department of Theology and
Religious Studies at the University of Eswatini and a research associate at
the University of Pretoria. His research interests are in biblical sciences
with special focus on the appropriation of the Bible in the pub-
lic sphere.
Lovemore Togarasei is Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies in the
Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of
Botswana. He has research interests in leadership, health and the Bible and
African Christianity especially in its Pentecostal manifestations.
Clive Tendai Zimunya is Lecturer in Philosophy in the Department of
Philosophy at the National University of Lesotho. His research interests
include African philosophy, logic, epistemology, philosophy of religion
and ethics.
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Lovemore Togarasei and Ezra Chitando
Marriage payments are common practice among human beings. Most

societies have at some point practised some form of payments at the time
of marriage. The payments come in two main forms: as transfers from the
family of the bride to the family of the groom in which case they are called
“dowry,” or as transfers from the family of the groom to that of the bride
in which case they are called “bride price” or “bride wealth” (Goody
1973, Anderson 2007). In the context of the Southern African region that
this book is focusing on, the dominant practice is bride price/wealth. This
practice is known by different indigenous terms among the various ethnic
groups and languages of Southern Africa: lobola in Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi,
Silozi and Ndebele; magadi in Setswana and Sotho; roora in Shona; lovola
in Xitsonga and many others. Lobola is, however, the most widely used
term in literature on marriage payments in Southern Africa. We have
adopted it in the title of this book, though it remains contested.
L. Togarasei (*)
Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Botswana,
Gaborone, Botswana
E. Chitando
Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy, University of
Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2021
L. Togarasei, E. Chitando (eds.), Lobola (Bridewealth) in
Contemporary Southern Africa,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59523-4_1
2 L. TOGARASEI AND E. CHITANDO
Goods for the payment of lobola have varied over time. However, for a
long time, cattle have remained central to lobola that Nsereko (1975: 687)
cites the Sukuma Declaration of Customary Law which defines bride
wealth as “cattle or other property handed over by a prospective bride-
groom to the father or other male relative of a girl whom he intends to
marry.” Citing the different indigenous terms by which the practice is
known in most Southern African languages, Hadithi.Africa (2019) also
highlights that cattle are central to the payment of lobola. Today, in some
instances, other modern gadgets such as mobile phones and cars and other
household goods can be requested by the bride’s family over and above
huge sums of money. But even in such cases, cattle remain the most impor-
tant items of exchange, with other charges based on the cost of cattle. A
number of chapters in this book describe how the process of payment of
lobola is conducted in different ethnic groups. The process also varies from
family to family but generally what happens is that, when a man and a
woman decide to get married, the groom asks the bride for a name of
person who is close to her family who can act as the marriage intermediary
(go-between) in the marriage negotiations.1 Once identified, the family of
the groom approaches him/her to go and inform the bride’s family of
their intentions to marry. In contemporary times, monetary transactions
begin as early as this stage. The intermediary introduces her/himself with
some money (some introductory fee) to be given to the bride’s family. If
the bride’s family accepts this marriage proposal, a date for the lobola
negotiations, including payment, is set with the list of lobola required by
the bride’s family given to the groom’s family (see, e.g., such a list in
Chap. 11 by Ndlovu in this volume). Traditionally, between 10 and 15
head of cattle could be charged over and above other gifts/money paid to
the groom’s aunts, sisters and other close relatives. Estimating the cost of
a cow at an average of US$400, today, a young man who wants to marry
should be prepared to pay as much as US$30,000 as lobola, with variations
from one family to the other and sometimes depending on the bride’s
level of education and/or the amount of money she earns if she is
employed. Whereas traditionally the whole family contributed somehow
1
What we describe as the process here fits the Zimbabwe Shona lobola process that we are
most familiar with. See also L. Janhi (1970: 33–41), who describes the Shona marriage pro-
cess. We acknowledge that there are many different processes in Southern Africa. In some
societies such as in Botswana, the process may be as long enough as to be finally concluded
by one’s grandchildren (Solway 2017: 311).
1 INTRODUCTION 3
to raising the lobola, today, it is often left to the groom himself to raise this
amount. Add to this the cost of a “white” wedding, a couple may need as
much as US$70,000–100,000 before they begin their married life. In a
study in Botswana, van Dijk (2017: 34) established that the whole mar-
riage process could cost from as much as US$12,000.
Although having a long tradition, of late there have been critical voices
questioning the relevance of lobola in contemporary times. This happens
in the midst of many others voices that vehemently continue to support
the practice. We will begin with the problems raised by those who are call-
ing for the revision or even abolition of the practice.
Challenging an Old Practice: Critiques of Lobola

A number of problems have been linked to the practice of lobola. First is
the commercialisation of the practice that is making many young men
unable to afford marriages. Above, we estimated that the new couple may
need as much as US$100,000 for lobola and other wedding costs. In 2016,
a South Africa wedding planning organisation put the average cost of a
wedding at between R70,000 and R80,000 (US$4400–5000) depending
on the number of people invited, the location of the wedding and other
variables (Businesstech 2016). This figure did not include the cost of
lobola which also runs into thousands of dollars. As correctly observed by
a number of scholars, marriage (especially where it involves the white wed-
ding) has lost its traditional role of a rite of passage to become “a con-
spicuous celebration of middle-class lifestyles and celebrations” (Pauli and
van Dijk 2017: 259).
Given the high rates of unemployment in the region, most young men
cannot afford the costs of marriage. This has resulted in low rates of mar-
riages and increasing rates of co-habitation, a practice shunned by conser-
vatives who see it as weakening the family institution. In Botswana, for
example, the 2011 national census indicated that only 17.9% and 18.9% of
women and men respectively said they were married. Although this low
rate of marriage can be attributed to many factors, high lobola costs,
together with accompanying high wedding costs, rank high among them.
Studying the changes in the practice of lobola in Botswana, Solway (2017)
identified payment of lobola as contributing to declining rates of mar-
riages, causing rising levels of cohabitation as young men are not able to
raise such amounts. The same trend has been noted in South Africa
(Hunter 2010) and other Southern African nations (Ndagurwa et al. 2015).
Second, gender activists observe that lobola practices privilege men, giv-
ing them power and authority, while commoditising women and making
them powerless. For example, Matope et al. (2013: 192), after studying
perceptions of married adults in Gweru, Zimbabwe, on lobola and gender-
based violence concluded that “men use it to oppress, exploit and domi-
nate women.” Nkosi (2011) also reached the same conclusion in a study
of black students’ perceptions of the role of lobola in gender power rela-
tionships in South Africa. These gender activists are also speaking against
the practice and in some cases even calling for its abolition. Thus, the
adoption and deployment of the human rights framework in the region
has led some gender activists to question the relevance of lobola. They
note that, lobola is a gendered construct that constrain men financially as
well as strip women of their human rights (Matope et al. 2013).
Third, noting that men’s privileged status often comes from their eco-
nomic advantage over women, the changing financial status of some
women is complicating the traditional gender order. As calls for gender
equality become louder and affirmative policies are being instituted across
the region, a significant number of women is getting power and influence.
This has further complicated the traditional lobola practice. It has seen
some women “paying for their own lobola” in cases where they get mar-
ried to men who cannot afford to pay the lobola on their own. This is
because the traditional practice where family members (particularly the
father) contributed to the payment of the lobola is waning. This calls for a
re-conceptualisation of lobola as the reality of women mobilising resources
for their own lobola goes against the traditional understanding and mean-
ing of the practice.
Fourth, and related to the first three, is the association of this practice
with gender-based violence (particularly intimate partner violence). In
their study we referred to above, Matope et al. (2013: 194) established
that 80% of their respondents believed that lobola exacerbates gender-
based violence. This is because men who have paid lobola expect their
wives to show them the kind of loyalty and submission that traditional
women gave to their husbands. However, because of their own financial
and social empowerment, their wives are no longer ready to offer it.
It is because of these developments in the institution of marriage that a
number of scholars have of late been developing interest in the study of
marriage in the region. Despite earlier descriptions of marriage practices in
Southern Africa by anthropologists and missionaries, there have been
recent anthropological studies (see, e.g., a 2017 double special issue of
1 INTRODUCTION 5
Anthropology Southern Africa with articles on “Continuity and Change in

Southern African Marriages” edited by Julia Pauli and Rijk van Dijk) and
many other publications on the subject. The interest on marriage and
marriage practices is, indeed, understandable given the fact that tradition-
ally marriage defined families and that the family is the basic social unit.
There are, however, currently few works focusing on the gender implica-
tions of lobola, especially in light of the quest for gender equity in the
region. Isolated studies touch on different aspects of the traditional prac-
tice. There is, therefore, need for work that gives a collection of the differ-
ent views people hold on the practice of lobola. Reasons for and against
lobola in the context of the changing social and economic order of
Southern Africa have not been given due attention.
Chapters of the Book

Building on works that have been published on this subject, this book,
therefore, focuses on the gender implications of lobola by bringing together
25 essays by scholars from different academic disciplines, national con-
texts, institutions, genders and ethnic backgrounds to debate the relevance
of lobola in contemporary Southern African communities for gender
equity. As the region drives towards gender equity (e.g., in pursuit of
Sustainable Development Goal number 5, “Gender Equality”), it is
important to have a fresh look at the practice, and raise and debate issues
that surround it. This is because the region, for a long time, has been asso-
ciated with the marginalisation of women. P. Theron (2015: 53) captures
this when she writes “African women do not have the same rights, respon-
sibilities and opportunities as men.” Lobola is often fingered as promoting
this inequality despite the contention that God created men and women
with equal dignity according to Christian teaching (Matsveru and Gillham
2015: 33–52). Christianity is a major factor in the contemporary con-
struction of gender in the region. Thus, the book contains chapters that
provide a closer look at the practice from different perspectives: history,
culture, religion, philosophy, gender and so on. Written by scholars from
several Southern African countries and others in Diaspora, the chapters
draw case studies from different societies. The book, therefore, provides a
one-stop shop for a gendered understanding of the practice of lobola in
Southern Africa, and the issues and the debates surrounding this practice
in societies that are striving for gender equity and experiencing social and
economic changes. In this regard, the volume breaks new ground by
providing honest and fresh debates on lobola in the context of reflections

