'—-v

 

u—vfi— wrv'vua- “v

$GTHC} MARREAfiE PATTERNS; A 31%??? {N CMTURE CHANGE

Thesis i’m the b39110 a¥ M. A.
MlCHEGA‘N STAT-E UN’WE‘RSITY.
-?&u’éus M. Mahatma
1964

II II III III III IIIIIIII III IL

00088 5825

' LIBRARY

Michigan State
University

SOTHU MARRIAGE PATTERNS: A STUDY IN CULTURE CHANGE

BY
Paulus M. nohome

L THESIS

Submitted. to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT or mmaoromar
196M

LO

v &
- C .
.
.
r.
. ..
.,. .
r.. .
{ [I
I.
r
e
. . J
.
O . ,IC
. - ...
o

 

In}

II mom 01‘ m 3030mm JW 1'. mu
m 1.13 msmm OP M‘UNITID STATES
or warm m 1961-1963.
A nan whom I deeply admired.

a
a- A .5. e
v, v
;. g . '_‘ e‘igr
. ‘ I'h
. . ) , 91
e . \l - ,

‘.-.

High 5. g m Io Kemeg.
*- 13“" 3%! MM
“He no tn greateet among the greatest;
.Hi we “tha‘rhighut among the higieet.
A leader par excellence.
A man of convictions.

Be no the noblest of etateemen;

He me the tMStIQf gentlemen,
A savior of nations.
1. lover of peace.

Unto him I offer w humble respect:

Unto him I dedicate w broken heart -
President of the United. States.
fountain of an admiration.

Of him shall I utter worde of eilver:
or him shall I sing for ever -

‘ John Fitzgerald. Kennedy,

A fortreee of the needy.

ul-

P. It. Mohane

ACIQIOWLEDJGWE

First and foremost, my deepest gratitude is to Professor Hans Wolff.
African Studies Center, who was the Director of this thesis. It was throng:
his guidance, suggestions and patient indulgence that I was able to do this

work.

My foremost gratitude is also extended to the other two members of m
committee. namely. Professor Charles Hughes, Director of the African Studies
Center. and Professor John DonOghue. Department of Anthropology. Iithout
their suggestions this work would not have been possible. It was s special _
honor for me to have the latter, who is ny Academic Advisor. in w conmittee.
2o his secretary. Mrs. Hattie I. Steensma. I also wish to extend my thanks

for her valuable advice which helped me to survive very trying amounts.

My deepest indebtedness goes also to Mrs. Gloria Balya‘of Iansing,
Michigan, who was responsible for the typing of this thesis. Iithout her

excellent services this work would not have been possible.

A great deal of thanlcs is also due to Mr. Keith Schirmer, a graduate
student at Michigan State University. and also a friend of the writer. It
was through his encouragement and moral support that I was able to withstand
the strains and stresses of writing a thesis. It will be most ungrateful of
no if I can fail to extend my appreciation to Messrs. Daniel Whitney and
Charles Lents. both graduate studentsvin the Department of Anthropology.

i'heir assistance and interest in nw work mde a contribution to this study.

finally. my obligation to the writers, past and present. onwhose works

I have drawn. is also apparent from the citations in this thesis.

1
1
t
t
I
‘ I
. p ‘ ‘
u
r
(

O§

W

I.

II.

III .

IV.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ILTRDDUCTION..'..............

Some current Theories of Culture Change

W 01’ SOUTHERN SOTHO CULTURE.

Political Organization. . . .

Social Organization . . . . .

Economic System. .
Belief Systems . .

TRADITIONAL FORMS Oll' SOUTHERN SOTHO WEE

Preferential Marriage Age . . . . . . .

@0103 0: Marriage Partner. e e e e

PreferredUnions. ee ee e e e ee

Harrisge Negotiations and Betrothel

ThCBfldF'Pri-ueeeeeeeeee

How the Dohadi Cattle are Secured . .

Transfer of Bohadi Cattle and the Marriage Ceremony

Transfer of Bride to her In-laws. . . .

Praper Conduct for a Daughter-in-law.

ResidenceRules...........

PolygynousUnions..........

Other Customs Pertaining to the Sotho Marriage.

Extra-mrital'Semal Intercourse. . .

Levirate and Sororate Customs . .

Extra—mrital Pregnancy .
Dissolution of Marriage .
GLUSESOFCEANGE.. . . . . .

Economic Factors. . . . .

iv

Page
0 0‘1
e e‘ 1

.39
.30
.he
.112
.19
.15
.15
.111}
.136
.146

Social Factors. . . . . .
Political Factors . . . .
Influence of the Church .
heal Inplicrations. . . .
V. m PATTERNS IN 80150 MERGE

The Contemporary Traditional Sotho Marriage

9

Influence of the Church on Traditional liarriage . .

Influence of Law on Traditional llarriagee. . . . ..

MltmmdelnamGQCIeeeeeoeeeeee

ChristianMarriage....o............

Civil Marriage. e e e e e
Unsanctioned Marriages. .

VI. EEOBITIGAL INTERPMTIONS. .

HMOGWOOOOOOOOOOOOO

P889

.51
«53

~59
..60

..61l-
..72
..73

ee89

~1-

Maul
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this thesis is to give a descriptive account of.cu1ture

change in the marriage ptterns of the Sotho people of South Africa. The
central focus will be on the effects of Christian rites and I‘estern ideas on
the customary marriage of the Sotho. and special attention will also be given
to new forms of marriage that have developed out of the interaction of different
cultural systems. The greater part of what will be said about the traditional
Sotho marriage will be dram on the present writer's personal experience as a
member of this group. and this will be supplemented by information from the

available literature on this topic.

W
In dealing with the theories and methods of culture change it will be

advisable to confine ourselves to the works of on]: a few anthropologists
moss views are pertinent to the subject-utter of this thesis. Perhaps the
best u: of presenting the theories of culture change is by starting with the
works of the British anthropologists: and in doing so. we skull draw heavily
on the work of Malinowski and his followers. To him ths best way of studying
culture change us by classifying the data into three typologies or orders as
it is evident from the following citation:

The study of culture change met ta‘me into account three

orders of reality: the impact of the higher culture: the

subsistence of Native life on which it is directed; and the

phenomnon of autonomous change resulting from the reaction

between the two cultures. Only by analysing each problem

under these three headings and then confronting the column

of European influences with that of Native responses. and of

the resulting change, do we arrive at the most useful

instruments of research. (Halinowski: 1915: 26).

Malinowski's feeling was that culture change is not a medisnioal process

in which the elements of two cultures simply merge without producing conflict

or strain. He took this stand when criticizing of his followers. Monica Hunter.

 

l .m.

 

.-,

4'.

A
at,
r
8
o n!
-
‘ A]
y
. a.
r i
.
a C
I
I O I
a .
s o
a it
t i
J
.
.
.

--3-

for her advocacy for a historical approach which. among other things. ails
at a reconstruction of the past culture. that is. the nature of the culture
before the contact. and then using this as a base-line or starting-point.
one should proceed to a sorting of the new elements in the culture. l'er.
Ionics Hunter is of the Opinion that the existing institutions and cultulnl
traits can not be understood without having a knowledge of the past. It seals
mbIe to agree with Malinowsh that culture change is not an ad hoc mix-
ture of cultural elanents: but it is a process of adoption. adaptation and
rejection; however. the crux of the matter is how to distinguish the tradition-
al culture from the new forms resulting from contact: for I take it. even in
the remote areas of Africa - in villages that are far away from the cities.
ene can hardly speak of pure. unaffected culture. In these areas not only do
we encounter foreign articles such as clothes. utensils and many other arti-
facts. but. to a great extent. even the values and attitudes of the inhabitants
of these areas are affected; think of the inmost of the missionary. the trader
or the tax collector; to say nothing of the influence of villagers who have at
one time or another been out of the village. And what is more, even the people
who are more acculturated. still hold dear many customs that are found in the
traditional villages.

One other method of studying culture change is the one advocated for by
Dr. lacy Hair (Hair 1938: 2). also a British anthropologist of the lalinowskian
persuasion. In essence. her method is that when culture has already undergone
extensive change. the only way of assessing the extent of the change is by re-
constructing the native culture to its prtfiuropean condition. In other words.
a kind of sore-point mat be obtained. and only then can this past culture be
cmpared with the existing one in order to assess the change. However. Halinow-

ski rejects this method by contending that historical reconstruction is not a

~3-

reliable technique. more especially when on attonpt is made to dig too deep
into the past. for in the absence of any writtendocunents. a dependence on
the accounts and narratives of the old people in regard to the nature of
their culture in the past. nay mislead the investigator. because in most
uses. these people tend to glorify the past and thus give a distortion of

the facts. However. Malinowski does not reject historical reconstruction in
toto; rather he argues that its validity is of limited scope. and met. there-
fore. be used only Ihen reliable information can be obtained. and only when

the past is still relevant to the present.

Still another approach in the study of culture change is the ens suggested
by I. S. Schopera (19315). also a British anthropologist who seals to be is di-
rect conflict with the above ones. According to him. the missionaries. tuders
and government officials who are in close contact with the indiguoae people
mould be considered as forming an integral part of the native community. hey
are. to use his enpreseion. 'the agents of contact'. and thus the people from
men reliable infernation can be obtained. Schopera's approach seem to be
useful for counter-checking information from the various infomants. in fact.
it is only an additional technique which is far from being self-sufficient
method. '

In the foregoing paragraphs. a somewhat sketchy account of some of the
aetheds of studying culture change as propounded by the British anthropologists
m presented. and we may now examine ease of the theories and research methods
of culture change as propeunded by American anthropologists. art there is one
inortant ebservation that should be nde here. Ihile most of the British asp-
threpelogists were studying culture change in the former British colonies with

L, .

t
.
‘ , ,
' ,
I
' Y
A ‘.
. t
» .
D IN
. .r
.
. . A
.
' l
_ . s
r . i
. I
. f n
‘ u .
d .. A
: i -
4 .'
.
I
i
I
I -
v ' w -.
l

JO.

a
>-
.
.n
r'
.' .
a. ‘
v
a
I.
i
A
s
1 a

t
2.
e .'

..
.
_.
.
.4 i’
.

.s
s.
,"
_..
y.
, J

.---‘

.45..
the aim of advising the government in the administration of these colonies.
Drican anthropologists engaged. in these studies with somewhat a different
orientation. i.e. with less aphasia on the use of their findings for adminis-
trative purposes. American anthropologists were not only interested in formu-
lating the methods of studying culture change. but were also equally interested
in formulating theory of culture change: thus to them theory and practice were

cupatible. and one could not exist without the other.

he first. and perhaps the classical work done in the United States in

the field of culture change in the United States. is the one which us under-
taben by Bedfield. Linton and Herskovits (1937). Obviously. this being an em-
ploratory work in the study of acculturation. not much can be expected from it.
except for a preliminary statement on the process of acculturation and a useful
definition of the concepts herein involved. ror example. to these scholars. a
clear insight‘into the process of acculturation could be realised by looking

at how new cultural elements are accepted. and adapted while others are rejected.

One of the most exhaustive studies ever done in the field of acculturation
is the one undertaken by Leonard Broom. B. G. Barnett. Bernard J. Siegel. Ivan
2. Yogt and James B. latson (1953). when scholars were called upon to examine
the problen of acculturation in anthropology and to formulate methods. tech-
niques and theory for this field. The outcome of their work was the result of
the Social Science bsearch Council Sumner Seminar on Acculturation held at
Stanford University in 1953. The, findings of this seminar were coupiled and
entitled “Acculturation: An Exploratory Formulation” and appeared in the Ameri-
can Anthropologist. Vol. 56 #6 of 195%: pages 973-995: here follows a M
of the important fomlations of this study:

1) cum-u in the acculturation situation met be classified

5.0

q . a y ..
e . .
K
. a.
A . V. .
. . .
.)

V‘a

2)

3)

‘0

5)

“5-

according to their nature. i.e. sisple-conplem. folly-urban and

so on.

[ext should be the control of variables such as:

(a) bmdaryh-Iaintaining mechanisms that are found in the cul-
ture. for instance. whether a culture is a closed or open
system. i.e. allowing or disallowing alien traits.

(b) the relative rigidity or flexibility of the internal
structure of the culture.

(c) the nature and functioning of the self-correcting mecha-
ni-s. for instance. a culture with relative equilibrium
will off-set acceptance of new elements. while a culture
which is less balanced will be more vulnerable to outside
influence.

a study of the ecology of the contact situation is the next

step. in short. this includes a study of the resources and the

relation of the people to them as well as the technological
equipment of the culture.

then demographical data of the mashers of each culture must be

recorded. and furthermore. the interrelationships of the members

of the two groups. their interaction and attitudes toward one
another in labor and prestige are some of the things that must
come under the observation of the investigator.

relations between the cultures themselves should also be examined.

' i.e. the intercultural networks will show which areas of the

6)

cultures are brought into more interplay. The groups of people
who are most active in the interacting process must also be con-
sidered.

next to consider are the intercultural commmication networks.

the channels through which information is disseminated.

 

 

 

 

.6.

7) intercultural transmission of ideas. traits and objects is one
of the things to be assessed. and also of importance are the
value systems of the interacting cultures.

8) cultural disintegration occurs when change has caused unbear-
able consequences. i.e. when the cultural system can no longer
sustain itself as an autonomous entity.

9) objects are much easier to transmit than ideas.

The foregoing are some of the phenomena involved in the process of culture
change as seen by Broom and his associates: later in this thesis we plan to
return to some of these ideas.

One other theory of culture change that needs our attention is the one
propounded by Bruce Dohrenwend and Robert smith (1962: 13—33). Although in
may respects the work of these scholars is similar to some of those already
mentioned? above here. there are. however. a few important points that seem not
to be well expounded in the other works. mus. Dohrenwend and Smith see change
as a phenomenon that may occur singly. simltaneously or sequentially. Accords-
ingly then. culture change may take place as follows:

N 1) Change in one culture toward another. this process is called

orientation.

2) Change in one culture away from the traditional behavior. but
not necessarily toward any model; this is known as gienation.

3) Change in one culture in which a conscious. organised attempt

' on the part of the members of a society to revive or perpetuate

selected aspects of that culture. This process is called
reaffifltion.

It is important to note that according to Dohrenwend and Smith. the ra-

affiraation stage usually comes later in the acculturation process. In fact.

.7.
reaffirmation is a kind of nativistic movement which is a cannon occurrence
in most contact situations. more especially when the members of the' recipient
culture are subjugated- Three types of nativistic movements are distinguished
by Dohrenwend and Smith: they are: - ~ ~

1) Bevitalistic movement in which n-bers of the subordinated grow
attempt to revitalize some of the traditional aspects of their
culture.

2) Passive movement in which members of the subordinated group

’ neither accept no:- reJect the cultural aspects of the dominant
group. (Many students of culture change soon to agree that this
state of affairs leads to apathetic tendencies on the part of
the members of the dominated group. and this may result in a
total disappearance of such a group). .

3) Befomative nativisn is said. to be a relatively conscious
attempt on the part of the members of the conquered group to
attain personal and social reintegration through selection.
modification. rejection‘and synthesis of both traditional and
alien cultural components.

A There is another current and relatively influential hypothesis in certain
social sciences. including anthropology of course. In essence. this hypothesis
stresses the importance of communication networks as being a key to the under-
standing of the processes of culture change. The exponents of this theory in
anthrOpology. John Donoghue. Iwao Ishino (1962) and their student. Daniel
lhitney (1963). among others draw our attention to what they call information.
M. and its importance in understanding as well as in bringing about change.
In other words. these scholars see culture change as a process based on com—

munication networks between the interacting cultures. thus the rate and extent

D
t
l
m
. r .
.
9-..-

—-. ‘ L4
Q
.
' u v e I
’ r
.‘ .
1' .. " .
. a
' ‘a
‘ _ ‘ - ‘ .
O
.
t | A .
; .
' r
I "v .
" e a
I w ‘ A ‘- ' .1 .
A '9 I -‘ . , .
c —
c ' 9 ,.
v o ' A -
r e
’-
‘ ‘1
. f ' .
h t ' ' I" . 7- .
1- ' v .‘
C . -
t ' s s. q ’ .
. v ' n '
i
.r .. I §
‘ A t
I
‘ C
, ,, . . , .
. . _ ‘ .
s . .
. f
' I

s
".
.._ ‘-.
P
‘s
m
t
6
t
a
S
. ' s ‘ e _‘
_ I‘
r v I
- r
" i“, Av-
s

e
i‘ ‘
r
( . s.
w.- ‘ _‘ A
b _ .
.,| .r. ‘

 

.5.
of change can be explained by looking at these interrelationships. It is
interesting to note that this approach is reminiscent of that of Robert Bed-
field (1956) in his in Idi'l‘m W111: and mail! seam LIB-m. In
both of these works Bedfield ghasizes the importance of the relations ben- '
tween the small cmnity and the city on the one hand. and between the peasant
society and the state on the other. These relations. according to him. are the

mechanisms whereby culture change can be explained.