and practices on gender in Southern Africa. Contributors to the volume
adopt robust approaches on either side of the divide, or adopt the middle
path, demonstrating intellectual rigour. The sharply divided outlook of
the volume, as well as internal diversity in terms of the ethnic groups cov-
ered (even within the same country), opens up space for deeply engaged
and ongoing reflections on this key theme.
After opening up with an introduction (Chap. 1) by Lovemore
Togarasei and Ezra Chitando, the book is divided into four parts. Part I
comprises three chapters that discuss the history and background of the
practice of lobola. In Chap. 2, Nisbert T. Taringa and Godfrey Museka
observe the dearth of literature on lobola as a ritual. Approaching lobola
from a ritual studies perspective, the chapter fills this gap by utilising ritual
as an analytical category in unpacking the meaning, function and purpose
of the roora as a religio-cultural practice among the Shona people of
Zimbabwe. In Chap. 3, Francis Matambirofa rebuts the call for the aboli-
tion of the Shona marriage system whose centre piece is the custom of
roora/lobola, purportedly as a strategy to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS
and domestic violence. Matambirofa does this by giving evidence to the
effect that some Shona women across the social spectrum want roora to be
maintained as part of Shona cultural heritage and identity. In Chap. 4,
John Chitakure explores the origin, functions, commercialisation and cor-
ruption of bride wealth, and how the exorbitant payments associated with
it subjugate and exploit the women for whom it is paid. The chapter also
calls for the regulation of bride wealth by concerned African
governments.
Part II comprises six chapters that analyse scriptural and literary views
of lobola. Taking cognisance of the influence of scripture in Southern
Africa, the chapters analyse how the Bible and the Quran are deployed in
the practice of lobola. In Chap. 5, Lovemore Togarasei analyses the biblical
position on the practice of payment of bride price (lobola/roora). The
chapter traces the history and function of marriage gifts in ancient Israel,
analysing the extent to which the Bible can be used to justify lobola among
African Christians. Highlighting similarities between Jewish and Shona
practices of bride wealth, in Chap. 6, Francis Machingura and Liveson
Tatira interrogate Jewish and Shona perspectives of lobola in light of calls
for the abolishment of the practice in Zimbabwe. The chapter concludes
that though there might be misgivings in some societal quarters on the
issue of roora, at the present time it plays important social, cultural and
1 INTRODUCTION 7
religious roles to both those who pay and those who receive it, which can-
not be wished away without dire social consequences. In Chap. 7, Eliot
Tofa uses data collected from the Ndebele, Shona, Swazi and Zulu com-
munities to examine ways in which these communities read biblical texts
within the background of lobola, marriage and divorce. Chapter 8, by
Edmore Dube, looks at masculinity in the context of lobola in Islam.
Considering the fact that nowadays the poor man whose wife dies before
significant lobola payment is often humiliated by making wife burial con-
tingent on full lobola payment, the chapter makes a comparative analysis of
the impact of lobola and the Muslim mahr on masculinity. Chapter 9 by
Beatrice Taringa explores the representation of the gendered nature of
lobola in ChiShona literature. Using Palmer’s gender-critical analysis the-
ory, the chapter explores four purposively sampled excerpts from ChiShona
literature texts. The chapter concludes that lobola is gendered to the extent
that the female characters embody femininity as entrapment rather than
femininity as self-invention. In Chap. 10, Ezra Chitando uses the herme-
neutic of suspicion to argue that prototypical characters in Shona lore,
such as “Marujata,” “Jojina” and “Chihera,” must be celebrated because
though they are perceived to be “bad news” to patriarchy, they must be
“good news” to gender equality.
There are nine chapters in Part III, making it the major part of the
book. Chapters in this part provide detailed discussion of the practice of
lobola in different communities from Southern Africa. In Chap. 11, Fidelis
Nkomazana focuses on bogadi (bride price) within the Botswana context.
The chapter critically examines bogadi as a critical factor in the marriage
contract. It also analyses and identifies some major historical and cultural
processes associated with bogadi, which variously affected gender relation-
ships among the Batswana. Noting the cultural changes among the
Ndebele of Zimbabwe, in Chap. 12, Sambulo Ndlovu interrogates the
tension associated with lobola. In Chap. 13, Silibaziso Mulea critiques the
feminist theory that views the lumalo (Vhavenḓa equivalent for lobola)
practice as oppressive to women. Using the theory of Afrocentricity and
Indigenous Knowledge Systems, the chapter argues that the Vhavenḓa
practice of lumalo should be understood from an African point of view
and not from the standpoint of the West. Chapter 14 by Mastone Mbewe
explores views of Mzimba people of northern Malawi on lobola marriage
practices. The chapter specifically presents Mzimba people’s views on
lobola in light of the accusation by some people that communities that
practice lobola sell their daughters in marriage. In Chap. 15, Madlome
Steyn Khesani looks at the dynamics of lobola practice among Vatsonga in

Zimbabwe. Noting the constantly changing practice of lobola among
Vatsonga, the chapter investigates the main causes of the shift from tradi-
tional cultural lobola practices to “common mixed-up” trends in
Zimbabwean Vatsonga communities. This chapter then recommends
reconsidering traditional ways of handling lobola processes, though con-
temporary trends can be embraced in such a way that the significance of
the lobola concept is not lost. In Chap. 16, Benard Pindukai Humbe and
Excellent Chireshe analyse the metaphorical use of mapere/bere (hyenas/
hyena) in traditional marriage practices among the Shona in Zimbabwean
rural communities of Bikita and Buhera districts. The chapter revolves
around the association of bere with a man who abducts a woman for mar-
riage and the practice of snatching a goat from a son-in-law’s kraal to make
him pay bride wealth. The chapter unpacks the idiom of mapere to con-
ceptualise roora among the Shona people. Gender dimensions of the met-
aphor are among the units of analysis. Chapter 17 by Nelly Mwale and
Joseph Chita interrogates the commercialisation of marriage rites and
practices with specific reference to lobola in an urban setting in Zambia
using the discourse in the public sphere. Using cultural hybridisation as a
lens, the chapter establishes, accounts for and explores the implications of
the commercialisation of lobola. Excellent Chireshe’s Chap. 18 closes Part
III with an analysis of the practice of lobola among the Karanga Christians
of Chivi District, Zimbabwe, in the context of intimate partner violence
and love. Using the Social Cognitive Theory, the chapter analyses intimate
partner violence in six Karanga Christian couples who represent different
levels of lobola that has been paid, concluding that the amount of lobola
paid does not directly influence the occurrence of intimate partner vio-
lence in a marriage. Chapter 19 by Solomon Kgatle closes this section by
looking at lobola in South Africa. The chapter’s main argument is that
lobola should not be abolished; instead alternatives should be created to
deal with the contemporary negative aspects of the practice.
Four chapters providing philosophical and theological reflections on
lobola and gender make up Part IV, the last section, of the book. In Chap.
20, Clive Tendai Zimunya and Chipo Hatendi analyse the consequences
that may arise from putting extrinsic values on women, as is the case in the
practice of lobola. The chapter challenges this practice by proposing that
people who wish to marry each other, as long as they are within the per-
mitted relational or legal age group, should do so without any lobola
involved since no amount of money can be equivalent to a person’s worth.
1 INTRODUCTION 9
Arguing from the context of globalisation, Chap. 21 by Moji Ruele con-

siders the ways in which continuities and discontinuities between “past”
and “present” patterns of lobola shape contemporary marriages in Southern
Africa. More specifically, the chapter examines the significance and chal-
lenges of lobola before making an African Contextual Theological inter-
pretation of the practice. Chapter 22 by Blazio Manobo argues that the
task of modern theological anthropology is to rescue the notion of equal-
ity from the trivialisation of sexual specificity that makes lobola a cause for
oppression. It asserts that the hermeneutical biblical and cultural misinter-
pretation of motherhood and family life has led to the fortification of
oppressive structures and the justification of inequality between men and
women. The chapter concludes that only through a return to the doctrine
of complementarity of the sexes can a proper discourse on lobola and gen-
der equality be constructed. In Chap. 23, Clive Tendai Zimunya questions
lobola as he sees it as assuming children’s indebtedness to their parents.
The chapter argues against such an assumption, arguing that this should
not be the case since children do not owe their parents anything.
Overall, then, the book extends the boundaries of the gender debate
within or even beyond the region by focusing on the central institution/
practice/ideology/ritual of lobola in the contemporary period.
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(1): 29–41.
PART I
History and Background of Lobola

CHAPTER 2
No to Bride Price/Bride Wealth, Yes

to Roora: Investigating the Meaning,
Function and Purpose of Roora as a Ritual
Nisbert Taisekwa Taringa and Godfrey Museka
Introduction
Similar to most indigenous African religio-cultural traditions, roora is not
static, but a dynamic ritual rooted in a set of beliefs and practices. Roora
ritual has survived colonial and missionary assaults and the ever-changing
socio-economic and political structures. Despite colonial, missionary and,
more recently, gender activists’ efforts to have the ritual banned or regu-
lated and shaped, roora has endured. The persistence of roora demon-
strates its religio-cultural significance, its widespread support and its ability
to adjust and adapt to slippery socio-economic realities. As an enduring
religio-cultural ritual, roora offers insight into past and present indigenous
Shona peoples’ understanding of marriage. Whereas, in Zimbabwe, roora
ritual is not a legal requirement (Ansell 2001; Majome 2019), most indig-
enous ethnic groups require a prospective groom (including his family)
and bride (including her family) to perform this religio-culturally
N. T. Taringa (Deceased) • G. Museka (*)

Department of Curriculum and Arts Education, University of Zimbabwe,
Harare, Zimbabwe

Switzerland AG 2021
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59523-4_2
14 N. T. TARINGA AND G. MUSEKA
obligatory ritual and be initiated at the time of marriage or for an indefi-

nite period thereafter. Roora, therefore, has remained an integral part of
the indigenous Shona peoples’ way of life. It is considered a sacrosanct
religio-cultural tradition in contemporary Shona society. Although this
religio-cultural ritual is sacrosanct, its performance, meaning, function
and purpose vary considerably across the diverse ethnic groups not only in
Zimbabwe but also throughout Southern Africa. Rudwick and Posel
(2014: 118) are, therefore, right in positing that:
The functions of bride wealth [roora] customs are complex, varied and mul-
tifaceted, and the significance of ilobolo [roora] ranges from socio-cultural
and socio-economic purposes to various identity formation functions.
Although roora ritual is widely practised in the Shona society and

throughout Southern Africa, literature on the functions and meaning of
this ritual, erroneously translated as bride price or bride wealth, is largely
from anthropology and history. Ritual studies on roora remain scanty. We
fill this gap by utilising ritual as an analytical category in unpacking the
meaning, function and purpose of roora religio-cultural practice among
the Shona people of Zimbabwe. In filling this gap, we explain the theory
that informs this study. A brief socio-historical background to the practice
of roora showing the extent to which this ritual has been affected by the
colonial system, foreign cultures and modernity then follows. Thereafter,
we give a summarised discussion on other scholars’ views on roora. We
then distinguish roora as a ritual from bride price/bride wealth as a cus-
tom. Before we conclude the chapter, we examine the ritual functions of
roora in order to find explanations for the continued saliency of this
tradition.
Post-Colonial Theory
Post-colonial theory is an approach to the study and understanding of
non-Western cultural institutions. Post-colonial theory’s commitment to
promoting the voice of the ‘other’ is not limited to economics and poli-
tics, but extends to culture. It challenges cultural absolutes or ideals that
have been imposed on people who have been subjected to the influence of
European colonisation. It rejects Western monopoly of knowledge because
apart from being oppressive and exploitative, such knowledge is designed
to perpetuate colonial hegemonic structures (Cush and Robinson 2014).
2 NO TO BRIDE PRICE/BRIDE WEALTH, YES TO ROORA… 15
The primary objective of this theory is to describe cultural traditions in

indigenous terms in order to recover their underlying meanings. The need
to undertake this task derives from the realisation that present-day cultural
traditions in the non-Western world are themselves a product of colonial-
ism and complicit in the exercise of neo-colonial hegemony. In the context
of this study, post-colonial theory entails the need to attend to indigenous
voices and engage with indigenous religio-cultural concepts, such as roora
ritual, in order to arrive at their primary and elusive meanings.
This chapter is informed by the post-colonial theory because it liberates
former colonised states’ religio-cultural traditions such as roora ritual from
the clutches of the colonial master. With regard to roora ritual, this theory
makes us alert of the fact that the study of culture and/or religion in for-
mer European colonies, such as Zimbabwe, is inextricably bound to colo-
nialism. Consequently, many ideas regarding the meaning and function of
roora reveal colonial attitudes and assumptions. In light of the post-
colonial theory, this chapter seeks to ‘free’ the study and conceptualisation
of roora from its colonial roots. While the post-colonial theory helped us
to distil the primary functions and meaning of roora ritual in the context
of Zimbabwe, we take cognisance of the fact that the post-colonial theory
is reactionary and tends to be over-defensive. In order to filter the ritual
functions and meaning of roora, a brief historical development of this rit-
ual is imperative.
Roora: A Brief History

Roora is as old as humanity. As a dynamic religio-cultural practice, roora
has undergone numerous transformations. The changes were/are, by and
large, influenced by the obtaining socio-economic and political develop-
ments on the ground. The notion that roora ritual adapts to the obtaining
situation is evident in Ansell’s (2001) observation that in the 1870s, trade
relations between the Shona and the Portuguese people culminated in the
use of gold and guns in the performance of roora ritual. In the pre-colonial
Shona society, requirements for the performance of roora ritual were not
as exorbitant as they are today. Material objects that accompanied roora
ritual included cattle, hoes and baskets of grain. The non-ritualistic ele-
ments, meaning the utilitarian or means-end orientation, were suppressed.
In this regard, Schmidt quoted in Ansell (2001: 499) points out that:
Prior to the European occupation, typical marriage payments were limited

to between four and five head of cattle. This was supplemented by other
gifts such as hoes, blankets and baskets of grain.
Although roora-related material gifts allowed petty accumulation of

wealth, they were largely symbolic. The aforementioned material goods,
in particular cattle, were/are indispensable in any roora ritual because they
were/are ritually linked to the ancestral spirits of the traditional African
clan (Bourdillon 1976; Posel et al. 2011; Khumalo cited in Khomari
et al. 2012).
Although roora practices have always been dynamic, with the European
occupation, roora-related rituals increasingly involved cash. The migrant
labour system and the introduction of the cash economy by European
colonisers tremendously changed roora practices. In view of this develop-
ment, Chigwedere quoted in Ansell (2001: 699) explains:
[S]ince 1890 [the year Zimbabwe was colonised] we have become commer-
cialised, every aspect of lobola has become a matter of money.
The modern-day cash-based Zimbabwe economy entails high demand

for money and other trendy material objects, such as satellite dishes, cars,
cell phones, furniture and huge amounts of groceries in present-day roora
practices (Chiweshe 2016: 235). Given that roora has become an expen-
sive enterprise, scholars such as Horne et al. (2013), Posel and Rudwick
(2015) and Chiweshe (2016) argue that roora is tantamount to the buy-
ing and selling of women. This argument is explicitly clear in Chiweshe’s
thesis—Wives at the market place: commercialisation of lobola and commod-
ification of women’s bodies in Zimbabwe. While we agree that to some
extent roora practices have been commercialised, we contend that this
interpretation is simplistic and problematic because it emphasises the sur-
face, overt and extrinsic functions and meaning of this ritual. Focusing on
surface, overt and extrinsic functions has the potential of hiding the fun-
damental, deeper, latent and intrinsic meanings. In order to have a holistic
understanding of roora ritual, there is need to unearth its deeper, latent
and intrinsic functions and purpose. To arrive at and be able to make sense
of the deeper, latent and intrinsic functions and meaning of roora in Shona
society (ancient or contemporary), a review of literature on the functions
of roora is necessary.
Sceptics and Heretics on Roora: Literature Review

on the Functions of Roora
Roora, erroneously perceived as bride price or bride wealth, has proved to

be a palatable fodder for scholars from different disciplines. We briefly
explore the leading scholarly views on the functions and meaning of roora.
Given the fact that most of these views are antagonistic, we consider schol-
ars who spearhead these notions as sceptics and heretics. We use the phrase
sceptics and heretics to refer to scholars whose views on roora range from
suspicion to dissent. This group of scholars stresses the economic and
transactional elements and functions of the bride price custom. The group
is dominated by feminists (Kambarami 2006; Chirawu 2006) and anthro-
pologists (Ansell 2001; Posel et al. 2011; Chabata 2012; Rudwick and
Posel 2014; Chiweshe 2016) who posit that the payment of bride price
throughout Southern Africa and in Zimbabwe has been commercialised.
According to these scholars, the introduction of the cash economy has
resulted in the quadrupling of the financial value placed on a bride. This
increase in the financial value and the assigning of a cost to a bride inevi-
tably commodifies her. The notion of commercialisation and commodifi-
cation of a bride is apt in Chabata’s (2012: 11–12) contention that:
Commercialisation is a system where the payment of lobola has been trans-

formed from being a mere cultural practice to a business venture where the
bride has a clear monetary value attached to her … and is almost equivalent
to the selling of a commodity on the open market.
In support of the view that bride price has increasingly become materi-
alistic, Chiweshe (2016: 235) posits: “lobola nowadays has thus tended to
become an epitome of the commodification of daughters wherein daugh-
ters are seen as a pension fund”. Commercialisation and commodification
of women imply the gender-oppressive nature of this custom, hence
Kambarami (2006), Chirawu (2006), Chabata (2012) and Chiweshe
(2016) agree that bride price aggravates gender-based violence (GBV) and
intimate partner violence (IPV). This commodification of brides, if true, is
not a modern-day phenomenon as early colonial interpreters of this cus-
tom equated it with the sale of daughters for cattle. While we agree with
the notion that roora is transactional in nature, we have reservations
regarding the argument that through roora women are marketable com-
modities. This interpretation, in our view, is not only narrow but also
based on the surface, manifest and extrinsic attributes of roora ritual, as

well as the residual effects of Eurocentric Cartesian rationality.
Some anthropologists further argue that since time immemorial, bride
price has had compensation function. According to Guy (1990) and
Bourdillon (1990), bride price was originally rooted in a women-cattle-
labour power circle which compensated families for the transfer of a wom-
an’s productive and reproductive powers from her father’s household to a
husband’s family. The compensation function, argues Ansell (2001),
seems to have continued and remain relevant in modern-day African com-
munities. Apart from off-setting the loss of a daughter’s labour power,
bride price is considered not only as an expression of gratitude to the in-
laws but also as a compensation to the bride’s parents for the direct and
indirect costs incurred in raising her (Chireshe and Chireshe 2010;
Chabata 2012).
Bride price is further thought to have a legitimising or legalising func-
tion. Museka (2018) contends that among the Shona people, marriage is
inconceivable if roora-related rituals have not been performed. Roora rit-
ual legalises and legitimises the union between a man and a woman. This
ritual provides the only acceptable way for couples to live together in a
shared household. Related to the legitimation function, bride price is
thought to create a web of lineage and kinship connections. Among the
Shona people, roora unites families and communities, not just individuals.
Roora ritual gives a husband absolute rights to claim ownership of the
children; hence Ansell (2001: 702) asserts that in Zimbabwe’s traditional
communities, “cattle beget children”.
In addition, many scholars concur that bride price has a social control
function. Rudwick and Posel (2014) argue that ilobolo [roora] gives elders
a considerable degree of control over their daughter-in-law and son-in-
law. In pursuit of the social control function, Museka (2018) posits that
roora has the potential to reduce casual unions and serves to underline the
notion that marriage is a serious affair that requires commitment.
In short, a variety of functions and meanings attached to roora show
that, though ubiquitous and salient in most African communities, this
practice is conceived differently by different scholars. We view the pro-
pounded functions of roora which merely focus on it’s surface, manifest
and extrinsic meaning as a by-product of Eurocentric Cartesian rationality.
According to Goduka (2000) and Ansell (2001), Eurocentric Cartesian
rationality means Western worldview which often presents a narrow, static
and instrumental view of reason that excludes other ways of knowing and
making judgements. The enduring impact of this rationality/worldview is

evident in many facets of the African education system. Thus, African
scholars who have written widely and unempathetically on roora seem to
have inherited this rationality from Western-oriented education system.
Post-Independence education in Zimbabwe was deliberately modified to
promote “Scientific Socialism” which advocates a Western-oriented ratio-
nal understanding of the world (Zvobgo 1996). This rationality continues
to influence and shape both European and African scholars’ views on
roora. To this end, Chitando (2013) contends that the study of religion in
Africa needs intellectual decolonisation because most African scholars tend
to perpetuate the hegemony of European worldviews and traditions. As a
point of departure, we employ post-colonial theory and ritual as an ana-
lytical category in order to explore the deeper, latent and intrinsic func-
tions and meaning of roora. In order to achieve this, roora needs to be
clearly distinguished from bride price/bride wealth.
Roora or Bride Price (Bride Wealth)? The Problem

of Terminological Inexactitude
Words are not empty; instead they are loaded with meanings. The mean-
ing of words also varies with context. As such, caution ought to be exer-
cised when using foreign words to describe an indigenous cultural
tradition. The Shona term roora or its Ndebele and Zulu equivalent
amalobolo and ilobolo or lobola, respectively, is often used interchangeably
with the English word bride price or bride wealth as if to suggest that
roora is synonymous with bride price (bride wealth). In our view, this con-
ception of roora is prejudicial. Bride price or bride wealth is a compound
word that comprises two terms ‘bride’ and ‘price’. While the word ‘bride’
refers to a girl or woman about to be married or just married, ‘price’
means an amount of money for which a thing is offered, sold or bought.
Similar to the term ‘price’, the word ‘wealth’ in bride wealth denotes a
large amount of money or possession. The terms ‘price’ and ‘wealth’ are
problematic in that they reduce girls/women of marriageable age to mate-
rial objects or economic assets. As such, we argue that the terms bride
price or bride wealth derive from the Eurocentric utilitarian (means-end
orientation) worldview and Western view of the ‘other’. Unfortunately,
this misunderstanding has defied the test of time and has to a very large
extent continued to shape both African and non-African scholarly views
on roora.
The utilitarian perception of roora as bride price is evident in various

definitions that emphasise the transactional nature of this practice. Posselt
cited in Chireshe and Chireshe (2010) defines roora as a custom through
which a prospective husband delivers or promises to supply to the bride’s
father or guardian stock, cash and other property. Father Prestage quoted
in Bhebe (1973: 45) defines roora as “the purchase of a wife by a man for
the purpose of begetting children”. In addition, Chigwedere (1982) con-
siders roora a form of marriage payment in which the bride’s family receives
payment of goods, money and livestock to compensate for the loss of a
woman’s labour and the children she bears for the husband’s family.
Mvududu et al. (2002) echo similar sentiments when they aver that roora
is an institution through which a man pays some property for the right or
privilege to marry a woman. For Mously and Wagner (2017: 891), bride
price is “the money or wealth transfer given by or on behalf of the groom
to the bride and her family upon the marriage of the couple”. These defi-
nitions imply the commercialisation and commodification of women folk
through roora.
In this chapter, we posit that although roora involves some exchange of
gifts or payments, the practice cannot be narrowly equated to bride price
or bride wealth. In this regard, Miller (2005), who studied the legal func-
tions of rituals, argues that like all human social activities, rituals have
benefits and costs. He adds that costs, which include food, drinks, cos-
tumes, adornments and gifts, vary according to the length of a ritual and
the number of ritual participants. This implies that payments or exchange
of gifts are not the primary function and meaning of roora. Instead, roora
is a religio-cultural ritual that comprises a series of rites performed by both
the groom and the bride and their families for marriage to become a real-
ity. This argument resonates with Evans-Pritchard’s (1931) assertion that
although there are some economic components to the custom of lobola
[roora], the term bride price implies purchase or commercial transaction
thereby grossly misrepresenting the essence of the custom. In this regard,
we conclude that the use of the terms bride price or bride wealth as equiv-
alent terms for roora is based on insufficient knowledge, pure ignorance
and racial prejudice. Terms such as bride price and bride wealth are incor-
rect, loaded and serve to distort and denigrate indigenous African prac-
tices, hence extreme caution need to be exercised when using them. In
light of this argument, the following questions arise: Is roora a ritual sui
generis? What are the deeper-latent meanings of this ritual?
Roora: A Ritual Sui Generis