Us need to mention one more approach to the study of culture change be-
fore we can nuke an abstraction of what we need from these theories. lost of
the theories thus far mentioned do not give much prominence to the individual
in culture change situations; the indivihal is not regarded as the agent of
change. tow the question that say be raised is whether it is the culture
that changes or the people that change their nys of doing things. It is
probably this very problem that led some anthropologists to study culture
change from the individnal's standpoint. The main concern of people of this
orientatia is to look at the personalities of those persons who accept change
more readily than the others: the aim is to find out whether their behavior
is a result of personality differences. Along with this thinking there is
also the notion of w: as cited above. Bron and his associates
ude mention of this fact. It is contended that acceptance of new cultural
elements by a people is the result of change in their values: and persons to
deliberately bring about change are variably known as innovators. deviants or
reformers. Some of the anthropologists who concerned themselves with this
ms, of work are: c. Hughes (1953). Wallace (1961). casein (1962). Inkeles
(1960). ssnsssn (1955). and sax-mt (1953).

It is noteworthy to mention that all the studies on personality. value

ev . .4 t n
. . . . o
. .
. u .
. .x, ,v
in . . .4)
. s! _ .. \’
It. . a
“we .. a Q
d l e .
_ . . .

a 4 0‘ .
, . .
A s
. nu . .
ova
, y .
o, .
f
y 41 o
u d
a ‘
a I u
. a m y
i. s L
t
.
‘ .s
I
.
‘ .
k ‘ . a
.c .. a!
4- ,
sass
b
t
. .
a
..
.e .
n A
o
C
I

to .1 \-
s
r. 4 I.
I HI
.‘ n
v v
j
.
.v
. t
i
.:. .
. a
L a
,
a
Q a .
r a a s
o
i .
. .
sl.
1
n .
y.
.
. a t
A.
. a
. . a
i
c
. s
“
.
s
l.
‘\
._
t
, s
.t
. a w- .
t
t
.
a
, w.
. ..
.
J i

J

~9-
syst-ss. innovation. nativistic movements and so on. were aimed at finding
out what the processes of change were: hence. deviants. innovators and so on
were treated as the agents of change. It is still too early to‘assess the
potential value of these studies. but it appears that there is.a great deal

of pranise for future research.

Iith the foregoing as a starting-point. we may now attemt to nuke a
unified abstraction from these relatively divergent views. It appears to me
that the logical starting-point in the treatment of culture change is to
classify and analyse the cultures in contact. As we may recall. this view
is held by most. if not all. of the writers that we mentioned in the prece-
ding paragraphs. The idea behind this school of thought is that no profound
understanding of the process of change can be obtained. without anlysing the
contents of each culture. and only then. can we begin to look at the arus
inch have undergone change. {me accepted ‘y of analysing a culture is by
dividing it into aspects or institutions such as religion. politial crani-
satiens. economic system. social organisation and so on. Along with this idea
there is also the view that cultures should be classified according to their
nature: as my be recalled. it was Broom and. his associates who nde this sug-
gestion of classifying the cultures into sinple vs complex or felt vs urban
nicest-in. i'he usefulness of this classification. we are told. is to give
the investigator a clue as to which culture will be more susceptible to change
become of its flexibility. Although the latter procedure my be useful. it
is extremely difficult to apply in a situation such as the one obtaining in
South Africa. The point is. in a country where there is a diversity of cultural
for... mechanical categories such as this cannot be fruitfully used. As already

“tinned. the first thing to do is to divide the cultures into cultural aspects

~10-
rather than classify than according to their nature. his is not only useful
as a theoretical referent. but also as an heuristic‘devicev This. since we
want to understand how the African system of marriage has been affected by
christian practices and Hestern ideas. we shall separate the marriage system

from the other aspects of the culture. and then focus our investigation on it.

There is much mrit in Malinowsh's view that the study of culture change
(should be based on three focuses: namely. the impact of the superordinate cul-
ture on the subordinate one; the content of the recipient culture and the phe-
mena resulting true the reaction between the twe cultures. leedless to sq.
we my have a better insight into the nature of change if we know the ideas
and the things that affect the traditional institutions. This in turn. will
place us in a better position to Qpreciate the results of the inset. for
eagle. in our case. the attitudes of the Christian church toward customs
such as polymy and bride-uprice. will definitely help us to understand the
changes that have taken place in these institutions. i'he only conspicuous flaw
in nalinowslci's theory of culture change is his reluctance to consider the
historical back—ground of the recipient culture. a device which will enable
one to assess the sagnitude of the change. Lucy lair. as already noted. is
in favor of a historical. reconstruction. the sore-point. to use her label.
lslinowshi rejects this as an unreliable device. especially iien there are
as records about the past. It is difficult to sppreciate this position.
free. to go too deep into the past may not yield reliable results. but a
careful recenstruotion based on the available records as well as on the verbal
account of the elderly people of the culture may enable us to have a better
perspective of the situation. thus. in our case. we may comprehend the exist-

ing forms of marriage among the indigenous South Africans. if we have a notion

s .
‘ ' ' ' . ‘. " v 1' ‘
' I p ,. ‘ . Q i l . l
.7 . 1
9 ~ » ~ ' " i . t . ' .
s A _ p ' ,- r .
- . . .
\ ' a 'l
‘ . K ' 3'
t t
‘ u
‘ ' ‘ .

e .
v . . . . . _,
A , o .a , ‘
s . ‘ . ‘ . , . e ‘
e . . ~ __ 7 -
I
. ~ ’ ' _ : ‘ ~ _
‘ . -
, ' _ _ ‘ ' ‘ t .
v . ) . . I ' ' 1 . .u!‘.
.e ’ ’> ‘ .
> ‘ r I ' g ‘ . - oe‘ a - a ‘f— 4 ’ ‘
‘
... .A .z , ‘ . -
A ‘.
u , ‘ ~ ,
V ' I ‘
A I _ , . ‘ , .. _ i .a
. _ . 1
‘ _ « 's I 4
e b 1 ‘ 4 A ‘- >a
.
1 r

‘ ‘ . U " ‘ 1- ‘
— . a J
- . f- .. . v . . , 1..
e I ‘
. . Q , . ’ ’ I I

‘ ‘ f - I - “ . - .
a ' ‘
f d ' ‘ ‘-
e A I I : O. I ‘ '- u ‘
. 1 . . A ' ‘ ~ .
' x v . . "
t . .
( ‘ ‘ \ I — ‘ J I "v t .’ .
' . ~ ‘ A . .- , f ,.
' ‘ " - , .. 2 - .i - .
a
i . " ' ~ . . s, I a
-o4 L: r .. J . I"! ' ' 1 . ‘7 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
e 1" A
_\./ - ‘ . ”i ' ' ' ' . I. '\ ‘ .M, .
‘ .” ' > .. k L ’ s " 9 , - - - .’ L j
. «
. x u». . . 3
. , - _ 4

~11—

of their pre-contact marriage practices. The question may be raised: how are
we going to get this information in a country such as South Africa. where
mission work has been under way foralmst two centuries? more are two ready
anssers to this question: the first one is that by consulting some of-the early
writings of the missionaries we may understand the traditional marriage of those
dare: the second answer is that the evangelisiag mission has not yet-succeeded
in Wistianising the whole of South Africa. By tapping both of these sources

of informtion. we my succeed in nking a relatively true picture of the past.

One variable in culture change is the nature of the relationships between
members of the interacting cultures. Certainly. to speak of cultures as being
in contact. as thougi they were tangible entities. is a mental abstraction
rather than an enpirical phenomenon; we list never lose sight of the fact that
it is people «- the carriers of culture - who are interacting. morefore the
rate and nature of the change depend mostly on the relationships between the
members of the cultures in contact. Their attitude toward one another as well
as tonrd one another's culture. are factors that count such in culture change.
In our case. we shall have to look at the relations between Africans and lure-
psans. this will include an examination of the social. political. economic and
territorial er residential relations. By doing so we nay be able to account
for the rate of chuge. acceptance or reJection of new cultural traits by Afri-
cans. we my also know whether the contact is peaceful or hostile. whether
the change is deliberate or spontaneous. and whether the numbers of the super-
ordinate culture have sincere intentions or other ulterior motives in bringing
about change. These factors and many others. will receive our special attention

later in our treatmt of culture change in South Africa.

u . . a A
‘ .
.- ' -u . L‘ ‘ o
.e ‘ - ‘ ' - . I... I
. - . ‘- -1
J .
H r
i n . -
1‘ V. 1 ° ' ,
. .\ ‘ ‘I I . V
. . .
l . ’ .
O . \ . .- s,
' > . x x . ~ .r - (1.1"ev- ~~
. . . - .
. I
_ | .
.
p . H J, .
1 ' ‘ 3' ' “ '
, . Q - . t
e . w ‘ e I
T , ‘ - x
e . ‘
v . ‘
v _ ' ' - . - ' . ' I
. . ‘ . . _
' I A 4 ‘
- . ' "\‘
x . i .

A W .
l K l
a ' ' .
_ . . s
' A I “
. ‘ . - A . ' .. - . l
‘ ' r . . l e
,. ‘ v _‘ d.’ ‘ J
) ¢ \' ' i ' ‘
\ ' '
. .
. A ‘ . . I g a .1 s
. g .
, .
. ' .« . . -
, r . ; .' ' ‘
t ‘ o ,' 1 '
a - . - . e
a ‘ . v « _ I -
s ‘.
u .
. s
so ' -I

~13-

Ilaw students of culture change saw to agree that culture. like a bio-
logical organism. is a system which has to maintain a certain state of equili-
briua in order to survive. the general view held by these scholars is that
culture at all times strives to maintain a status quo. and that any disturbance
to one of the parts of the system will affect the functioning of the whole
system. This notion is based on the fact that a cultural system has defense
mechanisms of its own whereby it resists change; asit might be recalled. ac-
cording to Broom and his associates. the ability of the culture to maintain a
status quo depends largely on its degree of integration. Thus. if the culture

is not well integrated. it will be easily susceptible to outside influence.

his view is also held by many other anthropologists. especially those
duo have hem influenced by the French sociologist. Durkheim. and later by
the-British anthropologist. Radcliffe-Brown. smug other things. scholars
of this pursuasion saintain that culture or society which is undergoing change.
is in a state of disequilibrium. and during this period. we are told. the
cultural system is striving to reach a state of stability by a process of re-
organisation and adaptation. The new elements are transformed and reorgnised
so that they can fit into the accepted patterns. that we do not know. or at
least what we are not told. is whether culture does really act of its own as:
though it were an entity. Nor do we know whether people behave consciously in
trying to maintain the equilibrium of their culture. It does. however. seas
true that. iien a culture is undergoing change. its members are in a state of
confusion. and find thmselves torn between two cultural systems. the old and
the new. They do not know which system to follow. and in consequence. try to
adapt to both systems at the same time. This. in turn. leads to a modification

of both cultural system. This phenomenon seems to be univsrnl in all contact

~13-
situations. It is of particular importance to us. for in the following ch”-
ters we will see how new cultural patterns developed out of the interaction '
of two cultures. Is will illustrate this phenomenon by-describing the earrings
forms among the Bethe of South Ania. nrriage patterns that emerged from
the interacting of Africans and Europeans.

mansion:
Now that we have examined some of the current theories of culture change.

we say extract from them what we need for this thesis. It is evident from
the above paragraphs that no single theory of culture change is comprehensive
enough to encomss all of the phenomena and processes that are involved in
culture change: perhaps only a combination of some of-them may best sem our
purpose. The following postulates are what we are going to work with; an
attempt will be nade to relate them to the changes that have occurred in the
Sotho customry marriage.

1) It appears to be true that in order to rake a valid assessmt of
the extent to which one culture has been affected by the other. as
has to analyse the cultures to see which aspects of them are inter-
playing. In our case we will examine the traditional Sotho mrriage
and see how mch it has been affected by the Christian practices
and 'lestern ideas. The main thing to do here. is to categorise all
the new forms that have been taken over and modified so that they
fit into the traditional pattems.

2) In about all contact situations. the culture which will be more
changed or affected. is that of the subordinate group. This is
true even if the subjugated people are in the majority.

3) .lcculturation is a slow. selective and adaptive process. It is

«lit-
true that people tend to select those things that are not in direct
conflict with the already accepted ways of doing things: however.-
this does not mean that people do this consciously. that is in fact
happening is that peeple choose those cultural traits that they think
are good for them. in other words. things that they value. Later in
this thesis we will atteupt to show that the Bethe chose those foreign

elements which fitted well into the accepted marriage patterns.

it) Acceptance of new cultural traits by people goes hand in hand with a

5)

5)

7)

corresponding change in their values. It seems that this is one of
the crucial mechanisms of culture change. and we will pay some atten-
tion to it during the course of this thesis.

rhe process of acculturation tends to produce new cultural patterns
that are identical with neither the traditional forms nor the slim
ones. In the course of this essay. an attempt will be made to show
that new nnrriage forms among the Bethe have emerged as a result of
the influence of the Christian church and Western teachings.

The acceptance of new cultural elements by people is facilitated by
two factors. namely. their level of education and their position in
the economic system of the country. The role of these factors in
detemining the rate and course of change. will also be dealt with
in the following chapters.

culture change produces a state of confusion among its people: this-

. confusion is what anthropologists are wont to call disintegration.

In our essay we shall try to show that some kind of disintegration

is prevalent in the Sotho social structure.

«15-:
Mter II

it Sumnnrx of Southern Sotho Culture

The Southern Sotho belong to one of the four lain groups of the Bantu-
speaking peoples of South Africa. namely. Iguni. Sotho. Venda and Shangana-
Tsonga. hch of those can be sub-divided into smaller distinct sub-groups.
but we shall concern ourselves only with the Sotho. In most linguistic works.
the Sotho are divided into three grown: the Southern Sotho. Northern Sotho
(Pedi) and Hestern Sotho (Tswana). In actual practice. this classification
is not usually recognized by the people themselves; for exanple. only the
first two groups call themselves Basotho. while the members of the last-named
group prefer to be called Batswana. These three groups however. are cultur-
ally and linguistically very much alike. but we will only deal with the South-

Cm Sotho.

The Southern Sotho. like many peoples of South Africa. are scattered all
over the country. They are mainly concentrated in the British Protectorate of
hsutoland. the Orange Free State. Cape Province and certain parts of Natal.
The last three provinces form a part of what is now called the Republic of
South Africa. formerly known as the Union of South Africa. Many Southern
Sotho are also found around the Johannesburg area in the gold mines of the
Transvaal. but most of them originally came to this place as laborers. It
till be primrily the Sotho of the Orange Free State that will be used as our
illustration in the next chapters when we deal with acculturation in Sotho

customary marriage.

For practical purposes. we may further divide the Sotho according to
place of residence: as a matter of fact. this division will help us understand

why some Sotho are more acculturated than the others. In the Republic of South

arm

n:
. o.-

. ,
_ a
. v
.- . . m .
In .-
l r _
t t
. .
. . c .
. . e
J! I .
. ..
. A
. .1 a
. 0!
A C .L
C
v
c
3
. e
_
..
..
.
t as
o.
.
. .
t .-
u A
I l
. s
.
.
. a
a
.
a
. O
' .
.
I
f
a

p
w
.l
‘
4.
a
.J
.I
\
. a
I. J,
'
.«L
e

~16-
ifrica alone. there are three groups: those who are found dispersed on Euro-
pean farms. those who live in towns. i.e.. in separate residential areas known

as 'locations'. and those who live in reservations.

The South African population estimtes are very much confusing in the 11--
terature; in fact. the figures given in different books seem to disagree. but
according to the latest census (1959—1961). there are about 1.021.571 Sotho in
South Africa exclusive of Basutoland. Unfortunately there are no recent fig-
ures for hsutoland. the only available figures are those of 1952 (Warmele 1952:
s) which give the figure of 656,183 for this territory. Distribution of the
Sotho according to provinces. including Basutoland are as follows according to
the Ian. estimtss:

Orange Free State - #250,272

..

 

Transvaal - 332.1sz
Gaps Province - 87.951
Intel - 20.23“
Mtoland .. 6564;81
Total .. 1.1+22.o6l+

It is clear from the above that the heaviest concentration of Sotho are
in hsutoland. the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.. Earlier. it was re-
ssrhes that the place of residence has a close correlation with the rate and
extent of change. but most unfortunately. there are no accurate and recent fi-
gures showing the distribution of the Sotho according to the three areas men-
tioned above here. The following rough estimtes of the hasuteland census of
1946. (Sheddick 1953: 10) may give a general idea:

(a) nnsntolnnd .. 562.000
dbsentees at labor centers - 70.000

(b) Orange l'ree State. Dispersed - 150.000 (est.)
Reservations and locations 17.000 (est.)