In order to have a clear understanding of the roora ritual and separate it
from ordinary profanic activities, we need to approach it holistically by
distinguishing human action into two categories, namely, ritualistic (non-
utilitarian or expressive) and non-ritualistic (utilitarian or means-end ori-
ented) actions. According to Grimes cited in Pennington (2007),
non-ritualistic actions are utilitarian in that they are performed for their
practical and extrinsic value. To argue that roora is bride price or bride
wealth is tantamount to emphasising its surface, manifest and extrinsic
value. While it is true that roora has some utilitarian dimensions, it is
important to realise that the primary function of roora is not instrumental
or means-end oriented. Similar to most rituals, roora has some latent
meanings, some of which even appear meaningless to both the active and
dormant ritual performers. Very often, scholars miss the deeper, latent and
intrinsic meaningfulness of roora, hence the overemphasis of manifest
functions such as the commercialisation or commodification of brides. In
this regard, we contend that as a ritual, roora is performed for more than
its utilitarian purpose. Roora has functions and meanings beyond the pay-
ment of money and exchange of gifts. Roora is an expressive rite; hence its
goal is to verbally, non-verbally and symbolically express thoughts, opin-
ions, ideas and emotions.
The fact that roora is done at prescribed times, places and in a specific
manner or pattern, demonstrates that it is a ritual and not an economic
enterprise. Among the Shona, it is taboo to perform rites associated with
roora ritual in the month of November. Depending on setting, roora ritual
cannot be performed during some specific times of the day. Furthermore,
like other sacred rituals, roora-related rites are presided over by customar-
ily prescribed officials. Failure to meet these ritualistic regulations invali-
dates the roora ritual. From a symbolist point of view, the function and
meaning of roora is evident in symbols associated with it. According to
Nye (2003), symbols are items (material and sometimes non-material)
that represent more than their material properties. The items are not an
end in themselves as portrayed by sceptics and heretics. Khumalo cited in
Khomari et al. (2012) is, therefore, right in positing that in African cul-
tures, lobola [roora] can be seen as a social symbol that has spiritual links.
We contend that nearly all the objects paid during roora are symbolic.
Cattle, for instance, are fundamental in roora ritual not only because of
their economic value but also because they are traditionally considered
mediators between the living and the ancestors and are spiritual emissaries
in their own right. Moreover, cattle used in roora ritual are not randomly
selected. A father’s bull and a mother’s cow are offered to symbolise
reproductive capacity of the new couple and/or to celebrate the reproduc-
tive ability of the bride’s parents. A mother’s cow is regarded as sacred and
is supposed to leave some offspring before it is slaughtered. It is not ran-
domly slaughtered; instead the son-in-law or a representative from his kin
group is supposed to slaughter it and get his portion (usually the hind-
leg). The Shona believe that these post-roora rituals must be performed
correctly; failure to do so renders the marriage vulnerable to spiritual
retribution.
Related to the symbolic function, Shona roora ritual has strong spiritual
undertones which many scholars may not be able to unearth. Roora ritual
transcends its utilitarian functions in that it is an expression of a religious
belief and a relationship with ancestors (Bagnol 2008; Majome 2019).
Performing roora ritual is considered a necessary sign of respect not only
for the prospective husband and wife and their respective families but also
for their ancestors. Roora ritual, therefore, serves to unite the ancestral
spirits of the two families; hence Pennington (2007) sees it as “a dialogue
with the spirit and the self”. In this regard, Gelfand (1973) posits that
among the Shona, it is in the interest of the living to fulfil their marriage
rites in order to satisfy the ancestors. Respect of ancestors during marriage
rites is evident in the wide use of clan names, totems and praise names.
Roora rituals are a prerequisite to the bride’s/groom’s or their children’s
reproductive capacity and well-being. Belief in the spirituality of roora
explains why most sons-in-law make frantic efforts to ensure that the
mother-in-law’s rites are performed in full. Even the in-laws often advise
their sons-in-law to satisfy their mother-in-law’s roora rites first before
fulfilling the father-in-law’s demands. This is because failure to fulfil the
mother-in-law’s roora rites is believed to have serious post-mortem conse-
quences. It is considered taboo and spiritually dangerous to marry without
properly performing rites associated with roora ritual. Because roora ritual
symbolises “shaking of hands between the living and the ancestors”, chil-
dren and/or grandchildren conduct this ritual and its related rites on
behalf of their deceased parents or grandparents in order to get rid of bad
luck or illness perceived to have been caused by their parents’ failure to
perform roora ritual (Rudwick and Posel 2014). In view of this observa-
tion, we argue that a concern with the repercussions of not respecting the
ancestors through failure to fulfil roora rituals is playing a crucial role in
perpetuating the practice of roora. This argument resonates with

Malinowski’s assertion, quoted in Segal (2005), that in situations where
an individual [or group] is faced with life-threatening events, ritual serves
to alleviate anxiety.
Apart from being symbolic, roora ritual is transformative. According to
Van Gennep (1960) and Turner (1964, 1969), marriage is a typical life
crises ritual or a rite of passage because it is associated with a change in
status. This transformation is predicated on three processes, namely, sepa-
ration, transition and (re)integration (Van Gennep 1960). Separation is a
stage where the bride and the groom have registered their intentions to
marry but are not yet living together as husband and wife. They are still
separated from each other. Transition is a stage where the groom performs
the initial set of marital rituals commonly referred to as kubvunzira or
kukumbira (asking or requesting to marry) and kupinda mumusha (offi-
cial welcome or officially allowed access into the bride’s home). This is
done by the groom, his relatives and his go-between while the bride is still
at her paternal home. At this stage, the bride and the groom are not yet
husband and wife. Instead, they are between and betwixt, meaning they
are neither married nor unmarried. This stage is very important in that
both the bride and the groom are separately taught what it means to be
married and to live as a wife or a husband. After the successful perfor-
mance of these initial rituals, a ritual known as kupereka (taking the bride
to the groom’s family) involves the accompaniment of the bride by her
aunt and other relatives to the groom’s family and partaking in a ritual
meal performed by the bride and her entourage. This ritual serves to inte-
grate the bride and the groom. It is only after this ritual has been per-
formed that the bride and the groom are culturally allowed to live as
husband and wife. These three stages are of immeasurable significance in
that they mark the period when a bride or groom receives knowledge
relating to the new status. Museka (2018) is therefore right when he avers
that roora ritual transforms a spinster or bachelor to a married woman or
man and communicates that change of status. Even the status of the bride
and groom’s close and distant relatives also changes. This means, the
transformation is not limited to the bride and the groom. New kinship
titles and statuses’ such as father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother or sister-
in-law emerge. Roora-induced transformations are an important way in
which ritual participants demonstrate and gain respect and a sense of pride
and responsibility. Rudwick and Posel (2014) are therefore right in point-
ing out that ilobolo [roora] transforms the status and socio-cultural
position of ritual men and women. Furthermore, roora ritual brings about
conceptual transformation in participants. Roora ritual changes partici-
pants’ perception of themselves and other people’s perceptions of them as
well as their perceptions of the world. Because roora ritual is transforma-
tive, a groom or bride ceases to see himself/herself as an individual, but as
a husband or wife and a potential father/mother and that he/she assumes
socio-economic responsibilities for the family.
The idea that roora ritual transforms a bride or groom’s worldview
from individualistic to collectivist-oriented preferences is succinct in
Forsyth’s (1990) theory of deindividuation. According to Forsyth (1990),
deindividuation denotes a situation whereby individuals become engrossed
in group activities to the extent of losing their sense of individual exis-
tence. Deindividuation often undermines and diminishes inner restraints
and the extreme atypical actions. In roora ritual, deindividuation is precipi-
tated by increased responsibility and strong feeling of group membership.
Among couples who would have performed roora rituals, deindividuation
manifests through increased amenability to suggestion and willingness to
act or make decisions contrary to their moral convictions. Shona cultural
traditions, in this case roora ritual, is regarded as communal and collectiv-
istic (Museka 2018). This implies that roora ritual transforms a bride’s or
groom’s individualistic preferences and fosters a sense of interdependence
which in turn ascribes greater importance to both the family and the
community.
Furthermore, Pennington (2007) considers ritual as not only transfor-
mative but also a celebration. What does roora ritual celebrate? It cele-
brates the achievement of the new social status by ritual participants,
particularly the bride, the groom and their families. Raising a child until
he/she marries is not a mean enterprise. Respecting socio-moral traditions
that are in keeping with marriage custom is a mammoth task. Marriage,
therefore, signifies socio-moral achievements, hence the need to celebrate
through roora ritual. Celebrations, as Miller (2005) notes, are costly.
Thus, the gifts and cash paid during roora ritual should not be considered
as commercialisation or commodification of women but necessary mate-
rial objects that create celebratory mood and ignite celebrations.
Given that roora is characterised by formality, traditionalism, repeat-
ability, symbolism and transformation, we contend that it is a ritual. The
following definitions of a ritual demonstrate that roora is by and large a
ritual and not an ordinary mundane practice. According to Davis-Floyd,
cited in Pennington (2007), a ritual is “a patterned, repetitive and
symbolic enactment of a cultural belief or value; its primary purpose is

transformation”. Pennington (2007) further elaborates that a ritual “is a
set of expressive, sacred actions, intentionally done in one or more pre-
scribed ways, outside the boundaries of profane life for the purpose of
transforming the self and/or the community”.
Conclusion
This chapter demonstrates that roora is generally looked at as a utilitarian
adventure, hence its surface, manifest, secondary and extrinsic functions
and meaning are emphasised. These functions include the notion that
roora serves to commercialise and commodify the women folk, legalise
marital unions, establish lineages and promote gender inequality and
gender-based violence. These functions, we argue, largely derive from the
fact that the majority of both African and non-African scholars continue to
view roora inter alia other African indigenous cultural traditions using
European-tainted spectacles. As a point of departure, we employ post-
colonial theory and ritual as analytical categories in order to unearth deep,
latent, primary and intrinsic functions and meaning of roora ritual. We
established that the word roora has no English equivalence. The terms
bride price and bride wealth that are often used as English equivalence of
roora distort this ritual. We reiterate that the primary, latent and intrinsic
functions of roora as a ritual include transforming the social status of the
bride and the groom and their significant others, communicating the
change of status and celebrating the achievement of the new status. The
stages and formalities that are followed in performing roora differentiate it
from mundane activities and make it a ritual sui generis. To this end, we
contend that ‘no to bride price/bride wealth but yes to roora’.
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CHAPTER 3
Roora/Lobola Language, Meaning

and Function: A Keystone of Shona Culture
Francis Matambirofa
Introduction
This chapter is primarily an outright rejection of mooted calls by scholars
like LaFont (2007) and Togarasei (2012) for the need to reflect upon and
possibly abolish the Shona roora marriage system, in which a man offers
high-value mandatory presents to the family of the bride, erroneously (as
shall be explained later) called bride price or bride wealth. Collectively,
these scholars seem to view the giving of mandatory presents as creating
the impression of ‘purchasing’ a wife, rendering her an ‘inferior’ partner
to her husband. Inversely, the obligatory offering of these presents is
believed to leave many men unable to afford roora, thereby forcing them,
as a consequence, to lower the bar when they instead opt for cohabitation.
I also dismiss the alleged link between domestic violence and the spread of
HIV to the custom of roora.
Given this backdrop, this chapter principally examines and explores the
traditional Shona cultural practice of roora and the language with which it
is associated. I unapologetically and polemically argue that the roora
F. Matambirofa (*)
Department of African Languages and Literature, University of Zimbabwe,
Harare, Zimbabwe

Switzerland AG 2021
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59523-4_3
30 F. MATAMBIROFA
custom, even as it is reflected in the language, is one of the keystones of

this ancient culture, the scrapping of which is sure to bring malevolent
indignity to women and the entire institution of marriage among the
Shona people. In interviews, from those without formal education to
those holding PhDs,1 they unequivocally regard the touchstone of being
married to a man as the offering of roora. In the wake of this ‘confession’,
we are thus entirely dismissive of what we regard as a thinly veiled
Eurocentric and/or Western feminist influenced notion that advocates the
removal of roora simply because it is not found in Western cultures. The
quintessence of this living tradition not only eternally bonds a man and a
woman together, but also, in a generous and inclusive manner, circum-
scribes within it their respective families in the bonds of love given the
communal ethos of Shona culture. We treat the criticism and calls for
abolishing roora as obliquely being denigrative of a Shona and/or Bantu
cultural practice. It leans more towards plain mischief to imagine that,
slave-like, a woman can ever have a price tag put upon her head in the
same manner that the police offer a hefty monetary reward for anyone
who would help with information leading to the arrest of a notorious
criminal on ‘Wanted’.
Shona words and phrases relating to marriage, such as kuroora/
kuroorwa (to marry/to be married), mukuwasha mukuyu, hauperi kudy-
iwa (the son-in-law is like a fig tree, its figs are eaten without end), kuchata
(to wed), sadza rawanda (there is more food), musha mukadzi (the home
is a wife), kudyirwa n’ombe (to have cattle paid—as bride wealth) and
kuumba ukama (to establish relations), and many related words and
phrases, plainly reveal the fact that the so-called bride wealth is nothing
more than a token of appreciation, rather than the alleged commoditiza-
tion of women. The imperative for an examination of the language con-
cerned with roora stems from the fact that language provides a window to
the mind and it is also central to cultural identity (Mchombo 2000).
1
Reference to formal education is not at all intended to ‘grade’ women in terms of impor-
tance because that kind of compartmentalization is unsustainable in the long run. This dif-
ferentiation is only based on the assumption that women who have had formal educational
training would be thought of as being cosmopolitan in their perception of global trends
regarding the question of equal rights and one would think that they would be averse to
having roora offered for them in marriage. This turned out not to be the case.
3 ROORA/LOBOLA LANGUAGE, MEANING AND FUNCTION… 31
Sources of Roora Abolition Pressure

The call to scrap roora is not without precedence. It is perhaps logical to
first and foremost disentangle the sources of pressure that legitimize and
champion the anti-roora movement. As an illustration of how the lobby is
gaining strength and momentum, we will just in passing draw attention to
the overtures that are being extended to the Church to join the camp and,
as it were, bless the roora abolition campaign.
One major and unmistakable source of influence is traceable back to the
global call for equity between men and women, which was also referred to
as women’s emancipation, that became vociferous during the last half of
the twentieth century which spawned the feminist movement with all its
mutations, ranging in colouration from radical feminism to its more
accommodative strand that is championed by the theory of womanism
which seeks inclusivity and accommodation and “It is therefore not antag-
onistic to African men” (Strong-Leek 2002: 202). Making reference to
the socio-economic disadvantaged position of women in Zimbabwe and
its attendant causes and/or origins, Batezat and Mwalo (1989: 53)
write thus:
Cultural practices such as lobola and polygamy, which may not necessarily
have been oppressive to women in pre-capitalist societies, assume[s] new
meanings when practiced within the context of a changed set of economic
relations. For example, since part of the lobola is now payable in cash, the
payment of lobola has increasingly become a commercial transaction with
parents charging exorbitant rates for educated daughters.
Without denying the charge of inequality between men and women in

human society across the globe, our present argument is that the relatively
recent and tentative call for the abolishment of roora is historically related
to the movement of women’s emancipation and advocacy for equal rights.
Expressing in historical terms how women suffer twice in regard to rights
deprivation, Batezat and Mwalo (1989: 56) indicate that “African women
were victims of racial discrimination which prevented African[s] in general
from holding public office. But in addition to this, they also faced the
obstacle of cultural traditions which barred women from the male world
of public decision-making”.
However, the embedded solution being proffered here seems to be that
with the abolition of roora, guarantees can be made of husband
32 F. MATAMBIROFA
faithfulness and equity in addition to the stoppage of domestic abuses.

This solution appears to be speculative and conjectural. It is not borne by
the facts on the ground, especially when one cross-checks with societies
where roora is not practised but which nevertheless are not exempt from
marriage abuses. We surmise that perhaps more than half of the marriage
challenges in the Western world would be non-existent, just for the mere
absence of roora. But this is not the case, unfortunately. Humanity has to
find something else to blame than to argue that a token of appreciation
such as roora gifts of appreciation logically leads to domestic violence and
abuses of Shona women. The argument is far from being sound and
persuasive.
Another source of inspiration behind the move to ban roora is radical
feminism, with an impatient attitude which falls short of entirely jettison-
ing men overboard. It advocates an overhaul of human society with a view
to sharing all critical and strategic forms of power and influence equally
between the women and the men. It is argued here that people who are
persuaded to side with this mindset would naturally perceive the abolition
of roora as the triumphant demolition of one of the principal apparatus
with which men exercise control over women. This also comes out in the
following complaint by Mugo (1996: 38) when she writes as follows:
The very languages we speak make men the point of reference for the human
race which is conceptualized in male terms. Male children are desired above
female children in most cultures. Males mostly own and inherit property,
under legal protection. History is constructed around men’s achieve-
ments … Males are culturally associated with strength and are, in many
cultures, conceived as agents of protection and security while women are
constructed as dependents requiring protection.
While women are anatomically similar, it cannot however be disputed

that there are other critical differences among them that cannot be wished
away, such as race, class, culture, religion and geographical location,
among a host of others. Women’s differences make a mockery of any
attempt to purport that the solution to women’s challenges can be
imported from one part of the globe and applied to another wholesale as
some strands of feminism seem to claim. As pointed out by Matambirofa
(2006: 95–96):
3 ROORA/LOBOLA LANGUAGE, MEANING AND FUNCTION… 33
gender loyalties are to a great extent subordinated to one’s cultural heritage.

Feminist or gender consciousness can only therefore be operational in the
context of a specific cultural paradigm. Its transcendental legitimacy lies in
the participation of women, who, on average, cross-culturally relate to men
in specifiable and predictable ways. It is argued that if pushed any further
beyond this threshold, the ideology runs that risk of erroneously making
one-size-fit-all feminist straightjacket claims. It is on this score that claims to
a unified feminist ontology start to totter under the weight of sometimes
conflicting global cultural heritages.
Last but not least, the anti-roora movement appears also to have made
overtures for assistance from a respected institution of human living—
organized religion in the name of the Church and more precisely, the
centuries-old and powerful Christian church. Evidence for the desire to
enlist the Christian Church comes out openly in the impassioned appeal
by Togarasei (2012: 153) who, in an effort to curb the spread of HIV,
writes: “The Church should … if necessary, even call for the abolition of
bride price payment”. While the Church can certainly answer for itself,
conjecturally, I do not know whether or not the Church has heeded the
appeal. If by any chance it might have, it will be a late, if not altogether
awkward, entrant into this ‘unholy alliance’. However, given the Church’s
general policy stance, I am not persuaded to think that it will embrace the
call in any positive and gratifying way. For the Church, this seems to be a
hard-sell because the Church is naturally conservative and generally
unwilling to change its age-old traditions.
Roora: Theorizing Its Origins and Meaning

in Shona Culture
It is difficult, if not impossible, to find empirical evidence regarding how

the ancient custom of roora started. From the form and function of roora
today, we can attempt to reconstruct and arrive at theoretical conjectures
about its origins in regard to its intended function. It is important that we
undertake such a reconstruction in order to determine whether or not it
started as a lucrative entrepreneurial venture in women ‘trade’ by parents
within Shona communities.
From the look of things, marriage is as natural as breathing, and cross-
culturally it is known to be the first institution of human living. The man-
ner in which a marriage contract is socially approved has different settings,
34 F. MATAMBIROFA
varying with the innumerable cultures of the world. Looking at different

types of marriage systems among the Shona people, it is clear that it was
calibrated in such a way that made it difficult for a man or a woman not to
marry. While making reference to the man vis-à-vis marriage, Gelfand
(1973: 167) says: “[T]o marry (kuroora) is one of the urges towards which
every Shona man aims … something that is taken as the greatest event in
his life”. Tatira (2011) makes the same point when he observes that mar-
riage in Shona society is so important that it is collectively protected by the
society itself. To underscore the preeminence of marriage over the so-
called bride price, Gelfand (1973: 174) opens our eyes to the fact that
“[T]he pfuma (bride price) in the former days amounted to a badza (hoe)
which was not worth much materially. However, we are told that the
badza was kept as a symbol or proof of marriage”. Gelfand (1973: 174)
further notes that even mice could be used as a symbol of marriage. It is
true that hoes were a priced item, but they could never match the value of
one’s daughter whatsoever.
Given what has been pointed out above, it is tantamount to a mockery
of the Shona people’s marriage custom to even begin to suggest that such
materially poor people, endowed with an all-embracive attitude towards
marriage, ‘traded’ their daughters in exchange for mice or hoes. In inter-
pretation, it would amount to describing them as entirely bereft of an
appreciation of elementary principles of commerce. Yet, nothing could be
further from the truth because during this same epoch, which we are
inclined to place between the late Early and Later Iron Age, it is demon-
strable that among the Shona, “[T]here was also evidence of gradually
increasing trade with the coast” (Beach 1980: 15–16). This coastal trade
was chiefly transacted with seafaring people such as the Portuguese and
the Swahili speaking Arabs from Zanzibar and its hinterlands. The Shona,
thus, had a sound sense of commerce owing to coastal trade in beads,
gold, ivory and salt.
In Shona traditional culture, marriage could also be concluded through
a practice that was called kutema ugariri, whereby a man without the
required wherewithal to marry stayed and laboured at the household of
the father-in-law, after the fashion of the well-known account of Jacob in
the Genesis 29. Such are the kinds of poor men about whom Beach (1984:
23), when describing Shona social organization around 1400, makes ref-
erence to as follows: “the Shona in the Zambezi lowlands … husbands
usually attached themselves to the households of their father-in-law and
paid labour services rather than a bride-price”. This kind of marriage was
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Length to end of tail 18 1/2 inches, to end of wings 11 3/8; extent of
wings 22 1/2; wing from flexure 8; tail 10 1/2; bill along the ridge
1 4 1/2/12; tarsus 1 10 1/2/12; first toe 8/12, its claw 10/12; middle toe
1 2/12, its claw 6/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLVII.