«17-

 

(c) (ape Province - 85.000 (est.)
(a) Natal - m 23,000 (Asst 1)“
Total - 908.000 '

POLHIOAL ORGANIZAEIW
Libs many of the South African Bantu. The Sotho also have a political
structure based on the institution of chieftaincy which is the personification
of all the attributes of government in persons whose position in their respec-
tive groups is guaranteed by their position within the lineage hierarchy. Every
sub-chief or headnan is in full charge of the affairs of his hamlet or village.
except for matters that fall directly under the jurisdiction of the national
leader or paramount chief. such as criminal offenses of a serious nature. mur-
der and theft. The chief's most important duties are the settling of disputes.
control of the grazing grounds and natural resources. enforcement of local and
national laws. allocation of land for residence and cultivation purposes. and
acting as leader in all important ceremonies. Another important task of the
Sotho Chief is to loo]: after the welfare of his people. more especially the
poor and the needy. In order to meet these obligations. he met have an ade-
qmte food supply. 01' this phenomenon. Sheddick says:
The chief's village is the center for indigent and needy persons.
Married peeple deserted by the spouses. widows and widowers. men
and woolen without the means of making their own houses all gather
round the chief making themselves available for work and expecting
to be fed. (Sheddick 1953: l+8)
In return for these services. he enjoys the right to have free labor
from his subjects: he is also entitled to contributions from his peeple in
the form of building materials. fines from minor disputes and sometimes tax

«uOCt 1m e

i‘he Sotho chieftainship. as in many parts of Africa. is based on lineage

"M

-18-
and family seniority; time. at the top is the paramount chief - the senior
sale member of the senior lineage and family. He is assisted by sub-chiefs
to are also senior nle members in their respective families. This arrange-
ment then. gives us a hierarchical order of chiefs as the central focus of the
political and power structure of the Sotho.

The above is only a brief and general description of the Sotho traditional
7 political structure; it is important to keep in mind that under the Eur0pean .
government. such of what has been described above is no longer in existence.
The chieftainship has been modified to fit in the European national government:
my of the rigits of the chief have been curtailed or modified. One other
thing to bear in mind is that in towns and on the luropean fares. chieflain-
ship no longer exists. the only places where it is still found. though very
Inch modified and modernised. are Basutoland and the reservations in the Be-

public of South Atria.

8001B. ORGANIZATION

In dealing with the social organisation of the Sotho. the aspect of
marriage will be mitted here. and since it is the major concern of this
thesis. it will be dealt with in detail in the subsequent chapters. Here
the min aim is to give the reader a general perspective of the other aspects
of the Bethe culture; for. as we all know. it is unrealistic to treat one
aspect of culture as though it were in a vacuum. in fact. they are so inter-
related that the treatment of one calls for the consideration of the others
as well. In short. then. the Sotho traditional social grouping may be treated
under the following headings:
W:

The basic kinship group is the primary family with monogamy as the

 

( I - ‘ ._ . :4,
s
. o
. | -. .
. I y
. v
.- .. i . ‘
‘ - .1 I I 1 s - ’ t l‘.
l . I I n K
t ‘ I
‘ . . ~ ’ ‘ -~.
' l
. e .1 “ .
. . “' ‘ V. "‘ ' l e
. , . .' . ‘ a 1,“, ’ . ~
. I l 1 '4 . | t
. . . «I
a t— b , _ ‘ « r
e
‘ ‘ A
l ‘ 'M
. , t I "
. .
~ , (I 3 '
v - ‘ I. .
V . .’ O 4 I
“ b ‘ “ .
. n . ‘ 3 x ’.
p ‘ U f
. V ’ l .
v .. \1 . i. u . 1. . ) _. € . .4 . . .F ‘
e . .
r 3L
_ .
7- " : ' ‘ 1‘ ' , .
. . . . . '
. Vs
n I
. . h ‘.
C
. . _ r‘ ,
. ‘ ‘ ~‘ ’
“ I ' " . . J.
v ‘ . .
‘ ' ‘ r ‘ ' ‘ I.
. ." e . ‘ -v . . . ‘
'e.. N g ,
' ( ~ ,,
F .~‘ I ~ . '1 A ’ " . ‘ -|
f i
e ' ' _
. Q
l
. a "' ‘ ‘ . A .
_ t ( .
w
e .

 

---

.19..
general rule nondays. but formerly the polygn one family as quite comon
among the rich people: the mJority of such unions consisted of two wives
(Sheddick 1953: 27) to a man. while among the chiefly persons the number of
wives could even exceed four. In these polygnous marriages each wife be-
cools the center of a simple family unit. residentially distinct from her co-
wives. but they are united to form a single complex household by the dependence

on the husband who is common to them all.

The heads of all the primary families in a village are linked by a common
blood relationship. and this in turn. forms whit is usually referred to as a
m in anthropological literature. The solidarity of this group derives
from recognition of common descent in the male line. thus forming a patrilineal
lineage. Membership in such a lineage is determined by blood relationship in
the rule order of descent. There is a tendency for these lineages to split
into snller segnents: this happens especially when the lineage has becane too
large. hit this segmentation does not nullify the blood relationship solidarity,
beause there is another factor which facilitates unity. and this is the belief
in a cannon totem. The Sotho. as my other Bantu groups. have an emblem which
designates a particular group of people: in South Africa. most. if not all. of
these emblems are animals. Every aggregate of lineages that have developed
out of a single family. forms a large social youping which is usually referred
to as clan in anthrwological literature. It is interesting to note that each
of these animals becomes a symbol of praise (seboko) for each clan (Sheddick
1953: 28). Some of the major totem groupings are the Bakesna (koena - crocodile) ,
Bafobng (mutla - rabbit). Bataung (tau -‘ lion) and Basia (sia - wild cat).
lach of these clans is non-exogenous. this is very typical of the Sotho be-
cause they prefer marriages between parallel and cross cousins. with the latter

being preferred.

-r
2‘ V
\
.'
. ..
. VI
-
.

'e
i.‘

i
. I
0

. e

-ao-

{from the above account the reader may get the impression that-all the
people that csspose a patrilineal lineage are real blood relatives; this is
not always the case. Some of then. though very few. are people who semi-ed
affiliation withothe lineage by surrendering their original lineage identity.
This is especially true of wanderers. former slaves or people born out of wed-
lech; the general rule is that they adopt the surname and totem of the family

with inch. they identify themselves.

Associations (Ottenberg 1960: 36)

his second principle of social grouping among the Sotho. as in other
troupe. is the association: and in the case of the Sotho. this grouping is
based. on age and sex. Separate age—groups (mephato) for males and femles
are formed. but those of the men are more important than the women's. for.
before the coming of the whites. age-groups among men formed distinct regi~
nents known as mabotho. Apart from this function. they were also influential
social units. Members of each age-group form a social unit with a desiaatimg
name: they are the people who were initiated at the same time and thms are of
the same age. In the course of every-d” life. they tend to cluster together
to help one another in the every—day business of life. and they also visit one
another frequently. They claim a common code of language which they developed
at the circumcision school. In former days members of an age-group used to
sleep together in a common house known as gig-t}; for the boys. and m

for the girls. But nowadays these customs are fast disappearing.

It is worth mentioning that among the South African Bantu secret locieties
similar to those found in other parts of Africa. were unknown. The only divi-
sion between men and women in these societies is that of social distance: as

a rule. men in the normal course of life. keep away from the company of woman.

-e
J

a .
a

‘ a

‘ ' _ . ‘ e

r - . a . . .
,
. V
. ’ . . e
.

.21..

In fact. it is a sign of defective I'manliness" to beep company with women. and
any such behavior calls for strong social disapproval or ostracism. The ea.
is true of boys and girls. The result of this behavior is that men spend most
of their time any from their womenfolk: except for the planting or harvesting
period. they spend the greater part of the day at the court place where they
are ugaged in all kinds of leisure activities such as discussing local or
nationl politics. settling disputes. playing mes. tanning skins or cleaning

their weapons or implements.

The other types of associations that are found among the Sotho. are ninly

the result of contact with the mmpeans and are beyond the scope of this chapter.

IOONCMIC SYSTEM
riwlture:

The Sotho. like all the southern Bantu in general. are a pastoral-agri-
cultural people. Thethave a mixed econony which includes husbandry. agri-
culture and horticulture. In the past the chief crops were sorgrum. water
melons. pumpkins. beans and sweet reed (ntsoe). while today they have also
acquired wheat. peas. oats. barley and vegetables from the Europeans. Maize
(corn) was introduced to them before the nineteenth century (Sheddick 1953: 18).
but it is not known who introduced it. liaise is nowadays the staple food of

the Sotho.

In traditional Sotho society. every family was entitled to a piece of
land for cultivation. and in most cases. this land consisted of two or three
separate plots of about two acres each. Before the introduction of the plow.
the hoe was the most important implement for tilling the soil. Seeds were
usually planted at the boginning of spring. in August or September. The

nursing of the young plants involved tremendous work; for, instance. during

- e

.22...
the growing season. weeding and mulching constituted one of the most painstaking
tasks as a rule. this was mostly done by women‘. Again during the ripening season
Inch labor Ins needed in keeping the birds fran destroying the sorghum.- Along
with rational methods of keeping the birds away from the sorghum. nagical rit-
uals were also performed in trying to protect the crops frm hail and birds.
and for this purpose. a specialist called moupglli was engaged by the members
of a village. Harvesting was also women's work. although men were not debarred
from helping their womn-folk. After threshing. the grain was stored in “grain
elevators“ known as l_i._s_i_u - made of grass or straw. In former days men's chief
Job us to herd their flocks. while hunting also constituted one of the honor-
ific Jobs.

Gardenigg:

Each household was entitled to a small garden (sorapa) usually at the
back of the house - used mostly for the cultivation of tobacco and pumpmns.
but since the advent of the Europeans. vegetables and fruit trees are also

gone

Animal Hugbandgz:
Animal husbandry forms the major economic enterprise of the East and

South African Bantu. The so-called "East African Cattle Complex' is known

to every anthropologist. It is in these societies that cattle play a very
iQortant part in the economy of the people: ownership of man cattle on—
hances one's prestige. and, as we shall see later. cattle play a significant
role in the contracting of marriages; formerly. without them. mrriage us
almost impossible. The Sotho. too. value cattle like any other Southern Bantu
people. The only sign of wealth which was culturally valued, was possession

of cattle. Great care was taken to secure and insure the fecundity and good

 

. J l
. .t . a
. u. a
r , .
r
_ r .t
r I r
l .
«I
. ‘.
a . u
a
s
v .
_
. u \
. h
.
l
I. ' .
A .
.
.
. .

 

h
r
P
. I
at.
I.
:i
.
C
'
e
..
v
a f.
..
. Ix
'
~
'
o
C
t.
.
y.
.
I
.
. a
~ a‘.

-23-

hnlth of the cattle. and this involved the performance of certain rituals.
Herding was thus. the most important task of men. and every man would go out
of his way to secure good pastures for his herd. Along with cattle. the Sotho
also kept shall stock such as pigs. goats. chickens and dogs mich were useful
in hunting. while the former were kept mostly for slaughtering. Cattle were
slaughtered only on important occasions such as marriage ceremonies. thanks-
giving feasts and funeral ceremonies. Poor people who had no cattle. were
helped to secure them by a system known as farmimt (mafisa): a nun who

has many cattle gives a cow to a poor man who is entitled to use it as he pleases.
except slaughtering or selling it. than it has mltiplied itself by several
calves. the owner would dsnnd its return. in which case. the increase as
divided equally between the two. The same thing is done with.small stock.
Iowadavs the horse and the donkey occupy an important position in the econony
of the Bethe: these animals are primarily used for transportation in the
mountainous areas of Basutoland and the south-eastern corner of the Orange

Free State.

Under Mopean influence. money. trade. professions and labor are in-

creasingly supplementing or even replacing the traditional means of livelihood.

mm sums

The sotho believe in the spirits of their ancestors (balime); the ancestor-
wership involves reverence to the spirits of the dead. sacrificial offerings
for the appeasement of the spirits when offended in one or the other w. as
well as inducing them to protect the living from vagaries of nature. misfor-

tune and diseaser

The Sotho have a vague notion of the supernatural being. in their lam-

-214-
m. the word Molina. is used to refer to the creator of all things. but as
to his abode. there seems to be no clear conception. Moreover. there is no
direct relation between the living and Molimo. and only the ancestral spirits
can communicate with him on behalf of the living. The Sotho also believe in

a life after death in a place known as mosim. (Sheddick 1953: 70).

The help and protection of the dead are sought in all Hatters that are
beyond the control and understanding of the Sotho. for example. their help
is called in in times of disaster. famine. disease. drought. lightning as well
as during the planting season. The seed is prepared by magic rites in order
to invoke the good will and protection of the ancestral spirits. Thanksgiving

feasts. (pha-balimo) are held after every harvest in honor of the dead.

Magic also plays a significant role in the belief system of the Sotho.
for instance. it is held that certain persons command the power of controlling
certain natural forces such as hail. lightning. misfortune and rain. These
peeple are also said to be in control of ill-luck and good-luck; they can
cause misfortune to befall a person against whom they have a gnidge. Sorcery
and witch-craft are also known among the Sotho. with the former being more
passive in character than the latter. and in the words of Sheddick (19533 65),
' its dome and ritual are concerned not with the agent but with the victim".
lishaps. sudden death and unexpected misfortune are usually attributed to son-
cery. The victim's first reaction is to secure the advice of a diviner me is
required to find out the cause of the misfortune or death. and if the indica-
tions are that the victim has violated certain customs or procedures. having
thereby offended the spirits of the forefathers or living elders. he will have
to perform certain rituals to appease them and at the same time cleanse him

of the sin he has committed. If the cause of his misfortune or disease is be-

~25-
lieved to be the work of a sorcerer. he will ask the diviner to give him pro-

tective medicines. The Sotho also believe that there are certain persons that
possess familiars (thokolosi); such witches are believed to possess the power
of flight. and their typical behavior is that of entering houses at night
whilst people are asleep. It is said that these witches go naked. and when
entering a house they make nuisance of themselves by upsetting pots. disturbing.
the moments and so on. (Sheddick 1953: 71).The thokolosi is widely known in
South Africa. It is held to be a short man of about 2% inches in height. with
a well developed penis. he is usually sent about at night by a witch to go
and cause trouble to persons. especially to strangle or seduce women. but he
can also be used in performing useful Jobs such as herding cattle or collect-

ing firewood.

The above brief account was only intended to give the reader a general
knowledge of the culture of the Sotho before they came in contact with the
missionaries and the Europeans in general. lhen we speak of any change of
these people. it should be kept in mind that it was from this state that the
change took place: moreover. this notion will serve as a point of departure

for the phenomena which will be discussed in the subsequent chapters.

It will be recalled that in the first chapter mention was made of the
fact that culture change can be best understood when the past condition of
the culture is known; this was the aim of the present chapter. In the next
chapter the traditional Sotho mrriage will be discussed in detail so that
the changes that have taken place in this institution may be better under-

Utoode

.es

- n 0 b w
l. I
a
.r .
V
a
. ‘yg
C .
e . I» v e
L a
... . ,
It
. a
v.
.
A .. t
r t
We
.
t z. .
e 2
vol f. .
e . .
y Y e
;
fl M
O 1
. _
.t p
L
w
'2 s
p

c26-
Mter II;

THE mmnom FORM§ 0330mm somo MARRIAGE

The following is a brief and yet concise account of the customary unru-
raige of the Sotho. The intention is to touch briefly on those aspects of
marriage which are prominent in the day to day life experience; and the great-
or part of what will be mentioned in this chapter. will be drawn on the writer's
personal experience. and. of course. use will also be made of whatever supple-
mentary information may be obtained from the available literature. for pract-
ial purpose. this topic may be treated under a number of sub-headings which

fellow:

BofemntiaW¢
Although there is no minimm age limit for carriage. the preferred age

 

for boys is between the ages of twenty—five and thirty years. In the former
days a boy could be allowed to marry only when he had gone through all the
age-grades. and it took boys twenty-five years to complete this life-cycle

so to speak. Often a boy's marriage would be delayed by lack of cattle for
the bride-price. and people who fell under this category usually got married
Inch later. in their twenties or early thirties. The initiation school was. a
passport to adulthood. but this did not mean that a person could marry issued-
lately after being initiated; he still had to spend from two to four years fe-
fore he could do so. Therefore. in traditional Sotho society marriage at a
tender age was unusual; moreover. it was discouraged. for it was held that
marriage denands for a lot of responsibility on the part of the spouses._and

thus only matured husband and wife could stand the hard tests of wedlock.