The Female is similar to the male, and little inferior in size.
Five American specimens compared with several European, present
no appearances indicative of a specific difference. Some individuals
of both countries are larger than others, and the tail differs much in
length, according to age or the growth of the feathers. The largest
specimen in my possession, presented to me by Dr Richardson,
and marked as shot by Mr Drummond, measures as follows:—
Length to end of tail 20 1/2 inches; bill along the ridge 1 7/12; tail
11 3/4; wing from flexure 8 9/12; tarsus 2; middle toe 1 1/12, its claw
7 1/2/12.
In this individual the feathers on the fore neck are white for
more than half their length from the base. In the other specimens this
white part is fainter or light grey, and of less extent.
PINE GROSBEAK.
Pyrrhula Enucleator, Temm.

PLATE CCCLVIII. Male and Female.
In Wilson’s time, this beautiful bird was rare in Pennsylvania; but

since then it has occasionally been seen in considerable numbers,
and in the winter of 1836 my young friend J. Trudeau, M. D.
procured several in the vicinity of Philadelphia. That season also
they were abundant in the States of New York and Massachusetts.
Some have been procured near the mouth of the Big Guyandotte on
the Ohio; and Mr Nuttall has observed it on the lower parts of the
Missouri. I have ascertained it to be a constant resident in the State
of Maine, and have met with it on several islands in the Bay of
Fundy, as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador. Dr Richardson
mentions it as having been observed by the Expedition in the 50th
parallel, and as a constant resident at Hudson’s Bay. It is indeed the
hardiest bird of its tribe yet discovered in North America, where even
the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, though found during summer in
Newfoundland and Labrador, removes in autumn to countries farther
south than the Texas, where as late as the middle of May I saw
many in their richest plumage.
The Pine Grosbeak is a charming songster. Well do I remember how
delighted I felt, while lying on the moss-clad rocks of Newfoundland,
near St George’s Bay, I listened to its continuous lay, so late as the
middle of August, particularly about sunset. I was reminded of the
pleasure I had formerly enjoyed on the banks of the clear Mohawk,
under nearly similar circumstances, when lending an attentive ear to
the mellow notes of another Grosbeak. But, Reader, at
Newfoundland I was still farther removed from my beloved family;
the scenery around was thrice wilder and more magnificent. The
stupendous dark granite rocks, fronting the north, as if bidding
defiance to the wintry tempests, brought a chillness to my heart, as I
thought of the hardships endured by those intrepid travellers who, for
the advancement of science, had braved the horrors of the polar
winter. The glowing tints of the western sky, and the brightening stars
twinkling over the waters of the great Gulf, rivetted me to the spot,
and the longer I gazed, the more I wished to remain; but darkness
was suddenly produced by the advance of a mass of damp fog, the
bird ceased its song, and all around seemed transformed into chaos.
Silently I groped my way to the beach, and soon reached the Ripley.
The young gentlemen of my party, accompanied by my son John
Woodhouse, and a Newfoundland Indian, had gone into the interior
in search of Rein Deer, but returned the following afternoon, having
found the flies and musquitoes intolerable. My son brought a number
of Pine Grosbeaks, of different sexes, young and adult, but all the
latter in moult, and patched with dark red, ash, black and white. It
was curious to see how covered with sores the legs of the old birds
of both sexes were. These sores or excrescences are, I believe,
produced by the resinous matter of the fir-trees on which they obtain
their food. Some specimens had the hinder part of the tarsi more
than double the usual size, the excrescences could not be removed
by the hand, and I was surprised that the birds had not found means
of ridding themselves of such an inconvenience. One of the figures
in my plate represents the form of these sores.
I was assured that during mild winters, the Pine Grosbeak is found in
the forests of Newfoundland in considerable numbers, and that some
remain during the most severe cold. A lady who had resided there
many years, and who was fond of birds, assured me that she had
kept several males in cages; that they soon became familiar, would
sing during the night, and fed on all sorts of fruits and berries during
the summer, and on seeds of various kinds in winter; that they were
fond of bathing, but liable to cramps; and that they died of sores
produced around their eyes and the base of the upper mandible. I
have observed the same to happen to the Cardinal and Rose-
breasted Grosbeaks.
The flight of this bird is undulating and smooth, performed in a direct
line when it is migrating, at a considerable height above the forests,
and in groups of from five to ten individuals. They alight frequently
during the day, on such trees as are opening their buds or blossoms.
At such times they are extremely gentle, and easily approached, are
extremely fond of bathing, and whether on the ground or on
branches, move by short leaps. I have been much surprised to see,
on my having fired, those that were untouched, fly directly towards
me, until within a few feet, and then slide off and alight on the lower
branches of the nearest tree, where, standing as erect as little
Hawks, they gazed upon me as if I were an object quite new, and of
whose nature they were ignorant. They are easily caught under
snow-shoes put up with a figure of four, around the wood-cutters
camps, in the State of Maine, and are said to afford good eating.
Their food consists of the buds and seeds of almost all sorts of trees.
Occasionally also they seize a passing insect. I once knew one of
these sweet songsters, which, in the evening, as soon as the lamp
was lighted in the room where its cage was hung, would instantly
tune its voice anew.
My kind friend Thomas M’Culloch of Pictou in Nova Scotia, has
sent me the following notice, which I trust will prove as interesting to
you as it has been to me. “Last winter the snow was exceedingly
deep, and the storms so frequent and violent that many birds must
have perished in consequence of the scarcity of food. The Pine
Grosbeaks being driven from the woods, collected about the barns in
great numbers, and even in the streets of Pictou they frequently
alighted in search of food. A pair of these birds which had been
recently taken were brought me by a friend, but they were in such a
poor emaciated condition, that I almost despaired of being able to
preserve them alive. Being anxious, however, to note for you the
changes of their plumage, I determined to make the attempt; but
notwithstanding all my care, they died a few days after they came
into my possession. Shortly after, I received a male in splendid
plumage, but so emaciated that he seemed little else than a mass of
feathers. By more cautious feeding, however, he soon regained his
flesh, and became so tame as to eat from my hand without the least
appearance of fear. To reconcile him gradually to confinement, he
was permitted to fly about my bedroom, and upon rising in the
morning, the first thing I did was to give him a small quantity of seed.
But three mornings in succession I happened to lie rather later than
usual, and each morning I was aroused by the bird fluttering upon
my shoulder, and calling for his usual allowance. The third morning, I
allowed him to flutter about me some time before shewing any
symptom of being awake, but he no sooner observed that his object
was effected than he retired to the window and waited patiently until I
arose. As the spring approached, he used to whistle occasionally in
the morning, and his notes, like those of his relative the Rose-
breasted Grosbeak, were exceedingly rich and full. About the time,
however, when the species began to remove to the north, his former
familiarity entirely disappeared. During the day he never rested a
moment, but continued to run from one side of the window to the
other, seeking a way of escape, and frequently during the night,
when the moonlight would fall upon the window, I was awakened by
him dashing against the glass. The desire of liberty seemed at last to
absorb every other feeling, and during four days I could not detect
the least diminution in the quantity of his food, while at the same time
he filled the house with a piteous wailing cry, which no person could
hear without feeling for the poor captive. Unable to resist his
appeals, I gave him his release; but when this was attained he
seemed very careless of availing himself of it. Having perched upon
the top of a tree in front of the house, he arranged his feathers, and
looked about him for a short time. He then alighted by the door, and I
was at last obliged to drive him away, lest some accident should
befall him.
“These birds are subject to a curious disease, which I have never
seen in any other. Irregularly shaped whitish masses are formed
upon the legs and feet. To the eye these lumps appear not unlike
pieces of lime; but when broken, the interior presents a congeries of
minute cells, as regularly and beautifully formed as those of a honey-
comb. Sometimes, though rarely, I have seen the whole of the legs
and feet covered with this substance, and when the crust was
broken, the bone was bare, and the sinews seemed almost
altogether to have lost the power of moving the feet. An
acquaintance of mine kept one of these birds during the summer
months. It became quite tame, but at last it lost the power of its legs
and died. By this person I was informed that his Grosbeak usually
sang during a thunder-storm, or when rain was falling on the house.”
While in the State of Maine, I observed that these birds, when
travelling, fly in silence, and at a considerable height above the
trees. They alight on the topmost branches, so that it is difficult to
obtain them, unless one has a remarkably good gun. But, on waiting
a few minutes, you see the flock, usually composed of seven or eight
individuals, descend from branch to branch, and betake themselves
to the ground, where they pick up gravel, hop towards the nearest
pool or streamlet, and bathe by dipping their heads and scattering
the water over them, until they are quite wet; after which they fly to
the branches of low bushes, shake themselves with so much vigour
as to produce a smart rustling sound, and arrange their plumage.
They then search for food among the boughs of the taller trees.
Loxia Enucleator, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 299.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p.
372.
Pine Grosbeak, Loxia Enucleator, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. i. p. 80, pl. 5, fig.
2.
Pyrrhula Enucleator, Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States,
p. 119.
Pyrrhula (Corythus) Enucleator, Richards. and Swains. Fauna Bor.-
Amer. vol. ii. p. 262.
Pine Grosbeak or Bullfinch, Nuttall, Manual, vol. i. p. 535.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLVIII. Fig. 1.

Bill short, robust, bulging at the base, conical, acute; upper mandible
with its dorsal outline convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp and
overlapping; lower mandible with the angle short and very broad, the
dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the sides rounded, the
edges inflected; the acute decurved tip of the upper mandible
extending considerably beyond that of the lower; the gape-line
deflected at the base.
Head rather large, ovate, flattened above; neck short; body full. Legs
short, of moderate strength; tarsus short, compressed, with six
anterior scutella, and two plates behind, forming a thin edge; toes
short, the first proportionally stout, the third much longer than the two
lateral, which are about equal; their scutella large, their lower surface
with large pads covered with prominent papillæ. Claws rather long,
arched, much compressed, laterally grooved, and acute.
Plumage soft, full, rather blended, the feathers oblong. At the base of
the upper mandible are strong bristly feathers directed forwards. The
wings of moderate length; the primaries rounded, the second and
third longest, and with the fourth and fifth having their outer webs
slightly cut out. Tail rather long, emarginate, of twelve strong, broad,
obliquely rounded feathers.
Bill reddish-brown. Iris hazel. Feet blackish-brown, claws black. The
general colour of the plumage is bright carmine tinged with vermilion;
the feathers of the fore part of the back and the scapulars greyish-
brown in the centre; the bristly feathers at the base of the bill
blackish-brown; the middle of the breast, abdomen, and lower tail-
coverts, light grey, the latter with a central dusky streak. Wings
blackish-brown; the primaries and their coverts narrowly edged with
reddish-white, the secondaries more broadly with white; the
secondary coverts and first row of small coverts tipped with reddish-
white, the smaller coverts edged with red.
Length to end of tail 8 1/2 inches, to end of wings 6 1/4, to end of
claws 6 3/4; extent of wings 14; wing from flexure 4 3/4; tail 4; bill
along the ridge 7 1/2/12, along the edge of lower mandible 7/12; tarsus
9 1/2/ ; first toe 4 1/2/12, its claw 5/12; middle toe 8/12, its claw 5/12.
12
Female. Plate CCCLVIII. Fig. 2.

The female is scarcely inferior to the male in size. The bill is dusky,
the feet as in the male. The upper part of the head and hind neck are
yellowish-brown, each feather with a central dusky streak; the rump
brownish-yellow; the rest of the upper parts light brownish-grey.
Wings and tail as in the male, the white edgings and the tips tinged
with grey; the cheeks and throat greyish-white or yellowish; the fore
part and sides of the neck, the breast, sides, and abdomen ash-grey,
as are the lower tail-coverts.
Length to end of tail 8 1/4 inches, to end of wings 6 1/4, to end of

claws 6 3/4; extent of wings 13 1/2; wing from flexure 4 1/2; tail 3 10/12;
tarsus 9 1/2/12; middle toe and claw 1 1/12.
Young fully fledged. Plate CCCLVIII. Fig. 3.
The young, when in full plumage, resemble the female, but are more
tinged with brown.
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
An adult male from Boston examined. The roof of the mouth is

moderately concave, its anterior horny part with five prominent
ridges; the lower mandible deeply concave. Tongue 4 1/2 twelfths
long, firm, deflected at the middle, deeper than broad, papillate at the
base, with a median groove; for the distal half of its length, it is cased
with a firm horny substance, and is then of an oblong shape, when
viewed from above, deeply concave, with two flattened prominences
at the base, the point rounded and thin, the back or lower surface
convex. This remarkable structure of the tongue appears to be
intended for the purpose of enabling the bird, when it has insinuated
its bill between the scales of a strobilus, to lay hold of the seed by
pressing it against the roof of the mandible. In the Crossbills, the
tongue is nearly of the same form, but more slender, and these birds
feed in the same manner, in so far as regards the prehension of the
food. In the present species, the tongue is much strengthened by the
peculiar form of the basi-hyoid bone, to which there is appended as it
were above a thin longitudinal crest, giving it great firmness in the
perpendicular movements of the organ. The œsophagus a b c d, Fig.
1. is two inches 11 twelfths long, dilated on the middle of the neck so
as to form a kind of elongated dimidiate crop, 4 twelfths of an inch in
diameter, projecting to the right side, and with the trachea passing
along that side of the vertebræ. The proventriculus c, is 8 twelfths
long, somewhat bulbiform, with numerous oblong glandules, its
greatest diameter 4 1/2 twelfths. A very curious peculiarity of the
stomach e, is, that in place of having its axis continuous with that of
the œsophagus or proventriculus, it bends to the right nearly at a
right angle. It is a very powerful gizzard, 8 1/2 twelfths long, 8 twelfths
broad, with its lateral muscles 1/4 inch thick, the lower very distinct,
the epithelium longitudinally rugous, of a light reddish colour. The
duodenum, f, g, first curves backward to the length of 1 1/4 inch, then
folds in the usual manner, passing behind the right lobe of the liver;
the intestine then passes upwards and to the left, curves along the
left side, crosses to the right, forms about ten circumvolutions, and
above the stomach terminates in the rectum, which is 11 twelfths
long. The cœca are 1 1/4 twelfth in length and 1/4 twelfth in diameter.
The entire length of the intestine from the pylorus to the anus is
31 1/2 inches (in another male 31); its greatest breadth in the
duodenum 2 1/2 twelfths, gradually contracting to 1 1/4 twelfth. Fig. 2.
represents the convoluted appearance of the intestine. The
œsophagus a b c; the gizzard d, turned forwards; the duodenum, e f;
the rest of the intestine, g h the cœca, i; the rectum, i j, which is
much dilated at the end.
The trachea is 2 inches 2 twelfths long, of uniform diameter. 1 1/2

twelfth broad, with about 60 rings; its muscles like those of all the
other species of the Passerinæ or Fringillidæ.
In a female, the œsophagus is 2 inches 10 twelfths long; the
intestine 31 inches long.
In all these individuals and several others, the stomach contained a
great quantity of particles of white quartz, with remains of seeds; and
in the œsophagus of one was an oat seed entire.
Although this bird is in its habits very similar to the Crossbills, and
feeds on the same sort of food, it differs from them in the form and
extent of its crop, in having the gizzard much larger, and the
intestines more than double the length, in proportion to the size of
the bird.
ARKANSAW FLYCATCHER.
Muscicapa verticalis, Bonap.

PLATE CCCLIX. Male and Female.
This species extends its range from the mouth of the Columbia
River, across our continent, to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico; but
how far north it may proceed is as yet unknown. On the 10th of April
1837, whilst on Cayo Island, in the Bay of Mexico, I found a
specimen of this bird dead at the door of a deserted house, which
had recently been occupied by some salt-makers. From its freshness
I supposed that it had sought refuge in the house on the preceding
evening, which had been very cold for the season. Birds of several
other species we also found dead on the beaches. The individual
thus met with was emaciated, probably in consequence of a long
journey and scanty fare; but I was not the less pleased with it, as it
afforded me the means of taking measurements of a species not
previously described in full. In my possession are some remarkably
fine skins, from Dr Townsend’s collection, which differ considerably
from the figure given by Bonaparte, who first described the species.
So nearly allied is it to the Green-crested Flycatcher, M. crinita, that
after finding the dead bird, my son and I, seeing many individuals of
that species on the trees about the house mentioned, shot several of
them, supposing them, to be the same. We are indebted to the
lamented Thomas Say for the introduction of the Arkansaw
Flycatcher into our Fauna. Mr Nuttall has supplied me with an
account of its manners.
“We first met with this bold and querulous species, early in July, in
the scanty woods which border the north-west branch of the Platte,
within the range of the Rocky Mountains; and from thence we saw
them to the forests of the Columbia and the Wahlamet, as well as in
all parts of Upper California, to latitude 32°. They are remarkably
noisy and quarrelsome with each other, and in the time of incubation,
like the King Bird, suffer nothing of the bird kind to approach them
without exhibiting their predilection for battle and dispute. About the
middle of June, in the dark swamped forests of the Wahlamet, we
every day heard the discordant clicking warble of this bird, somewhat
like tsh’k, tsh’k, tshivait, sounding almost like the creaking of a rusty
door-hinge, somewhat in the manner of the King Bird, with a
blending of the notes of the Blackbird or Common Grakle. Although I
saw these birds residing in the woods of the Columbia, and near the
St Diego in Upper California, I have not been able to find the nest,
which is probably made in low thickets, where it would be
consequently easily overlooked. In the Rocky Mountains they do not
probably breed before midsummer, as they are still together in noisy
quarrelsome bands until the middle of June.”
Dr Townsend’s notice respecting it is as follows: “This is the Chlow-
ish-pil of the Chinooks. It is numerous along the banks of the Platte,
particularly in the vicinity of trees and bushes. It is found also, though
not so abundantly, across the whole range of the Rocky Mountains;
and among the banks of the Columbia to the ocean, it is a very
common species. Its voice is much more musical than is usual with
birds of its genus, and its motions are remarkably quick and graceful.
Its flight is often long sustained, and like the Common King Bird, with
which it associates, it is frequently seen to rest in the air, maintaining
its position for a considerable time. The males are wonderfully
belligerent, fighting almost constantly, and with great fury, and their
loud notes of anger and defiance remind one strongly of the
discordant grating and creaking of a rusty door hinge. The Indians of
the Columbia accuse him of a propensity to destroy the young, and
eat the eggs of other birds.”
Tyrannus verticalis, Say, Long’s Exped. vol. ii. p. 60.

Musicapa verticalis, Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p.
67.
Arkansaw Flycatcher, Musicapa verticalis, Ch. Bonaparte, Amer. Ornith.
vol. i. p. 18, pl. 2, fig. 2.
Arkansaw Flycatcher, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 273.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLIX. Fig. 1.

Bill rather long, stout, tapering, broader than high, unless toward the
end. Upper mandible with its dorsal outline straight and declinate,
until at the tip, where it is deflected, the ridge narrow, the sides
convex, the edges sharp, with a slight notch close to the very narrow
tip. Lower mandible with the angle short and broad, the dorsal line
ascending and very slightly convex, the ridge broad and flat at the
base, the sides convex, the edges sharp, the tip acute. The gape-
line almost straight. Nostrils basal, elliptical, partly covered by the
bristly feathers.
Head rather large; neck short; body slender. Feet very short; tarsus
slender, compressed, with six anterior scutella, which are so large
below as almost to meet behind; toes free, slender, of moderate
length. Claws moderately arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage soft and blended. Strong bristles along the basal margin of
the upper mandible, and over the nostrils. Wings rather long, broad;
the first five primaries much attenuated toward the end, the first more
so, the fifth least; this attenuation being chiefly produced by an
incision on the first web; the first four are nearly equal, the third
longest, the fourth half a twelfth shorter, the third one-twelfth shorter
than the hind, and exceeding the first by nearly two-twelfths; the
other primaries gradually broader and more rounded; outer
secondaries abrupt and slightly emarginate. Tail rather long, almost
even, of twelve broad, abruptly rounded and acuminate feathers.
Bill black. Iris brown. Feet and claws black. The general colour of the
upper parts is ash-grey, the back tinged with yellow; the wing-coverts
and quills chocolate-brown, with brownish-white edges, those of the
inner secondaries broader. Upper tail-coverts and tail black,
excepting the outer web of the lateral feather on each side, and the
basal margin of the next. There is a patch of bright vermilion on the
top of the head, tinged with orange-yellow behind. Throat greyish-
white, the sides and fore part of the neck pale ash-grey, shaded on
the fore part of the breast into pure yellow, which is the prevalent
colour of the lower parts; lower wing-coverts yellow, the middle ones
tinged with grey.
Length to end of tail 9 inches, to end of wings 7, to end of claws 7,
extent of wings 15 1/4; tail 3 7/8; wing from flexure 5 1/2; bill along the
1/2
ridge 9/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1 1/12; tarsus 8 /12; first
toe 3 1/2/12, its claw 4 1/2/12; third toe 7/12, its claw 4/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLIX. Fig. 2.