As a rule. girls married at a relatively early age. the reason being that

-27-
their fecundity must be exploited to the full. for. in this society. as in
other African societies. children are thought to be an asset rather than a
liability; not only are they thought to be a potential labor force in a enh—
sistence econony. but also a source of wealth. A few years after puberty. girls
go to the initiation school. a stage which marks the transition from childhood
to adulthood: and usually after a few months they are ready to enter into mar-
riage. In most cases. this was done between the ages of seventeen and twenty.

and unlike boys. girls are discouraged from marrying at a late age.

goice of Marrig firtner:

he choice of a marriage partner was the business of the parents or re-
latives. Usually when a boy became of age. and thus wished to marry. he would
one day get up early in the morning whilst everybody was still asleep. and
drive the cows together with their calves to the grazing pastures; this he
did without first nulking the cows as he was supposed to do: in consequence.
people would do without mill: for that day. This was the customary way of
showing one's desire to marry. but there were also other methods. for example. the
father’s sister. father's younger brother or even one's mother could be ap-
proached on this matter; the latter in turn. would notify the boy‘s father. It
must be remembered that the Sotho are both a patriarchal and patrilineal peo-
ple. and in such a society where kinship ties play an important role. every
close relative must be informed about the boy's plans: his father's brothers
and sisters; his elder brothers and sisters: his mother's brother. All must
be consulted before a suitor for the boy can be chosen; they are the peeple
who will give guidance in the choice of the right bride. and usually the fa-
ther's sister plays a prominent part in this connection. her suggestions and

advice carry a lot of weight.

~28»

then all the close relatives are briefed on the boy' s marriage plans.
they usually suggest thenames of two or three girls when they consider po-
tential mtes. that is important in this matter is not only the girl‘s con-
flict but her parent' as well; they met be of good social standing and repu-
tation. lhen the final choice is made. frequently. but not always. three names
are suggested to the boy. and he is asked to nice a choice. Afterwards. the
father's younger brother or any other close relative will be sent to the home
of the girl to inform her parents that his brother's son is interested in
their daughter; if they have no objection. they will than inform their daughter
about the mission of the guest. If she is interested in the suggestion. arran-
gements will be made for the boy to visit her at her home. The custom is
known as ''ho qela sebaka'. literally. 'to ask for permission for courting'.
Its function is to allow the boy to meet with the girl without any interfer-
once from her parents. It must be pointed out that. in the majority of cases.
the boy and the girl already know each other. for. as mentioned earlier. the
Sotho lineage is non-exogamous. and consequently. most of the narrisges take

place between persons of the same village.

It is important to note that. although the parents assume the leading
role in selecting a life-partner for their son. they nevertheless respect his
views; and more often than not. his willingness to accept the choice mist be
sought for. otherwise the whole matter may all fall through. There are. how-
ever. cases where the boy is simply persuaded to accept the parent“ choice.
but such instances are rare. In like manner. the girl also has the right to
refuse to marry someone she does not like. no matter how powerful the persua-

sion from her relatives may be.

Customarily. it is unbecoming for a Sotho girl to fall in love with a

”I

-‘-29--
buy at the first preposal; she met pretend not to be interested. in him even
I if at the bottom of her heart she nay be madly falling for him. five reasons
are usually advanced for this kind of behavior; first. the girl must test the
sincerity and seriousness of the boy: second. it is against custom for a girl
to fall in love with a boy at their first meeting. Usually. after several
visits. extending over a period of several months. the girl would eventually

accept the boy's preposal if she is interested.

The boy rarely goes alone to the girl's home. usually he is accompanied
by one of his friends who will be his decoy: this is done to mice it impossible
for hen-relatives to know who the real lover is. for. in lotho society. all
moves toward marriage at this stage. are held secret and no outsiders may be
informed for fear that they any thwart the negotiations which are still deli.-
ate and uncertain. Bat when the boy has already entrenched himelf. he may
visit the girl without a scapegoat. The same is also true with the girl; she
met invite one of her closest friends to come and keep her composer and also

to assist in entertaining the guests.

{referred Unions:
Parallel and cross-cousin marriages are preferred among the Sotho. and

the latter are more frequent than the former. It is believed that such unions
do not disturb the wealth of the families. and besides. marital disputes are

easier to resolve among relatives than is the case with non-relatives.

m legatiations and Betrothalz
[hen the boy and the girl have agreed to marry. them a chain of negotia-

 

tions is set off between the two families. 'i'he relatives ef the boy. usually
his father's younger brother and mother's brother. and sometimes the groom‘s

elder brother. would. on an appointed day. be sent to the bride's home to ask

an

.30.
her parents formally for her hand in mrriage with their boy; this custom is

Eaten as ”he qela mosadi'. literally. “to ask for a woman in narriage'.

l'or this occasion the bride's relatives prepare enough food to entertain
the guests: a goat is slamtered and beer is brewed in abundance. Only close
relatives are allowed to participate in the discussions: non-relatives are
only invited to the feast. but not to take part in the real issue. On this
occasion. the bride. who normally avoids coming in contact with her prospective
its-laws. will be called in for an inspection by her future in-laws: but as the
custom has it. she met conceal her body from the head to the heels. leaving
nly as apperture for her face. It mot. however. be mentioned that it is
only after a lengthy persuasion that she may agree to come close to her future
in—laws: cases are not uncm where girls refuse flatly to appear in front

of their prospective its-laws.

Here min. the girl's consent must be obtained before the two families
can agree on the narriage of their children. During these negotiations. the
chief spokesman on both sides is the mother's brother; he is the person who
leads the discussion. who malces the necessary inquiries. but the final word
is always from the groom's father ‘and the bride's father or their representa-

ti'” e

Along the Bethe. as among other South Africans. the paternal aunt. i.e.
the father's sister and the maternal mcle. i.e. the mother's brother. play
an important part in the affairs of their brother's and sister's children re-
spectively. not only in matters of mrriage. but also in many other respects.
In the use of marriage negotiations as outlined in the preceding paragraphs.

it is the father's sister who advises the bride. She is the person who usually

‘t

.3].-

persuades her to accept the marriage offer: she is also influential in the
assessment of the bride-price. The brother's brother. as already noted. is,
the chief spokemn and. if he is on the bride's side. he will press for the
satin bride-price. but if he is on the groom's side. he will advocate a
reduction of the bride-price: for in this case. he is also mused to eel-
tribute to the bride-price of his sister's son. while on the bride's side
he is entitled to a portion of the bride-price. This is usually two head of
cattle. but he cannot enjoy this right if the bride-price is not sufficient.

Radcliffe-Brown (19218511). speaking of the importance of the father's
sister and mother's brother in South Africa. says:

And I wish to call attention to a correlation that seems to
exist between customs relating to the mother's brother and
the father's sister. So far as present informtion goes.
where we find the mother's brother important we also find

that the father's sister is equally important. thougi in a
different way.

Of the importance of the father's sister among the Tsonga of south
Africa. he had the following to say:

A man's father's sister is one relative above all others

when he must respect and obey. If she selects a wife for him.
he must marry her without even venturing to demon or to voice
any objection: and so throughout his life. His father's sister
is sacred to him: her word is his law: and one of the greatest
offenses of which he could be guilty would be to show himself
lachng in respect to her. (Radcliffe-Brown 1921+: 511).

Among the Sotho. while the Opinions of the mother's brother and the fa-
ther's sister are highly respected. they do not have the force of legal pre-
cepts. In the case of the Sotho. we have pointed out that the function of
the father's sister is only to persuade. but never. as it were. to force. It
is unthinkable to cmcede such unlimited powers to a woman in a society which
is not only patrilineal. but patripotestal as well: so Radcliffe-Brown's state-

mt say be true for the Tscnga. but certainly not for the Bethe.

.33..

The first plase ef the betrothel. as already alluded to. is conducted
with due regard for the wishes. of the girl: even after this stage. she still
has the right to break the promise without her action giving rise to any cons-
plimticns. since the agreement is not yet finalized by presenting the custun-
ary two head of cattle. The presentation of the two head of cattle to the
bride's family mrks the final phase of the betrothel. and both families are
legally bound by this agreement. The ceremony is usually held in public where
all the people present can be witnesses. In Sotho these cattle are knew as
'dikgomo tsa selelakela'“. which may be translated as 'cattle for the prelude
to marriage". One of the cattle net be a cow and the other an en: the cow
is presented to the mother of the bride to thank her for having nursed the
bride. and it is known as "kgomo ya letewele'. literally. 'beast for the
breast'. The on is given to the father of the bride to thank him for having
been the genitor of the bride; this one is known as Meme 3! letheh'. 11t-
erally beast for the waist”. .all these negotiations are handled by the same

persons who were first charged with this Job.

The gridnrice:
Like many other translations. the label 'brideqarice' is also erroneous

in that it does not convey the enct meaning ef the cast. as practiced in
Death Africa. The label 'brideuprice' or 'bride wealth' my give the outsider
the impression that a notion of sale is involved in African misses: this is
a most unfortunate illusion. Perhaps the word 'dowry'. though it carries a

slightly different connotation. could be more precise than the others.

In South Africa it is customry to use the term 'lobola' for this (metal.

but for the purpose of this thesis. the Bethe word 'bohadi' will be used

throughout in the following chapters.

V's

'

d

-

--33-
As to the function of bohadi. we can do no more than citing Radcliffe-
Brown's (19210.8 555) most strihng account: ~

One of the chief functions of lobola is to fix the social posi—
tion of the children of a marriage. If the proper pay-em is made
by a family. then the children of a woman who comes to them in
exchange for the cattle belong to that family. and its gods are
their gods. The natives consider that the strongest of all so-
cial bonds‘is that between a child and its mother. and there- ’
fore by the extension that inevitably takes place there is a
very strong bond between the child and its mother's family. The
function of the lobola'payment is. not to destroy. but to modify
this bond. and to place the children definitely in the father's
family and group for all matters concerning not only the social
but the religious life of the tribe. If no lobola is paid the
child inevitably belongs to the mother's family. though its
position is somewhat irregular. But the woman for whom the le-
bola is paid does not become a member of the husband's family;
their gods are not her gods: and that is the final test.

Speaking of the same phenomenon, one source had the following to say:
The origin of the bride-aprice is linked with the social pat-
tern of the extended family and the principle of mtml respon-
sibility and support mong its members. Marriage establishes a
bond not only between a man and wonan but between the families
to which they belong. Bride-«price or bride-wealth. was made over
by the family of the nan to the family of the woman.
This bride-price. it is generally agreed. was initially a token
of solemnity of the undertaking and of the closeness of the
link established between the two families. The giving and the
receiving of the token sealed the contract. (Report 1963: 16).
Among the Sotho. as among other South Africans. bohadi is given in the
form of cattle: animals that are highly valued. Usually the transfer of be-
hadi is done some months - sometimes even two or three years - after the be—
trothel. There is no culturally prescribed time limit for this event. for in
the majority of cases. it is determined by the availability of the required
cattle. In traditional Sotho society the number of cattle required for a
marriage of a comoncr is twenty; in addition. ten goats or-sheep and one
horse are given. Before the introduction of the horse in South Africa. an

additional or was furnished. I‘pelesa ya moqhobi' i.e.. the ex on which the

.3115
nn who will drive the bohadi cattle will ride. Nowadays the horse has ta-
ken its place. Among the chiefly families there is no fixed number of bohadi
cattle. howwer. thecommon practice is to give as many as possible, from
fifty to one hundred.

Bafore the actual delivery of bohadi. members of both families must meet
on an avPPointed day at the home of the bride to negotiate on the number of .
bohadi cattle. This is quite a festive occasion where the villagers are en-
tertained with food and beer. Several goats may be slaughtemd for this oo-
casion. but the actual number depends on the wealth of the bride's people.
All the close relatives must be present. especially the men; they meet in a
house behind closed doors while the guests are entertained in other huts. or
even outside. After the bride's relatives have formally mentioned how may
cattle they require for their daughter‘s bohadi. the groom's relatives would
naomrsmmamm manytusuuoflhqumdefifldauumu
which say occupy the whole day. or even more. depending on how soon an agree-

meat 1. reached.

Although the number of cattle for bohadi is placed at twenty. in most
cases this is the ideal rather than the actual number. since very few people
ever comly with this requirement. In fact. it is not wrong to say that even
if people are in position to afford the required number. the tendency is to
try by all mans not to agree to the maxim. Ihat actually happens is that
only half of the maxim cattle for bohadi is agreed upon: this is culturally
accepted as the minimum. is a result of this provision. many people always
try not to exceedit: and when the parties have agreed on the minimum of ten
head of cattle it 1. said that “the cattle are enough to make'up the bride's

head“. and both, parties agree that the remaining cattle will be transferred

t.

a t .c
. tn
,x. a,
. o .
. . . . L
C . . I .
e
.O
, .
.. .
,n A
.. O '11.
a .
e I
.
.. ,
. .
,. s
e n
.-
. O
p
(I
, Q
.
y '0 I.
' .
P e
be
ll
. .
.I
,v,
t t
. I
. I
_
J1
. rs ‘
v
..

n.
i
is
s!
a .
.
.
. e.v
s
.w
y.
e
r

 

 

«35-

when the spouses already live together. Children born out of unions of
which the minimum bohadi is delivered to the bride's family belong le’lly

to the lineage of their father. whereas if the bohadi is below the accepted
minimum. the children will be regarded as belonging to their mother's group
until the remaining bohadi has been delivered. The bride's parents can also
refuse to allow their daughter to return to her husband: this may happen when
she has visited her home. The custom of transferring only a part of the be-
hadi cattle is used to avoid too great losses in the event of any mishap in

the carriage. especially barreaness.

If the parties should fail to reach an agreement. the negotiations
are usually adjourned to a later date. and several meetings may be necessary
before an agreement is reached. There are. however. instances where the
groom's people are unable to raise the required number of cattle; in such a
case. the two families my agree that the remaining cattle will be delivered
when the spouses are already living together. but one important conditiu is
that the children will belong to their mother's family until the outstanding
portion of bohadi is delivered. Speaking of bohadi and related customs. Shed»-
dick (1953: 33) makes the following statement:

There is no absolute scale for the bohadi required for marriage
and individual cases show a wide range of variation. There is.
however. a popularly accepted ideal scale in terms of which most
marriage negotiations are initiated. Twenty head of cattle. lO
sheep. and a horse are regarded as a reasonable bohadi for normal
“3me With first wives. eeeeeeeeeeee

An important feature of the bohadi payment is that. while it is
formally agreed upon by both parties to the marriage. it is not
necessarily handed over. Its actual transfer from group to group
is only insisted upon when it is necessary to forestall possible

dispute or if the assumed friendly relations between the two groups
hr“: dome

vaapng

u

a.
A
v
I
.
‘.

.36..
How the Bohadi cattle are secured_:_~~
According to custom. all the brothers of the grounds father. the mother's

elder brother and the groom's older brothers. if there are any. are each ex-
pected to contribute one or two head of cattle to the bohadi. while the groom's
father is simply bound to contribute the lion's share. A special note list be
nade about the mother's brother's contribution which is sliditly differmt frun
those of the paternal uncles in that it involves certain obligtions and rights.
For instance. if he does not contribute to the bohadi of his sister's sons. he
foregoes the ridit to claim any cattle from the bohadi of his sister‘s daughters.
Badcliffe-Brown (1924: 551) gives a very interesting description of this pha-
aoasnuz '

Amongst the BaSotho a larger portion of the "cattle received for a

girl on her marriage is paid to her mother's brother. this payment

being known as ditsoa. How the natives state that the ditsoa cattle

received by the mother's brother are really held by him on behalf of

his sister's children. ‘If one of his sister's children is ill he may

by required to offer a sacrifice to his ancestral spirits. and he

then teases a beast from the ditsoa herd. Also when the sister's son

wishes to obtain a wife. he may go to his mother's brother to help

him find the necessary cattle and his uncle will give him some of the

ditsoa cattle received at the marriage of his sister. or nay evui

give him cattle from his own herd. trusting to being repaid from

ditsoa mttle to be received in the future from the narriage of a
niece.

gransfer of bohadi cattle and the Marriage Ceremony:
lhen bohadi negotiations are concluded. and when the bohadi cattle have

 

been raised, the groom's family will transfer the cattle on an appointed day.
As said earlier. this event marks the climax of the Sotho narriage. The same
persons who initiated the marriage negotiations are charged with the duty of
handing over the bohadi to the bride's family. usually they are assisted by
two or three additional men. According to custom the cattle mist be driven

in such a way that the on-lookers or outsiders will not be able to count than;

LL

-37-
this mans that they should be driven in a crowded group to eff-set counting.

The transfer of bohadi cattle is usually done early in the morning. the
reason being that if the cattle are few. i.e. below the mininmm. the people
will mock the groom's people. whereas when the cattle are sufficient. the
people nay be Jealous of the groom's peeple. and this may disturb good rela-
tions. with fellow villagers.

At the bride's home. the receiving of bohadi is marked by festive moods.
leer. meat and other delicacies are abundant. The arrival of the bohadi cat-
tle is nrked by shouts and cheers (melilietsane) from the women. The cattle
are hurriedly driven into the pen. Members of both families meet behind closed
doors to conclude the final delivery of the cattle. The sealing of the agree-
ment is symbolised by the slaughtering of one of the beasts of the betrothel
by the bride's family. but if .the bohadi is not sufficient. this is usually

mttede

The acceptance of the bohadi cattle by the family of the bride is the
most important step in the Sotho narriage. and this in itself is the marriage

care-av which formally completes the marriage contract.

wafer of the bride to her in-lawse
After the delivery of bohadi. the next step is -:transfer the bride to-

the home of her husband. This is usually done several weeks after the trans-
fer of bohadi. Before she goes. she must be given some presuts by aubers

of her family. 'ho phahlela ngoetsi': the dowry articles consist of household
equipment such as utensils. pots and mats. Apart from the parents. the chief

donors are the father's sister and the wife of the mother's brother.

‘

.35..
m the afternocm of the appointed day. all the female relatives of the
hide. including women married into the family. gather at the bride's home to
brief her on the proper conduct. duties and obliations to her husband and.
her in-laws: in Sotho this custom is knownas who laea ngoetsi'. literally.
to 'instruct the bride“. The women go in turns. each tells her about the
difficulties of married life. things such as false accusations. gossip and
ill-treatment on thepart of her innlaws. and all of them emphasise the im-
portance of patience. honesty. diligence and obedience. She is also told to

represent their family well by raking herself a good wife.

lornally a goat or sheep is slaughtered on this occasion. The carcas is
divided into two halves (mekgekgetho) of which one is left behind for the cosh
susption of the people present. while the other one is taken to the bride's
in-laws wrapped in the skin. it sunset or at dusk. as the custom has it. the
party that is to transfer the bride (ho felehetsa ngoetsi) will leave for the
bride's future home. The party is composed of the bride and one or two elder-
ly women: one of them being the father's sister. and a cowle of young women
of the same age as the bride as well as one or two men who will act as the body-

guard of the party

Upon arrival at the groom's hams. the party will be entertained in a sep-
arate house where all the formalities will be completed. Once more. in the
presence of her in-laws and husband. the bride is given the last instructions
of how to behave as a married woman. This is done to free her family from any
blame resulting from her unbecoming conduct later. In like manner. the groom’s
relatives. men and women. give the groom instructions of how a husband should
behave toward his wife. After this procedure. the guests will be entertained

by beer and. food. except the bride who. according to custom is not supposed

~39—
to eat at her in-laws before she is fornally and ceremniously presented with

the feed. After the meal. the guests will be shown where to sleep.

The following day the groom's family slaughter a goat or sheep whereby
the bride is formlly and ceremoniously presented with food. This custom is
ironically known as 'ho tsubisa ngoetsi koae'. i.e. 'to let the daughter-in—
law snuff tobacco“. Customarily she would refuse to eat despite persuasion by
her relatives. for during this time she is crying bitterly as the time approach-
es when her relatives will leave her in the hands of strangers. The party re-
turns on the evening of the same day and with them they take half of the goat

which was slaughtered for the induction of the bride.

21.22? Conduct for a Daughters-in-law:
According to Sotho wstom. and as well as among other Bantu—speaking peon

ples of South Africa. the bride has to treat her in-laws with the utmost re-
spect. she met be obedient to everyone; she must obey the instructions of her
husband and in-laws. especially her mother-irlaw. the person with whom she
will be in close contact most of the time. She must take care of all the re-
latives of her husbmd. and above all. she must avoid close or intimate con-
tact with all male relatives who are older than her husband. especially the
father of her husband who. she is not allowed even to shake hands with. nor to

touch his clothes. nor even to enter in the house in which he is sleeping.

As to manor of dressing. she must at all times. mien in the presence of
her father-in-law. cover her shoulders and breasts. she must also wear long

clothes to conceal her legs.

According to custom she is expected to get up early in the morning to

prepare food for her husband and in—laws; usually her mother-in—law will from

f.

,.

440..
time to time remind her of her duties if she shows some negligence. She is
also expected to use what is usually referred to as the 'hlonepha language'
in South Africa. This is the custom whereby the daughter-indew is expected
to use a circumlocutory language in which unusual synonyms are used in the
place of the cannon words; for example. she is not expected to say mabolo.
(Inter). galssi (dog). Egg (cow). instead of the usual words met i. 22.1%:
and m. respectively. She is also expected not to address male relatives
older than her husband by their names; this manner of speaking is reminiscuit
of what is lmown as teknonynw in anthropolog. i.e. addressing certain relatives

as the father of ...... er the mother of ...... .

The same type of behavior is expected of a man towards his wife's rela-
tives. especially the wife's mother. He. too. mist avoid coming too close to
her. or to engage in intimate conversation with her; he is not allowed to
touch her. nor come in the room in which she is sleeping. is son-inplaw
(mokgonyana). he must show great respect and avoidance. His mother-innlaw
(lohoehadi) too. is not expected to expose her legs or breasts in his presence.

she met always have something over her shoulders.

In short. these are the manifestations of the custom of mother-in-law.
father-in-law avoidance among the Sotho. Needless to say. these customs are
practiced in order to avoid intimate feelings or relations between the son-in-
law and mother-in—law on the one hand. and between the father-inr-law and daugh-
ter—inp-law on the other hand. But it is important to add that the rigidity of

these taboos becomes less stringent as the peeple involved advance in age.

midence Rules:

The Sotho society may be described as patriarchal because descent is

Q.

4+1—
patrilineal. i.e. children belong to the father's lineage; succession and in-
heritance are also in the male line: residence is patrilocal. i.e. the bride
moves to the groom's village. and the family is patripotestal. i.e. the author-
ity over the members of the family is in the hands of the father or his rela-

tives .

Traditionally. for the first month or so. the bride was not allowed to
sleep with her msband; instead. she slept in the same room as her mother-in-
law. This was done to make sure that she did not come to her in-laws' village
already pregnant; if. during this period. she did not menstruate. she was asked
to give an explanation. and if pregnancy was the cause. she would be returned

to her homes

In traditional Sotho society the new couple is eqected to live with the
groom's parents for the first few years. usually from two to three years. This
was done to enable the new couple to establish themselves as a family. and the
most important thing being to guide them in family matters. especially how to
live tagether as husband and wife. how to raise children; in short. they were
taught all the customs and rituals pertaining to married life. when it was
thought that they could stand on their own feet. they would move to a house
not very far from the parental household. They would be given cattle and some
household articles by the parents of the husband. The chief would give them
land for cultivation. But the new couple does not break any from the parent

household. instead. they form as integral part thereof. this results in a cone--
plex extended family where the parents still have authority over their narried

children: they have to be consulted in every major decision. and their consent

to their children's plans ensures continued. support and protection.

4&3-
Unions:

In traditional Sothmsociety polygynous marriages were quite cm among
the welL-to-do people and chiefly families. Three reasons are usually advanced
for the desirability of these unions: first. they are believed to insure aqle
labor whidis so crucial in a subsistence econouw. Second. they are believed to
uh provision for continued sexual relations when the other wife is still mir-
sing a baby. often‘for two or three years. This was believed to be a measure
that would discourage extramarital sexual intercourse. Third. the possessiu
of my children was not only viewed as a labor reservoir. but as an economic

asset in toms of the bohadi cattle that will come from the daughter“ marriages.

All the other wives of a man. other than the first one. were obtained by
himself without the help of his relatives. He was responsible for their bohadi:
the relatives had no obligations to assist him in securing than. He builds a
sepatate hut for each at...“ as mentioned earlier. each wife forms an inde-
pendent family unit with its own cattle and fields. however. they were all uni-
ted under one husband who was common to them all. Needless to say. Jealousies

and rivalries are rife in such unions.

in aberrant form of polygany was also found among the chiefly families.
This was the custom whereby the chief could secure young girls and then attach
than to each of his senior wives. They are considered as aids or servants.

but the chief could cohabit with them. In Sotho they are known as 'lirethe'.

cher Customs pertaining to the Sotho liarrigge:
(a) {re-aerial Sexual Intercourse: The Sotho. unlike the Xhosa and Zulu. do

net ’allow pre-nrital sexual intercourse: in fact. any intimte association be-

tween boys and girls was frowned upon. Girls were not allowed to stay away from

4-4 ~-

- a
u
s
n
A
c
.
-
.
e I
I
. _ a
' A
e
.
_ w
v m.
.
,.
l
.
. .

43-
their homes after sunset. nor were they permitted to mingle freely with boys.
(b) htrmrital sexual Intercourse: Sexual intercourse between persons who
were not husband and wife Ins culturally sanctioned. i.e. in monogamous unions.
new could have concubines (linyatsi) of which the wives might have knowledge.
In some cases the wife may even help the husband in securing a suitable con-
cubine among her friends. but this was the exception rather than the rule. The
normal way is that the wife condones her husband's relation with other women
as long as it does not infringe upon her conjugal rights. The husband met be
areful not to give to a concubine what belongs to his wife. free service us
the only thing he could do for his concubine.

(c) Evirate and florets Custom; Upon the death of a nan. his eldest sur-
viving brother is traditionally charged with the responsibility of looking
after the wife of the deceased. He must support the family in every respect;
however. he does not cohabit with the widow. provided both parties agree to it.
According to custom they are permitted to do so if they are both in favor of
it: in such cases. the children from this union are considered to belong to

the deceased. In Sotho the levirate custom is known as 'ho henela'.

If a married wunan dies without children. her husband has no claim to the
return of the bohadi cattle. But if his wife has a sister. he may take her to
wife in return for a further nominal bohadi of half the number of cattle pre-
viously contributed for the deceased. me sororate custom (sea-ntlo) is also
used to serve as a corrective to barrenness in a wife: in this case. the man
is allowed to contract a subordinate union with the wife's sister. and the
first child born of this union is said to belong to the 'house' of the barren
wife. while the subsequent ones belong to the house of their biological mother.

(d) Extrar-marital pregnancy: Although great care was taken to prevent pro-marital

.m—
semal intercourse. illegitimate births did nonetheless crop up from time to
tine: because. unlihe the Rosa and 211.111. the Sotho did not have any traditional
oontnceptial devices. There are two measures of dealing with out of wedlock
PM: one is by letting the boy responsible for the pregnancy marry the
girl. In this case. six head of cattle must be paid by his famiLv as compen-
sation for loss of virginity by the girl; these cattle. it must be remembered.
are paid over and above the usual bohadi cattle. The second way of dealing
with illicit pregnancy is by paying the six cattle of compensation without the
boy marrying the girl. This is usually the last resort. when the boy or girl

flatly refused to enter into marriage with the person concerned.

Dinolution of gage:
In Sotho society marriage is a contract between families rather than be-

tween twe persons. This makes it extremely difficult for the couple to dis-
solve their marrisge. because all the close relatives have each a stake in the
Iarriage. If there are misunderstandings between spouses. relatives on both
sides have the right to intervene and to try to reconcile the spouses. Gener-
ally speaking then. ordinary marital disputes in Sotho society do not lead to
the dissolution of marriage: instead. they are nipped in the bud. But there
are extreme circumstances that may force the spouses to separate. and the fol»
lowing are some of them:

1) Adulterous behavior by one of the spouses.

2) Persistent deliberate cruelty on the part of the man.

3) Suspicion of witchcraft on the part of the wife.

A man may claim a return of the bohadi cattle if he can prove beyond doubt
that his wife's conduct was the cause of their divorce. in this case. he is al-

so entitled to the children of the marriage. But if the divorce is the result

.
.
.
U I ’
v 9 . i
an v
. .
e . a
la
. e
l .
. o
.
C v
f‘
.
I
ix. .Y r
.
.
.
.
1
. .
_ t
L
t
..

g)

4+5-

of the man's conduct the bohadi cattle are not refundable. and the wife may
also lay claim on the children. After the settlement of divorce. either of
the pair may marry again. A breach of promise by the boy after the betrothel
disqualifies him from any claim to the bohadi cattle. moreover. he must also
pay one head of cattle for having wasted the girl's time as well as for in-
curring her emotional damages. The girl is also believed to have been impure
or unluch by this act; hence. she must be cleansed of this stigna. If the
breach of promise is by the girl. the bohadi cattle are usually returned if
they have been transferred already; in addition. one head of cattle must be

paid by the girl's family to cleanse the boy of the stigm.

fhe above is then what the Sotho nrriage customs were before they were
affected by the teachings and practices of Christianity and the Iestern ny .
of living: and in the next chapter we will try to point at specific factors
that have been responsible for changing or modifying certain narriage prac-

tices of the Sotho.

4+6-
Mter I!
GAUSE§ 01" MG]:

Complete control by the Europeans over what is now called the Republic
of South Africa was not gained until the turn of the century (Karquard 19115:
1). when all the indigenous peeples fell under the regime of the white Ian.
To the Bantu this meant not only less of control over the land. but also
loss of the right to settle wherever they wished. The result was that they
were gradually forced back into small areas of the country which later became
known as Reserves. There was no extensive contact between black and. white
until the latter started to settle permanently in the country. and when farm-
leg and the rush to the gold and diamond mines began. the two groups started
to come closer to one another. Ever since that time. the contact has been on

the increase rather than on the decrease.

It is this very contact that brought about changes in the traditional
cultures of the Africans. and in this chapter we will examine in some detail
the causes or factors that brought the niropean and the African closer to one
another. since it is this very interaction that affects the culture of the
African. Although it is. of course. the whole culture that is affected in
any contact situation. the emphasis here will only be on those factors that
directly or indirectly influence the Sotho marriage customs: we may best treat

this subject under a number of suit-headings which follow:

EOONGIIC FACTORS

(a) Labor gecruitment: No sooner had Europeans taken to settled life in South
Africa. than the need for labor arose: labor was not only needed for herding
livestock. but also for work in the fields as well as domestic work. At first

the Sotho. who were concentrated mostly in the Orange Tree State and Basutoland.

"Q

4:1.

were. like all the Bantu peoples of South Africa. reluctant to work for the
luropeans. lost sf those who eventually went to the farms were attracted by
the conditions that prevailed then: for enanple. they could live on the far-
by cultivating crops which they shared with the farmer. In other words. they
were not conpelled to be laborers. but they could live as farm squatters: how-
ever. this arrangement was abolished by the Natives Iand Act No. 27 of 1913.
The result was that some of the people went back to the Reserves. and others
to Rasutoland. while the rest remained dispersed on the European farms as paid

farm laborers.

or greater significance is the recruitment of the Sotho to the gold and
diamond mines. There are two types of recruitment; one is by contract which
binds the employee to remain in the Job from four to twelve months. and the
other one is on. a voluntary basis. It is in the mines that the Sotho are on-
posed to new experiences. new ways of life and new foodstuffs and clothes.
Most of the miners are temporary sojourners in the mine centers. and after
coupletion of their contracts most. if not all. return to their homes in the
Reserves. filey take along with them money in cash and some European articles

and clothes for their people.

Several factors forced the Sotho to take up employment on the farms. mines
and in the cities. and we may sunnnarize them as follows:
(1) Insufficient means of livelihood on the Reserves: lhen land could no long-
er yield enough crops to maintain the people - partly as a result of poor meth-
ods of cultivating the soil. and partly as a result of the fact that the he"
serves became over-crowded - many of the people were required to go and seek
anployment for cash in order to supplement their subsistence economy. This

‘ was the beginning of the migrant labor which is still in vogue in South Africa;

.
a
. ..v ‘ l
4 .. ..
e . K o
.l
I '1 .I O.
L L.
a 1
h ‘
.L e4
. .
.
,O ‘
e
.
a!
J u
.
.. .

I.
.
a
,v . .
r .
.a a A . ..
v . .
I .s I
t e a .
. . . .
: . |
a e n J
i l r .
t t .4 e
e .. . .
e . e. I!
. .w
I. . a.
.
... A.
\ . .
. ._ i .
.. an.
t . a .
.. . . ..

[LIA .0 , .

.4 _ t
D
e. .
._ . ..
._ .,
. w
.
at . st.
..
a
. . e _
v a v.
Q
.
,

. o
t J. .
t .
I.
t
.. ..
v
. c.
v.
Q. 5
~
v . , ,
. t
w ;
I».
.
. H a . n
.
. . ‘
e)
.~ . I
~ .
t 1‘
f

 

4+8»
in fact. as we shall see later. it has become a way of life for many people.
is a result of the migratory labor. my men are away from their families for

the best part of the year. except for occasional visits.