The Female is rather smaller, but is similar to the male in colouring.
The young also is similar to the adult, but wants the red patch on the
head.
In the female mentioned above as having been found in Texas, the
mouth is half an inch wide, its roof anteriorly slightly concave, with
three median prominent lines, the palate flat, with its membrane or
skin diaphanous, as in Goatsuckers. The tongue is 7 twelfths long,
deeply emarginate and papillate at the base; triangular, extremely
depressed, tapering to a thin slit and bristly point. The posterior
aperture of the nares is 4 twelfths long, linear, papillate on the edges,
ending abruptly at its fore part, without a prolonged fissure.
Œsophagus, a, a, b, 2 inches 9 twelfths long, funnel-shaped for half
an inch, then cylindrical and nearly 4 twelfths in diameter, until it
enters the thorax. Proventriculus, c, 3 1/2 twelfths in diameter, and
with a belt of oblong glandules. Stomach c, d, elliptical, 7 1/2 twelfths
long, 6 twelfths broad, its lateral muscles of moderate strength, the
lower not distinct; the epithelium with broad longitudinal rugæ, and of
a dark reddish-brown colour. Intestine, e, f, g, 7 inches long, its
diameter at the anterior part 3 1/2 twelfths, gradually diminishing to
1 1/2 twelfth. Cœca extremely small, 1 twelfth long, 1/2 twelfth broad,
and 1 1/4 inch distant from the anus; cloaca i, globular.
Trachea 1 inch 10 twelfths long, tapering from a diameter of 2

twelfths to 1 twelfth; the rings ossified and firm, about 70 in number;
the lateral and sterno-tracheal muscles slender; the inferior laryngeal
muscles are strong but very short, forming a prominent knob, and
attached to the first bronchial ring. Bronchi wide, of about 20 half-
rings.
The digestive organs of this bird, and of the Flycatchers in general,
do not differ materially from those of the Thrushes and Warblers. The
pharynx and œsophagus, however, are much wider.
SWALLOW-TAILED FLYCATCHER.
Muscicapa forficata, Gmel.

PLATE CCCLIX. Male.
Not having seen this handsome bird alive, I am unable to give you
any account of its habits from my own observation; but I have
pleasure in supplying the deficiency by extracting the following notice
from the “Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and of
Canada,” by my excellent friend Thomas Nuttall.
“This very beautiful and singular species of Flycatcher is confined
wholly to the open plains and scanty forests of the remote south-
western regions beyond the Mississippi, where they, in all probability,
extend their residence to the high plains of Mexico. I found these
birds rather common near the banks of Red River, about the
confluence of the Kiamesha. I again saw them more abundant, near
the Great Salt River of the Arkansa in the month of August, when the
young and old appeared, like our King Birds, assembling together
previously to their departure for the south. They alighted repeatedly
on the tall plants of the prairie, and were probably preying upon the
grasshoppers, which were now abundant. At this time also, they
were wholly silent, and flitted before our path with suspicion and
timidity. A week or two after, we saw them no more, having retired
probably to tropical winter-quarters.
“In the month of May, a pair, which I daily saw for three or four
weeks, had made a nest on the horizontal branch of an elm,
probably twelve or more feet from the ground. I did not examine it
very near, but it appeared externally composed of coarse dry grass.
The female, when first seen, was engaged in sitting, and her mate
wildly attacked every bird which approached their residence. The
harsh chirping note of the male, kept up at intervals, as remarked by
Mr Say, almost resembled the barking of the Prairie Marmot, ’tsh,
’tsh, ’tsh. His flowing kite-like tail, spread or contracted at will while
flying, is a singular trait in his plumage, and rendered him
conspicuously beautiful to the most careless observer.”
Muscicapa forficata Gmel. Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 931.—Lath. Ind. Ornith.
vol. ii. p. 485.—Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 275.
Swallow-tailed Flycatcher, Muscicapa forficata, Bonap. Amer. Ornith.
vol. i. p. 15, pl. 2, fig. 1.
Swallow-tailed Flycatcher, Nuttall, Manual, vol. i. p. 275.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLIX. Fig. 3.

Bill of moderate length, rather stout, subtrigonal, depressed at the
base, straight; upper mandible with its dorsal outline nearly straight,
and declinate, to near the tip, which is deflected, slender,
compressed, and acute, the edges sharp and overlapping, with a
slight notch close to the tip; lower mandible with the angle rather
long and wide, the back broad at the base, the dorsal line ascending
and very slightly convex, the edges sharp, the tip acute. Nostrils
basal, roundish, partly covered by the bristly feathers.
Head rather large; neck short; body ovate. Feet short; tarsus with six
anterior very broad scutella. Toes free, slender; the first stout, the
lateral equal; claws rather long, arched, slender, much compressed,
very acute.
Plumage soft and blended. Bristles at the base of the upper
mandible strong. Wings rather long, the first four quills longest, with
their inner webs emarginate and attenuate at the end. Tail very long,
deeply forked, of twelve broad, rounded feathers.
Bill and feet black. Iris hazel. Upper part of the head, the cheeks,
and the hind part and sides of the neck, ash-grey; scapulars and
back darker and tinged with reddish-brown; the rump darker, the
upper tail-coverts black. Wings brownish black, all the feathers
margined with greyish-white, the anterior wing-coverts scarlet; tail-
feathers deep black, with their terminal margins white, the three
outer on each side pale rose-coloured to near the end. The throat,
fore part of neck and breast, pure white; the sides, abdomen, and
lower tail-coverts, and lower wing-coverts, pale rose-colour; the
axillary feathers bright scarlet.
Length to end of tail 11 1/2 inches, to end of wings 7 1/2; tail to the
fork 2 2/12, to the end 5 1/2; wing from flexure 5 1/8; bill along the
ridge 5/8, along the edge of lower mandible 7/8; tarsus 3/4; hind toe
3/ , 1/ 1/
8 its claw 4/12; middle toe 5 /12, its claw 3
2 /12.
2

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Lobola (Bridewealth) in Contemporary

Southern Africa: Implications for

ISBN 978-3-030-59522-7 ISBN 978-3-030-59523-4 (eBook)

We are grateful to the participants of the Association of Theological

Part I History and Background of Lobola 11

2 No to Bride Price/Bride Wealth, Yes to Roora:

3 Roora/Lobola Language, Meaning and Function: A

4 Bride Wealth in Southern Africa: Origin, Functions,

Part II Lobola in Sacred Texts and Literature 63

5 The Bible in the Lobola Debate 65

6 The Jewish and Shona Perspectives of Bride Wealth in

7 The Biblical and Cultural Bases for Lobola in Light of

8 Disempowerment of Men by Men? A Comparative

9 Roora (Bride Price) and Femininity of Entrapment in

10 “Jojina,” “Marujata” and “Chihera”: Celebrating

Part III Lobola Practices in Some Southern African

11 Bogadi Practice and the Place of Women in the Botswana

12 Mutation of Lobola and “Othering” of Women in Ndebele

13 African Culture and Modernity: A Critical Review of

14 A Critical Assessment of Lobola Marriage Practices in

15 Ndzovolo Practices Among Vatsonga in Zimbabwe and

16 Gender Implications of the Metaphorical Use of Mapere

17 Commercialisation of Marriage Rites and

18 Intersection of Lobola, Intimate Partner Violence and

19 Creating Alternatives to the Commercialisation of Magadi

Part IV Philosophical and Theological Reflections on the

20 An Enquiry into the Value of Human Life: The Lobola

21 Contextual African Theological Interpretation of Ilobola

22 Lobola and Gender Equality: A Theological Hermeneutic

23 Our Debt to Our Parents: Perspectives on Lobola in the

Excellent Chireshe is Associate Professor of Religious Studies in the

the University of KwaZulu Natal. He has published several articles in the-

Lovemore Togarasei and Ezra Chitando

Marriage payments are common practice among human beings. Most

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Challenging an Old Practice: Critiques of Lobola

Anthropology Southern Africa with articles on “Continuity and Change in

Chapters of the Book

providing honest and fresh debates on lobola in the context of reflections

Steyn Khesani looks at the dynamics of lobola practice among Vatsonga in

Arguing from the context of globalisation, Chap. 21 by Moji Ruele con-

History and Background of Lobola

No to Bride Price/Bride Wealth, Yes

Nisbert Taisekwa Taringa and Godfrey Museka

N. T. Taringa (Deceased) • G. Museka (*)

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 13

obligatory ritual and be initiated at the time of marriage or for an indefi-

Although roora ritual is widely practised in the Shona society and

The primary objective of this theory is to describe cultural traditions in

Roora: A Brief History

Prior to the European occupation, typical marriage payments were limited

Although roora-related material gifts allowed petty accumulation of

The modern-day cash-based Zimbabwe economy entails high demand

Sceptics and Heretics on Roora: Literature Review

Roora, erroneously perceived as bride price or bride wealth, has proved to

Commercialisation is a system where the payment of lobola has been trans-

based on the surface, manifest and extrinsic attributes of roora ritual, as

making judgements. The enduring impact of this rationality/worldview is

Roora or Bride Price (Bride Wealth)? The Problem

The utilitarian perception of roora as bride price is evident in various

Roora: A Ritual Sui Generis

perpetuating the practice of roora. This argument resonates with

symbolic enactment of a cultural belief or value; its primary purpose is

Part I History and Background of Lobola 11

2 No to Bride Price/Bride Wealth, Yes to Roora:

3 Roora/Lobola Language, Meaning and Function: A

4 Bride Wealth in Southern Africa: Origin, Functions,

Part II Lobola in Sacred Texts and Literature 63

5 The Bible in the Lobola Debate 65

6 The Jewish and Shona Perspectives of Bride Wealth in

7 The Biblical and Cultural Bases for Lobola in Light of

8 Disempowerment of Men by Men? A Comparative

9 Roora (Bride Price) and Femininity of Entrapment in

10 “Jojina,” “Marujata” and “Chihera”: Celebrating

Part III Lobola Practices in Some Southern African

11 Bogadi Practice and the Place of Women in the Botswana

12 Mutation of Lobola and “Othering” of Women in Ndebele

13 African Culture and Modernity: A Critical Review of

14 A Critical Assessment of Lobola Marriage Practices in

15 Ndzovolo Practices Among Vatsonga in Zimbabwe and

16 Gender Implications of the Metaphorical Use of Mapere

17 Commercialisation of Marriage Rites and

18 Intersection of Lobola, Intimate Partner Violence and

19 Creating Alternatives to the Commercialisation of Magadi

Part IV Philosophical and Theological Reflections on the

20 An Enquiry into the Value of Human Life: The Lobola

21 Contextual African Theological Interpretation of Ilobola

22 Lobola and Gender Equality: A Theological Hermeneutic

23 Our Debt to Our Parents: Perspectives on Lobola in the