(ii) Land Scarcity: The scarcity of the land on the Reserves is in itself a
use of the nigrationto centers of employment. because as the population in-.
creases. the land for cultivatien is no longer available. The result is that
the younger peeple whohave no land to cultivate go to the cities and indus-
trial areas where they eventually nake their permanent homes. In these areas
they work for the Europeans. and in consequence. they begin to imitate their

meters in my respects. i.e. in dress. food habits and in style of life.

(iii) More Needg; As the Sotho begin to use more and more of the European arti-
cles such as clothes. foodstuffs. furniture and so on. the need for cash becomes
even greater. consequently. seeking employment in urban areas is no longer a
utter of supplementing the subsistence econonw only. but a means of acquiring

money for buying other necessities. '

(iv) Education: Education requires money: therefore. in order to get money for
paying for their children's ethication. Sotho parents are forced to go to areas
where they can exchange their labor for cash. Since education is an expensive
and long-term project. many of the parents have be be employed most of the time

in order to keep their children in school.

SOCIAL J‘ACTOE

There are many social factors that contribute to the changes that are
found in the Sotho culture as a whole. this is especially true in urban areas.
The most outstanding ones are the following:

(1) Urban Life: Life in cities and towns is far different from life in rural

I‘\

rs

V ' I V .
. I
p ,7 r
r A "
s
v e'
.
\
\ ' -' . .
t u ' ~
. v '-
a ‘ I
x p '
I I
I ‘h
‘ e
, .
e , - ‘3 ‘
I
D . _ - e-o
. .. I.

. r ' ‘ . If)

.‘A
‘ - e
rs l “‘. . t
v I “
. .
I‘ l
I 7 l‘ '. ‘1
.h’ , "
L
p .a
1 . \
. 's "
5 . v -

.
. I
.

‘e
n. “

,.
. a
I ‘I

i :p .

‘ .
TA
,
J .
, .
e’ 1
‘ .
~ -‘
s . ‘

4+9-

areas. especially in traditional villages where people adhere to their customs
to a great extent. But urban life to the Sotho has meant a departure from the
customary way of life; it has insulated him from kin affiliations and the atten-
dent obligations. No longer does he have to consult his kin in making decisions
about his life plans. He has become an independent individual rather than a
member of a group to whose solidarity he must contribute by conforming and sur-

rendering his individual interests and wishes.

Not only has he freed himself from the bondage of tribal subjugation. but
he has also transferred his way of life to a considerable extent. is an employ-
es of the Europeans. he has learned to shape his style of life according to the
European model. In clothing. interests and values he is striving to imitate
his Mopean counter—part. in short. the Mapean way of life has become to him
not only something to crave. but also to strive for. Writing about this subject
as early as 1937. Ellen Hellmsnn made the following statements:

Two characteristics of urban Native life stand out in clear re-

lief: the extent to which European material culture has been and

is being adopted. and the individualism obtaining in the urban as

contrasted with the tribal environment. Diropean culture has made

sweeping inroads on Bantu culture throughout South Africa, but the

dominance of European goods is most narked in the towns. where the

stinmlus towards their acquisition is keenest. This process of

material change is permanent and cmmlative. (Shapera 19373106).
(ii) Lopulation Heterogeneity: In urban areas people of different tribal affi-
liations work together and live in the same environments. This is in contrast
with the tribal grouping in Reserves where people who belong to the same group
live together and thus perpetuate the same traditions without many external
influences. In towns the Sotho finds himself in an environment where there is
very little support for the perpetuation of his traditional customs. and the

result is that he loses touch with the way of doing things according to his

‘ .4
.
O
c
I,
_.
c
a
l "
‘ V
t
.
j .
._- .. -
i.

. .
. y ‘
. w
- ‘ ‘ '
.
v. .
‘ e
..
. .. -_ . -
. .
,- \'
Q
\ .a ‘
. . I ' I.
e * ‘
.
w ..
.
v - w >
. 7. ’ .
T
, ,.
A t

.n
s
-.
-.
,4 V
n e
l
_ . . ,1
e
-
o

‘6
, . ,
. )-
‘
'l '. I
. e
_-.— g.- - - -
. u
.. ' i e
...-. . g .. e
O "
s ’ A ..
5..
. b _ o ’
_ ' .
. . O '
. , -
g I ’A.\ J .
e
I ~ ‘7
s

--50-
culture. is time goes on. he begins to discard many of his customs. for. in
the absence of pressure from his kinsmen. he finds it easier to rid himself of

than.

(iii) men-tribalruarges: In urban centers marriages between persons belong-
ing to the same groUp are fast decreasing. The very fact that there is no rigid
tribal solidarity in towns. makes it easier for the young Sotho man to choose
for himself his future life-partner. Only love and common interests. and not
tribal or family considerations. guide him in making his choice: his kinsmen.

no longer decide who his mate should be.

POLITIGLL norom
In South Africa political factors as reflected in government policy. also
play a significant part in transferring the Sotho culture: the following factors

are most pertinent to the sthect of this thesis:

(1) Taxation: In South Africa every male from the age of 18 to 60 has to pay: an
annual head tax or general poll tax as it is called of 33.50 ($.90) before 1959
the amount was £2.00 ($2.80) . This tax which is payable by every African male
does not include other forms of taxation such as hospital tax. hut tax in the

Reserves. income-tax and other regional or local taxes.

The relevance of taxation to culture change lies in the fact that in or-
der to obtain cash to pay taxes. many young Sotho men in the Reserves leave
their homes to go and work in the cities where they can sell their labor for
money. is mentioned earlier. while they are in the city they become exposed
to a way of life that is quite different from the village life: when they re-

turn; to their homes they take along with them things of EirOpean origin. and

e >t .
I
‘ A
.
‘ .
. i .
I O
t. ' "
. , |
t
. .
, ‘r
v -
A . l
. . A ‘ A . .
‘7 _ . A .
‘ I
. - a ' t r“
r 4 ( .. .L -‘ l .

, . .
. _ g , _ sq V—.— ' u < .i J “ '
O
J a a
r~ " I _. .
e e l a
. _._ . . . . . . . . . 4
e ‘ ’ ‘ ’
1 r ‘ ' '
4 .
. e
. . .
f
N ‘ Y P I
e .—
se . e .
c I ‘ ‘ O
.o
. . \ '0 '
V t t t . [e l ' K I
, , . .
. ‘- ‘ -
Q - I ‘
- t a ‘
‘ , _ , s 4.
. t
- . . ' ‘
. . . t
f‘ , .v ' 1' ‘
. _ r . ,: J '
A . \ r I v
w . I
» i .
I v . '
I I a ‘ ‘ K
a‘ ‘ I - ' '
‘ . v K
_ .‘ .i. ‘
a v . e . .
.
v w
e ‘ \.
e t l L
‘ . ._
b , Q
‘ .
s .
\I ‘ ‘ . w "
. —. Q . .
. f _e . i v
. .
‘ . a l“
4 .. a .1
w - V
.
. u "a 1
a t .
, . I. e
‘ ..A _
. . -n. I- . - ‘
. _ . , ; .. .-
.
A , ..

-51-
these articles in turn influence the traditional life in the villages.

(ii) Develgpment zroljects: Apart from private and church welfare organizations
that work among the Africans. there are also the government development projects
which are aimed at developing the Reserves in the fields of agriculture. live-
stock raising. road construction. housing. soil conservation. irrigation and
health services. In recent years these program have been intensified. he
significance of such schemes in culture change can not be over-emphasised. for
the introduction of new articles and farming implements does not only change

the nterial culture of the Africans. but the social organisation as well.

INTIMENCE 01' THE W

In South Africa. as in other parts of Africa. the mission church has been
one of the most important agents, of change in the indigenous cultures. Christ-
ianisation of the peoples of Africa not only meant preaching the Gospel. but
also educating and westernizing the masses of Africa. Missionary work in South
Afrim has been under way for a considerable length of time. It was in 1560
when hther Gonzalo da Silveira landed at Sofala as the first missionary in
southern Africa (Marquard 1914-8: 70). and almost 200 years later. in 1737. Geerg
Schmidt of the Horavian Mission Society landed at cape Town to establish a mis-
sien station on behalf of his society. Immediately after the coming of deer:
Schmidt. missionaries of different societies began to pour into South Africa. _
In Rasutoland missionary work began in 1833 under the auspices of the Paris
Evangelical Mission Society: this coincided with the coming of the Iesleyan

lissionaries to Theba Echu in the Orange nee State.

There are three major areas in which the church has been most effective

in changing the culture of the Sotho.

’b

. .
s— m - V 7 ‘
. .
l n w —
D t.
h C ‘
v -. ' . ‘ t
e .- ‘
p r .

a .
w , .
e.
e to d
. 'Q a -
. s .
‘ ‘- ' a - - -
v ' '
£ \ v
. r‘ -
e . .
e .
f v e
x. _ . .‘
I . ‘ '
. p 77 _‘ ~ A
|
.
, . ».
. c
. . J . - c
L.' A . ‘- '1 . I
' he ,1 O
r. I —IV ee i
e ‘ .-
, .; s 1 ‘ ‘
w . - e e — -r ‘ s
. .
I u '
. ‘ c
. n . .
V .-
L ‘ 'v - I
. ..~ .

453-
(i) Degtruction of Indignous Customs: Many of the Sotho customs such as poly-
gem. initiation. bohadi. ancestor-worship. witch-craft and many others run
counter to Christian principles; hence. missionaries aimed at abolishing these
customs and substituting Christian practices for them. his aim. however. to

the disgust of many missionaries. was never fully accomplished.

It is inpertant to note that it was in respect of the Iethe family and
urtiage where the church us especially effective. I recall an instance in
loriJa. Rasutoland. where the Paris Evangelical Mission Society at one time
almost did succeed in abolishing bohadi along its adherents: for some time
any of these people did not offer nor accept bohadi cattle in marriage. but
it as not long before this practice caused bitter conflicts between the peo-
ple. The result was that many of the people returned secretly to the old
practice: this had to be concealed from the missionary. Some were perpetuating
the custom under the disguise of gifts (mpho). while others were keeping it

between the families concerned only.

(ii) flgtion: The main purpose of the mission church was to preach the Gospel
of God. but to many missionaries Christianity and lestern civilisation are one
thing: therefore. people could not be christianized without being westernised.
he inculcation of western ideas and Christian principles require education as
a basis. and thus the missionaries were also educators. Mission schools were
built in various parts of the country. If there is anything for which the
Christian mission churches must be credited, then it should be for educating
the Africans. Education did not only enable the people to understand the
Christian teachings. but it also improved their standard of living. They were

taught basic principles of cleanliness. soil cultivation. caipentry. bricb-

1"

s1

~53-
luing. shoe-repairing and other skills. It is also probably accurate to

say that the mission education represented a war against superstition.

hm IMPLICATIONS

Ihe imposition of the western leal system on the Sotho is also a crucial
factor in changing their culture. especially their social ormization. In
South Africa there are several laws that affect Sotho marriage directly. e.g.
the Native Administmtion Act no. 38 of 1927 (Marquard 191m 69). which among.
other things makes provision for the recognition of the traditional narriages
and also regulates inheritance. divorce and other related matters. Of iqor-
tance is the Native Appeal Court which was set up by the same Act to deal with
cases arising out of marital disputes in traditional unions as well as nan-

riages contracted after the European legal system was introduced.

Apart from the state laws. there are also many regulations enacted by city
or roan councils. and some of them have a direct bearing on the marital status
of Location residents. For example. in many towns every married men who de-
sires a house in the location. must be in possession of valid marriage certifi-
cate; the effects of this procedure. as we shall see later. have been tranendous

on Sotho traditional mrriage.

In the next chapter it will be shown how the above-mentioned factors have
affected the Sotho customary narriage. and the new marriage forms that resulted
fromthe interaction of the Bethe culture and European culture will also be
analysed.

n-e

.5)...
Ohafier I
m gimme In some MARRIAGE

In the preceding chapter we listed several factors that are responsible
for changes in Sotho customary marriage. It must be understood. however. that
no single factor can be related to any particular change: rather. it is the
combination of several of them that give result to a particular change. In
the ligat of this. we shall now attempt to show how the Sotho traditional mar-

riage has been affected by these factors.

as WEAR! TRADITIONAL SOTHO MARRIAGE

Before we can begin to look at the new forms in traditional Sotho mar-
riage. it is important to mention at the very outset that only non-Christians
still adhere to the traditional marriage canton. However. as Christianity
is fast becoming a say of life for many people. custonry marriages are also
fast disappearing. But as of now. many Sotho people are still practicing the
old marriage customs though in modified forms. Let us now examine in detail

the new patterns in the old foms.

{referred Age: Ihe question of age is no longer important as it used to be

because the initiation school which was used for marking the transition from
childhood to adulthood is no longer pepular. fie decisive factor is now the
availability of bohadi cattle. and in most cases. a boy must go and work be-
fore he can get mrried. {this is necessitated by the scarcity of cattle for

bohadi; thus the economic factor has become more important than age.

Choice of Marriage Partner; It was mentioned in chapter III that. in tradi-
tional Sotho society. one's parents and relatives had a strong influence in

the choice of a marriage partner. Today this oustom has been greatly modified.

-55--
he choice of a suitor rests solely on the boy; he will. however. inform his
parents about his choice when he wants to marry. But it must be pointed out
that it is not in all cases that parents readily accept their son's choice;
for sample. if for some reason or other they feel that his choice is not a
wise one. they will express their dislike of the girl and will try to dissuade
him from going ahead with his plans. If they should try to force him to give .
up the idea of marrying a girlyfor whom he has austrong affection. he may run
away from his home and go to the nearest town where he would later ask the girl

to Join him.

lriting about the Igatla as early as 19%. Schapera (191+1855) says the
following about this kind of behavior:

The freedom now permitted to young people does not necessarily
mean that their choice always meets with parental approval. If
the girl is a relative or a daughter of a friend. the boy's par-
cuts are usually pleased. and do what they can to further his
suit. mt if they regard her family as unsuitable. or feel

that her own manners leave much to be desired. they will object
to the marriage he proposes.

And furthermore:
Should the boy's people dislike his choice. they may press him
to give up the idea of marrying her. If they are sufficiently
persistent they may succeed in gaining their wish. But if he is
really attached to the girl. and her own parents favor him.the
will not yield so readily. and many a painful conflict has resul-
ted from such a situation. (§hapera 19141: 55).

Several factors may be related to this change. such as the weakening of
the influence of kin solidarity and the relative independence of children fran
parental control and support. For instance. nowadays children can afford their
own bohadi. because they are economically independent from their parents. In

many families children have become the bread-winners.

The cannon practice nowadays is for the boy to males his own choice and

«56-

then inform his parents about his plans when he wishes to marry. The custom
of preferred unions is also losing its significance. but by no means is it al-

together discarded.

Ie must however. not lose sight of the fact that the freedom which young
peeple enjoy in the choice of their mates is not only the result of the weaken-
ing of the traditional customs. but to a large extent it is also the result of
the legal system of the country. i.e.. Europeanized Native law. is we shall
see later. according to this law. parents are prohibited from forcing their
children into marriages with people they (the children) do not like. and should
the parents be persistent in their wish. the child has the right of asking the
courts to intervene.

Marrige Negotiations andietrothel: In rural areas such-as Roserves. luropean
farms and Basutoland. most of the procedures in marriage negotiations are still
followed. but. as mentioned earlier. this is particularly so among non-mist-

ians and uneducated peOple.

Many changes in marriage negotiations have taken place. For example.
participation by relatives in one‘s marriage negotiations is decreasing. more
especially when the relatives are not living in the same locality. The weaken-
ing of kin ties is another one of the cameos. Individual families nowadays
prefer to handle their domestic affairs with the least interference from out--
side.

Nowadays the father's sister and mother's brother no longer have the same
influence as in traditional Sotho society. lhat is usually done todq is only
to inform them about their nephew's and nieces' marriages. Not much is eqected

of them. except in very rare cases where they still have great influence.

-57-
One other significant change is in the betrothel custom. {me two he-
trothel cattle mentioned. in chapter 111 are no longer presented to the family
of the bride: in fact. the custom has almost disappeared. The main cause for
this change is the fact that nowadays cattle are scarce. and people are no -~
longer willing or able to follow the customs to the letter. Economic factors

are therefore decisive in changing the traditional marriag customs.

gransger of Bohadi: The most inmortant change in the bohadi custom is that men--
ey has become the medium. Scarcity of cattle caused by inadequate land is one
of the underlying factors for this change. But also of importance is the fact
that with the introduction of better breeds. cattle nowadays fetch very high
prices at European auctions. thus it is more economical to give bohadi in mom-
ey than in the form of cattle. Itihas become a general practice among many
people to sell. some of their cattle in order to raise money for bohadi. Now-
edays almost every young man has to contribute to his bohadi with the money

he has earned himself.

The change from cattle to money in the payment of bohadi has given rise
to a host of problems. Now that a money economy has become part of the Sotho
culture. many peeple tend to misuse the bohadi custom. One of the comonest
difficulties is that there is no uniform scale to guide people in fixing the
amount of Bohadi. that makes the assessment of bohadi in money even more
difficult is that the value oicattle is not determined according to the pro-
veiling whet prices: that is. while a beast may fetch a high price at a
stock-sale. the same beast in bohadi is of less value. or at least. its value
is decreased. This discrepancy is the cause of many a painful conflict. be-

cause people wonder why cattle in bohadi matters should be made less valuable.

‘ s -, .
.
. J ..'
' . s
. - .
.
- s.
.
Q .
-—- -
.-
I "
I
. ‘r‘
.
c
‘ we
‘ V
Q
' , J"
. w
, .
t _
L
‘ l v
, X
x ,
Q
U 1 I
. ‘
r. ’ ,‘
I
' ‘ O
.
.._

.A'

433-

Ourrently the general practice among the Sotho is that for bohadipur—
poses. the value of one head of cattle should be 310 ($1M. but. as already
noted. not all the people conform to this scale. I know of cases where the
mount is as high as 1216 (3.2.2.140) per or. while in the case of marriages be-
tween relatives or friends. the amount may be as low as 33 ($8.1+O) for an or.

In sane cases the bohadi is made up of cattle as well as money.

In the light of the foregoing. it is evident how profoundly money has
affected the bohadi custom. and one can hardly make a general statement of
the standard value of bohadi in money. since no uniformity has as yet been
developed. But one interesting fact about this change is that the bohadi.

even when made up entirely of money. is still referred to as cattle.

Al to the other customs and procedures pertaining to the transfer of
bohadi. there have been no significant changes: the traditional elaborate and

protracted ceremonies are still a cannon feature in rural areas.

Mela (levigtel andgLe-ea—ngo Lsoroate) Customs: These customs have
fallen into disuse even among people who. to a great extent. still adhere to
the traditional marriage customs. The main cause of their disappearance is
the relative freedom accorded to young peeple in choosing their marriage par-
tners. The laws of the country also protect widows from being forced into

marriage with brothers of their deceased husbands..

lriting about the changes in Bantu. customary marriage. H. J’. Simuns
(1958: 83) makes the following observation about the kenela custom:

Nondays. for example. ukungena tends to fall into disrepute.
partly heme missionaries and their converts think it is in-
moral. and partly because of the shortage of the land. Heirs
are eager to take possession of the plot occupied by the widow
and daughters and often neglect and harm them so as to drive them
off the land and take occupation themselves.

. 9

w r .4
t
I 4 as
e . V a
. .
a...‘ .1
a . 4
. v
. z.
a, . .e
. . .
y a x a .
.n l
J ,. _ \s
. v I
v.1 . . r a
I . I. -
V I ‘ I
. .
J p
. .. v.
‘ I
vs
.
. a I I
e.
s I
sol.
J , ,— .
_ x .
.o 7 4

u
1‘
e.\
e L a
. o
I I 4
e . .
a
‘
.. . .l
L .
'e
e . u
.
.
..
l
.
e
n ' ;
C
.J
-..
. v .
A
C
n
4 . b er
.—
1. a
. '-
.
.
9 .
.
c .

-59-

20% Unions: Needless to say. polyganw is nowadays a thing of the past
for most of the Sotho people. Because of economic and legal pressures. poly-
ganw is dreaded, and women are no longer willing to enter into such unions.
Only in very rare cases is it still found among non-Christians and chiefs in
remote parts of Basutoland.

The impression. however. that these non-Christians and uneducated people
live in a world of their own. isolated from the rest of the world is a false
one. They live side by side with Christians and enligitened people. The sig-
nificant thing about this point is that the marriage practices of the Christians
affect the traditional practices of the people in the same locality. Some of
the changes mentioned in the above paragraphs are. as it were. the results of
the influence of the Christians on the non-Christians. The general tendency
is that the traditionalist: imitate the progressives in many ways.

INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH 0N TIE TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE

It has already been mention that the Sotho traditional marriage is
practiced by those peeple who are non-Christians and also by the uneducated.
The attitude of the church toward customary unions has been ‘one of rejection
and disapproval. Every student of anthmpology is well wars of the attitude
of the church tomrd African custom. We have already mentioned elsewhere
that one of the aims of the mission church was to destroy all customs that
were thought to be nth-Christian and thus unacceptable. In the case of Africa.

most of such customs were those connected with narriage.

The influence of the church on traditional narriage comes in when peeple
nrried according to this custom want to Join the church. Serious problems

usually arise because of the attitude of the church toward this type of marriage.

nu:

-60-
The prospective converts are not allowed to become full manbers of the church
before they solemnise their marriage in accordance with Christian rites. and
their children say not be baptized. The result is that many peeple have to
conply with this requirement if they want to be Christians. and. in South Africa
the church has been amazingly successful in this connection. It is therefore
not uncommon among the Sotho to find that many customary marriages end In) as
Christian marriages. and this procedure brings about a situation where one
single marriage is consummated in two different ways — traditional and Christ-

ian.

TE! Immcm 01' IA! ON TRADITIONAL HAERIAGI

In the previous chapter it was mentioned that the imposition of m...
peen law on the Africans has forced certain modifications in their marriage
customs. In South Africa. African marriages are regulated by two different
legal systems. namely. EurOpeanised Native Law and EurOpean Law derived from
the Roman-Dutch law. As might be recalled. the Natives Administration Act of
1927 made provision for several modifications in the traditional narriage cue-
toms. inheritance and divorce. According to this Act. customary unions were
to be regarded as valid marriages. and furthermore. Native Commissioners. now
Bantu Commissioners. and magistrates were empowered to preside over cases ari-
sing from African customs. including marital disputes. Although the Jurists
sf these courts are expected to handle these cases according to Native Law. i.e.
Europeanised African law. they are nevertheless influenced by the mropean legal
system in their Judgments. Moreover. Native Law as it exists in South Africa.
is in many respects different from the African leal system. A citation from
H. J’. Simons (1958: 81) work may elucidate this setter further.

The second system known here (South Africa) as Native law. is

-61-

based upon European interpretations and amendments to tribal

laws. It is applied. exclusively to Africans. by the Native

courts. which are presided over by European administrators.

Legislature and courts have set themselves the aim of freeing

the tribal law from what in erpean eyes are blemishes: the pun-

ishment of sorcerers. mrriages arranged by family heads for

their children. or the transfer of‘children from one family to

another in settlement of marriage debts. Both bride and bride-

groom mist now consent to marriage: widows cannot be forced to

bear children in the name of their deceased husband.

lhat is of great significance abmt this quotation is that it dem0nstrates

clearly how the so-called Native law has affected certain marriage customs of
the South African Bantu peoples. According to this law widows are free to re-
marry. and they cannot be forced into levirate unions. The children of a wi-
dow belong to her and not to the family of her deceased husband. Iomen can
nowadays drag their husbands to court for conjugal negligence. lack of support
and adulterous behavior. The same is true with children born of customary
unions; their parents can no longer force them into marriage with persons they
dislike. and. as mentioned earlier. the child can take the matter to court.

should the parents insist upon it.

One other sigiificant influence of the legal system on the traditional
mrriage is that marital. inheritance and bohadi disputes can now be taken to
the Native Appeal Court. if no settlement could be reached in the lower court.
It is important to remember that in Sotho traditional society most marital
disputes were handled by the families concerned. and only in rare cases did
such cases ever reaa the court of the paramount chief. What is even more in-
pertant is that such cases were dealt with according to indigenous law: not
europeanised African law. 'The result of this law is that nondsys even trivial
marital disputes are taken to these courts. The old system whose aim was to

reconcile the disputing spouses. and thereby to ensure marriage stability. has

~62-
been rwlaced by a system which does not succeed well in maintaining marriage

stability.
Divorce and Extra-maritam The europeanized legal system has also

 

brought about far-reaching changes in the treatment of divorce and out of
wedlock pregnancy. For exanple. in regards to a divorce suit initiated by a
husband on the grounds of his wife's improper conduct. the court may grant him
a divorce and any further place in his custody all or some of the children born

of that marriage.

In the case of a divorce suit initiated by a wife on grounds that her hus-
band is mltreating her or for failure of support or conjugal negligence or
adulterous conduct. the court may grant the divorce in her favor. It may fun-
ther order him to support the children until everyone of than is over the age

of eighteen. All these procedures are alien to traditional Sotho civil law.

The old system of dealing with extra-marital pregnancy has also been modi-
fied. For instance. if a man denies responsibility for an illegetimate preg-
nancy. the woman can take the matter to court; if he 1. found guilty. the court
will order him to maintain the child until it is eighteen years old. Again.

this is quite different from the traditional procedure which was described in

chapter III.

Apart from the above mentioned laws. the traditional Sotho mrriage is
also subjected to a host of other laws and regulations in various aspects of
life. There are. for example. the various location‘ regulations in certain
urban areas. Some of them prohibit residence in the location of couples mn-
ried according to traditional custom. When a couple of this type wants to
reside in the location. they are required to validate their marriage either

by civil or Christian rites. These regulations are more strictly implemented

I.

.53.

in the new towns of the Orange Free State Goldfields. e.g. l'elkom. Odendaals-
rust. St. Helena. and Virginia. In Bloemfontein where the renting of rooms

in private homes is still a comon practice. the prospective tenants must prove
that they are preperly married. i. e.. either by civil or Christian rites. All

these examples are intended to show how the legal system affects traditional
narriage.

Similar pressures are also exerted by certain government departments. and
prominent in this connection is the Department of Railways and Harbors. the
biggest enmloyer in South Africa. This department once introduced a wage scale
for its African unployees whereby a wage distinction was made between married
and unmarried employees. Those who were married under civil or Christian rites
received a marriage allowance. while no wage distinction was made between the
unmarried and those married under the traditional custom. The result was that
people narried according to tradition hurriedly contracted their marriages .

according to civil rites.

It is evident from the above that many people who are married according
to tradition are conpelled by legal and economic factors to validate their
marriages according to the officially approved ways. It may also be noticed
that the modern traditional marriage of the Sotho differs in many respects
from the one of the past. One other striking point about this phonemsnon is

the application of two different legal systems to one and the same institution.

m CHRISTIAN AND CIVIL MARRIAGE
Generally speaking. these marriage forms are more common among the Christ-
ians and the educated. It is. however. important to point out that civil mar-

riages are more popular in towns than in rural areas. where Christian narriages

-61«I-

ars more prevalent. For a better understanding we will treat each form separ-

ately.

CERISTIAN MARRIAGE: Needless to say. the majority of Christian marriages are
between Christians. In South Africa. as elsewhere. the policy of the mission
church has been to discourage its adherents to enter into customary unions and
civil marriages. Time for the Christians the only form of marriage open to
them is the Christian marriage. Among the Sotho. the Christian marriage has
adapted a peculiar form which. in essence. is neither purely Eur0pean nor pure-
1: African. in fact. it is a good example of cultural pattern that has developed
out of the interaction of two cultures. for it consists of a mixture of European

and Sotho marriage customs. Let us now examine it in more detail.

Choice of a Mate: Among most Christians and enlightened Sotho people. parents
no longer decide when their children have to marry; the question of preferred
age is no longer important. Young people also make their own choice as to
their future mates. I’arents may still express their dislike of a particular
girl. but this seldas leads to the abandonment of the choice by the boy. A-
mong more sephisticated people. especially those who are educationally or scone-
mieally wellp-off. serious problems do. however. arise film the choice is made
from among people who are educationally or economically underprivileged. This
problem becomes even more serious among people who are beginning to be class
conscious and also among certain Christian families who prefer marriages with
people who belong to their. church. But on the whole. young people have abundant
freedom in choosing their future spouses. for the church and court are on their

IidOs

The freedom of the young peeple in choosing their future mates is further

-65--
illustrated by theincrease of intertribal marriages mostly in urban areas.
but also found in rural areas. The interesting fact about intertribal mar-r
riages is that. because of the different cultural backgrounds of the spouses.
the logical thing to do is to compromise. and during this process may mar-
riage customs peculiar to each spouse are omitted. Perhaps it is the reason
many couples of intertribal unions prefer to contract their marriages accord-

ing to civil rites in order to avoid the conflict of different marriage cue-—

Me

Me Ngggtiations and Betrothel: Marriage negotiations in (hristian mar-

riages show a great departure from the traditional custom. For example. in
most cases the negotiations are between the two families only. and not all
relatives as in the past. Some families. ,especially those who are far apart.
so to the extent of carrying on negotiations by letter. Nowadays all mar-

~siege negotiations must be consented to by the children concerned.

Far—reaching changes are also noticeable in the custom of courtship. Now-
adays young people are left undisturbed in their love-affairs: no longer is a
young man chased away by the girl's parents because he has not been formally
permitted to visit the girl. The custom of making arrangements for courtship
has been discarded among many Sotho peeple. Ellen Hellmann's observation in
this respect is striking:

Courtship under urban conditions consists largely of going out
tagether to cinemas. dances. beer-drinks and in paying visits.
Very frequently the man and the woman. who usually meet at some social

gathering. first become lovers and. then decide to regularise
their union by marriage. (Shapera 1937: 1‘21).

Similar changes are also found in the betrothel custom. This is no long-

or the business of the parents: only the two lovers make the betrothel. The

C

—66~
cannon procedure is that the boy buys the girl an engagement ring or. as among
the more saphisticated. a wrist-watch. ear-rings or a necklace. This is pre-
sented formally to her at an engagement party attended by the friends of both
lovers. This is usually done at the girl's home. However. many people do
without this formality.

Trangfer of Bohadi: It has already been noted elsewhere what the attitude of
the church toward bohadi and related customs is; we also cited thdextreme case
where the church in Morija. Basutoland. temporarily succeeded in stamping out
the practice among its conmnmicants. However. the bohadi custom. though with
modified forms. is still a general practice among the South African Bantu pee-
ples. In fact. it is one of the customs most resistant to change. Let it be
said that indications are that. as the Sotho become more and more acculturated
and economic pressures continue to weigh heavily on them. the chances are that
the custom will gain momentum as a comercialized enterprise. Ellen Hellmann
makes the following cumnent:

Small wonder......... that the concept of lobola as payment for

women. of which the European has so painfully been forced to dis-

abuse himself. is now gining currency among urban Natives.

(Szzepera 1937: I421).

Nowadays the medium of bohadi is money. and in urban areas this is the only
means. It us mentioned earlier that there exists no uniformity in the scale
of bohadi paid. in money. and this more true among educated people who usually
push the amounts quite high. It is true that bohadi among these people has
lost its original meaning and has thus become a commercial transaction. The
more a woman is educated. the higher the bohadi becomes. Amounts ranging be—
tween 3180 ($252) and REM-O ($336). or even more. are a comon feature among

educated people. In defense of these high amounts. the argument is usually

V“

‘\

rv'

-67..

advanced that the parents of an educated women must be compensated for all the
money they spent in educating her. Besides. she is going to be an asset to
her husband in that she is a potential money-earner. One other reason usually
given for raising the bohadi amount is that a Christian wedding is very expen-
sive because of the extensive ceremonies and festivities that are usually in-
dulged in. Another excuse for the high amounts is that in modern Sotho nar-
riage the girl's people spend a lot of money on the gifts that they will give
to her when she goes to her in-laws. and nowadays gifts that do not include a

set. of furniture are said to be below the required standard.

It is also important to mention that the bohadi is often reduced when the
marriage is between relatives. or when the groom's family is paying for the
wedding dress; however. if they are not willing to do it. then provision will
be made for it in the bohadi amount. Just as with the traditional marriage.
Bohadi is seldom transferred in full. even in modern Sotho marriages. But
whether paid in full or not. bohadi is fast becoming a commercial transaction.
The report of the All-Africa Seminar on the Christian Home and Family Life
(1963: 16) already cited in the previous chapter. makes a similar observation:

The price tends to rise when an educated young woman. with a

well-paid Job. contributes to family budget. and undertakes.

for example. the cost of educating the younger brothers and

sisters. Then her father. loath to lose her value to another

family. raises the bride-aprice; and the woman becomes a bar-

gaining factor in negotiations. thus losing some of her intrinsic

independence.
“rigs geremonies: Among the Sotho. as among other indigenous South Africans.
the Christian marriage has added new ceremonies which are alien to the tradition-
a1 marriage. After the transfer of bohadi the next step is to have the marriage

banns announced for the three consecutive Sundays in the respective churches of

~68-
the groom and bride. Meanwhile. during the course of these three weeks. re-
presentatives of the two families. mostly women and of course one man from the
groom's family. tOgether with the bride will go to buy the complete wedding
outfit. The bride and her relatives are the people who make the choice. and
the general practice is to choose very exorbitant clothes. This custom is
said to be a way of testing the financial strength of the groom's peepls. This
is why many people would rather prefer to have the wedding dress cost included
in the bohadi amount. because. frequently. the actual cost of the wedding dress
usually exceeds the extra amount that is added to the bohadi amount for this
purpose. Sometimes it happens that the buying party reaches a dead—Jock. es-
pecially when the groom's peeple are not willing or financially able to pay
for the dress that the bride has chosen. In such a case the party is forced
to return home so as to consult with the other relatives on both sides. and
usually a solution is worked out after some extensive consultations between

the two families .

Imediately the heme are made public. the bride and groom each chooses
four boys and four girls from friends and relatives.‘ k They are the best man
and brides mids (baetsana). Every evening each group meets at the bride's
and groom's homes respectively. and assisted by other volunteers. they practice
the songs that will be sung on the wedding day. ‘One striking thing about these
songs is that every tine there is a wedding. new ones are composed; of course.
some of the old hits are retained. flew songs are composed for every wedding
because these songs are peculiar to a particular wedding. since they describe
something about the groom. the bride or their relatives. Some of them are

about certain events that have a bearing on the wedding.

~69—

Other preparations for the wedding include the buying of food. baking of
cakes. and cleaning of the houses wherein the ceremonies will be held. Since
these preparations require a lot of labor. relatives. friends and neighbors
are usually invited to help. In the Reserves and on the farm. where most of
the dwellings are made of and. the walls are usually smeared afresh in order

to have them clean for the occasion.

0n. the day preceding the wedding. usually on Friday. the groom‘s people
go to the home of the bride where they will be accomodated in a house not
very far from the bride's home. They take along with than food. utensils. clothes
and all other things they will require for the wedding. In towns trucks and
cars are used for transportation. while on the Reserves one-wagons are used if
the distance is not too long. cm the European farms peeple use the farmer's
tractors or trucks for conveying the groom's people to the bride's home. On
the afternoon of the same day. each family slaughters a beast and a couple of

sheep. but in towns people usually buy the carcasses from the butchers.

This day is called the 'meeting day' because both the groom's and bride's
parties meet formally on the eve of the wedding to practice each other's songs
together. All—night long singing and feasting mark the eve of the wedding
day. Among less saphisticated people. onthis evening. all the members of the
two families. the groom. the bride as well as all the groom's best men and
bride's maids are treated with protective medicine by a diviner who is spec-
ially hired for this Job. It is believed that this treatment will prevent

accidents and quarrels during the wedding.

0n the next day the parties go to the church where the marriage is to be

performed by the minister. Usually they are conveyed in a convoy of decorated

~70:
automobiles. On the farms and Reserves. where peeple cannot afford hiring

of automobiles. horse-drawn carts are used.

In South Africa a clergyman. in keeping with the laws of the country.
must have a government license whereby he is authorised to officiate as a
mrriage officer. Ministers of churches which are not recognized by the gov-
ernment are not entitled to have such licenses. The groom and the bride ad»-
vise the officiating minister on the type of contract by which they wish to
mrry. There are two types of contracts in South Africa: one whereby the
spouses Jointly own the property of their household. known as marriage in
counnunity of property in the South African legal Jargon. the other is the
anti-neptual contract. whereby each spouse owns his or her property individ-
Ially. Mission churches always encourage their conmmnioents to adapt the for-
mer contract. and thus the majority of the Sotho Christian marriages are of
this type. The anti~neptual contract is preferred by those people who own

inmevable property such as land; obviously such unions are in the minority.

“to: the solemnisation of the marriage. the wedding party returns to the
bride's hm amidst deafening cheers and. jubilations. At the bride‘s hate the
wedding group is entertained with all Ends of choice delicacies. After this
all guests will also be fed. There are two kinds of guests; the invited and
the uninvited. The normal procedure is to entertain the invited peeple first,
for, according to custom, they are the peeple who have helped in boosting the
marriage feast by their food contributions. In the Reserves and on the farms
contributions are usuallymade in the form of beer. In the urban areas gifts
of various kinds-are the standard form of marriage presents. Each family. as

it were. takes care of its guests.

.71..

After eating. the wedding group goes outside for singing and dancing.
and all the best men and bride's: maids form a double line behind the grow
and the bride; other young people may also Join. In the front is the con-
dilator of the singing and dancing. The procession moves up and down in front
of the bride's home. and all the songs are sung one after the other. After
every comple of songs, the procession comes to a stand-still to listen to the
praises and instructions given to the newly-weds by the prominent members of
each family. After a while. the procession moves to the place where the groom's
peeple are accomodated to repeat exactly what was done at the bride's home:

in the meantime. beer—drinhng continues without a stop.

On the following day. Sunday. the groom and the bride change their clothes
and dress in what is known as 'cbange clothes'. These are ordinary clothes
different from those of the wedding. About noon time the feasting and dancing

are resumed.

In urban arses the normal procedure is to hold a reception in honor of
the new-weds: this is usually held in the location hall or in a church hall
if there is no recreation hall. Saturday evening is the normal time for hold.-
1ng marriage receptions. There are short speeches by selected persons. read-

ing of well-wishing messages and presentation of gifts.

In the slack hours of the late Sunday afternoon. close relatives from
both sides meet privately to enJoy together a special meal which is intended
to finalise the solannization of the marriage as well as the sealing of bonds
between the two families. After this. the groom and bride will again be given
final instructions by members of both families; this is a very solemn moment.

All the participating persons. usually close relatives and friends. are ex—

«78-
pected to express the dignity and solemnity of this occasion which marks the

completion of the marriage. After this people return to their bones.

Transfer of the Bride: The old custom of transferring the bride several days
after the mriage is still a common practice even in Sotho Ciristian marriages.
but may peeple nowadays. because of economic pressures. prefer to let the
bride Join her in—laws in their home after the wedding. In cases where the
bride is delayed for some time the reason is to give her relatives a chance to
buy the gifts that will be given to her. When the required gifts are secured,
the bride will be transferred by a select group on the appointed day. Nowadays

trucks. automobiles and horse—drawn carts are used for this pzrpose.

In the Raserves and farms the old tradition of presenting the daughter‘-
in-law with food is still practiced. though with slight modifications. In ur-
ban areas this custom is rarely followed. The old Sotho custom of separating
the new-weds for some time before they can cohabit has been entirely abandoned..
But the custom of letting the new couple live with the parents of the groom is

still widely practiced. though the length of the time is considerably shortened.

CIVIL names:

Although the Christian marriage enjoys a higher status among most pe0ple.
in recent years the civil marriage has gained tremendous papularity among the
members of the younger generations in both urban and rural areas. There are
many reasons for this change. First. the civil marriage is cheaper than the
Christian marriage which is becoming more and more expensive as new luxurious
itms are added to it. Second. the civil marriage is quicker in that many of
the time-consuming procedures are omitted. Third. the civil marriage is a good

way of escaping the payment of bohadi. Fourth. a civil marriage is always

-73-
resorted to when there is a disagreement about the choice of a nate between
the parents and the child. Fifth. a civil marriage is also resortedto when

the bride is already pregnant before the mrriage.

Although the normal procedure in marriage negotiations is still followed
in new civil marriages. the general practice is that the marriage ceremorw
is omitted. mile in a few instances people usually mark this occasion by a
tear-party attended by friends of the spouses. Economic considerations are
the reason for this change. Most of these marriages are contracted before a
civil officer. who. in the case of South Africa. is a Bantu Commissioner or
a magistrate acting in the capacity of the former. The banns are published
at the office of the Bantu Commissioner for the usual period of three weeks.
after which the mriage is contracted at a nominal fee of 32 ($2.80) for the
license and duty charges. However. the spouses must each be over the age of
sixteen. and each must have a witness who will counter-sign the contract. In

the case of a minor. the parents' consent to the marriage must be obtained.

This marriage is looked upon by many conservatives and Christians as a
social evil which encourages young people to disobey their parents for many
of these mrriages are entered into without the knowledge of the parents on

either side.

UNSLNCTICNED MARRIAGES

Most of these unions are temporary. and more prevalent in urban areas.
though not absent in rural areas. The main cause of these mrriages is mi-
grant labor. For example. in urban areas where many men who have left behind
their families work for long periods. the tendency has been to live with other

women while they are in these areas. In South Africa every European family

.71...
keeps at least two African domestic servants. normally a male and a female.
Most of these domestic servants are either from the farms or Raserves. nae
employer provides for accommodation in the bade-yard. The result of this situa-
tion is that eventually the servants are tempted to enter into a kind of loose
marriage. ironically known as “vat-en—sit'. i. e.. 'take and sit'. This union
is based primarily on the satisfaction of the sexual urge. and it may last for
years so long as the couple is still in the same place. The reader mat not
get the impression that these unions are only between people who work for the
same employer; in fact. most of them are between persons that work for different

employers .

The striking thing about these loose unions is that the employers may not
object to them even if they lmow that the union is illegal. because objections
usually cause resentment among the servants. Such resentment may eventually

separate the employer and. the employee.

The social evils caused by these unions cannot be overemphasised. Many
young Sotho boys and girls from the farms and Boserves fall prly to this men-
ace. and illegitimte children born of such unions are a concern for many a
parent. Besides. these unions are the cause of many a broken family. The
government has tried to eradicate this evil by passing laws that reduce the
number of domestic servants per employer: these measures have failed. because

the source of the trouble. migrant labor. has been left tmtouched.

Sammy of the War Chargggg
Here now follows a summary of the major changes in the Sotho marriage:
1) The choice of a marriage partner is now becoming an individual affair.

and a new pattern of courtship has developed. Parents and relatives

2)

3)

1+)

5)

5)

-75-
no longer have control over the love-affairs of their children. This
trend is evident in all forms of marriage. 1. e. modern traditional.
civil and Christian narriage. Because of urban life. education and
the weakening of parental control. intertribal marriages are also
fast increasing.
Participation by relatives in marriage negotiations has been reduced
to a minimum. In fact. in many civil marriages the parents are also
excluded. Marriage is no longer a contract between families. or at
least. the bonds between the families are drastically weakened.
The traditional betrothel custom has undergone drastical changes.
for example. in the case of modern traditional marriage. the pre-
sentation of the two head of cattle to parents of the bride as a
sealing of the betrothel. has been discontinued. In the case of the
Christian marriage a new pattern has been adapted. i. e. the pre-
sentation of an engagement ring.
The bohadi custom. though still widely practiced. has adapted new
forms and meaning. Nowadays money has become the medium. and. in
turn. has changed the original function of bohadi. Instead of being
a stabilizing factor in marriage. it has come to be used as a com-
mercial transaction. The result is that Sotho marriages are now
less stable.
The marriage ceremonies have also taken a different form: this is
particularly so with the Christian marriage where the elaborate
ceremonies have replaced the traditional ones which were less elabo-
rate. le have also noticed that the Christian marriage is becoming
more and more expensive because peeple keep on adding new items to it.

Civil narriage has come in not only as a force against bohadi. but

.76..
also as a substitute for the Christian marriage which is becoming
financially burdensome. lith this type of marriage young peeple have
also gained freedom from parental domination.
7) Economic factors. migratory labor. the weakening of parental control.
urban life and faster means of travelling have all contributed to

the emergence of irregular marriages.

.77.-

ter

@311 2; CAL IE ZEREATIONS

In the first chapter we gave a general review of some of the current
theories of culture change. and we extracted from them some ideas which we
thought will best serve the purpose of this thesis. We are now going to re-
late these statements to the nature and process of culture change in the Sotho
marriage forms.

1) gistorical Reconstruction and Analysis of Eture: is will be recalled.
we supported the view that a better understanding of the rate and extent

 

of culture change may be gained. if the nature of the culture before the
contact is known. In this thesis we presented the traditional Sotho mar-
riage forms. By the use of the historical approach we presented a histor-
ical reconstruction of the Sotho culture before the contact period. lrittm
records. and the personal experience of the writer served as source uter-
ial. We also undo an analysis'of Sotho culture. particularly the mrriage
forms. Iithout this analysis we would not be in position to appreciate

the changes that have taken place; moreover. we would not be able to pin-
point those aspects of the Sotho marriage that have undergone change more
than the others.

Furthermore. we applied most of the techniques suggested by Broom
and his associates in their work cited in the first chapter. For ezanple.
in chapter two we presented brief ecological and dmographical data about
the Bethe people. their culture and relationships with the Europeans. to
uplored in somewhat general terms the interrelationships between the two
cultures as well as the attitudes of members of the two groups to one ano-

ther. It became clear that the Sotho occupy a subservient position in-

.73..
relation to the Europeans. The territorial. residential. social and
economic relationships between the two groups were also reflected else-
where in this essay. and we saw how these in turn relate to the process
of acculturation. These relations. as we may recall. are variably known
as intercultural communication networks. information channels or simply
relations. For the Sotho. the most important relationships between them

and the Europeans are educational. economic and administrative.

Through these relationships come the agents of change. and were
they are more extensive. the change is also extensive. For instance. in
the Reserves and on the farms where the relationships between the Sotho
and the EurOpeans are less extensive. the traditional marriage customs
are more widely practiced than in urban areas. We observed that in urban
areas civil and Christian marriages are becoming the standard forms of

mrriage .

2) gtcculturation tends to be toward the Dominant ciigluture: Another point
brought out in chapter one is that. in every contact situation. the cul-
ture that will be more affected is that of the subjected group. This
fact. too. became evident-as we described the changes in the Sotho mar-
riage customs. We saw how Christianity and Western ideas have affected
the traditional marriage of the Sotho. Generally speaking. the trend of
change is toward the European forms; in other words. we have here a kind
of change which Dohrenwend and Smith appropiately call 'orientation'. i.e.
change of one culture toward another. This trend is well illustrated by
civil marriages among the Sotho. The fact that in this type of marriage.
most of the ceremonies. procedures and formalities of traditional marriage

are discarded. supports this contention.

~79~

3) gcculturation is a slow. selective and adaptive lrocesp; The notion that
acculturation is a slow process was also noted. It is a well blown fact
that people never take over alien cultural traits indiscriminately; this
also became evident in our treatment of the marriage forms of the Sotho.
l'or instance. in the contemporary traditional marriage we can see accel-

‘ turation at its incipient stage. Here we see a slow and limited accep-

tance of foreign elements such as the use of money in bohadi. the use of
the eur0peanised courts in the event of narital disputes. the use of for-
eign concepts and procedures in marriage affairs and the freedom accorded
to young people in choosing their marriage partners. All these elanents
are foreign. But what is even more of importance in this connection is
the fact that these new elements are modified so that they can fit well
into the existing patterns. The use of money in bohadi is an example.
The Sotho still think of this money as actual cattle. and that is why
the whole amount is divided into units that represent cattle. The snow-
tance and adaptation of alien traits also bring about some changes in the
existing patterns. For sample the use of money in bohadi has freed young
men from dependence on their parents and relatives for bohadi. Hondays
almost every young man is expected to be responsible for the greater part
ef his bohadi: in fact. this has become the accepted procedure for many
people. Parents are increasingly shirking the responsibility of providing

bohadi for their sons.

The freedom of the young people has also affected the social organi-
sation of the‘Sotho: less participation by relatives in one's marriage
affairs is a case in point. Mne- tend to become more individual enti-
ties loosely related to one another. Parental supervision and guidance

in domestic affairs of their married children are also disappearing. Kin

o. be.
‘
o}
IA
..l
. a
.l .
‘
l
..
i.
w
x u
. c
.
a
a .
7
I ‘

or ..
Ru .
e .
L
‘ . I‘
r _,
a .
V ..
.
s c

‘ . .
IV. C
‘ r
I w .1
U , .
..
a
r
5..
L K
“J-
o

’—

.llb

~80-
ties are solidarity are weakening as evident in the levirate and sororate
customs. The relationship between the father-in-law and the daughter-in-
law on the one hand and between the mother-in-law and the son—in—law on
the other hand are also undergoing change. The strict rules of avoidance
described in chapter three are fast. being replaced by friendly or strained

relations e

It seine that the process of acculturation tends to follow a definite
pattern of develOpment. The point I am trying to make here is that the
acceptance of new marriage forms by the Sotho shows three phases of accul-
turation. first is the modified traditional mrriage which is but a slight
departure from the traditional one. This form. then. represents the first
stage in acculturation. Second is the Christian marriage which contains
roughly fifty .. fifty mixture of Sotho and humpean cultural characteristics.
This can be safely called the second phase of acculturation. The third
phase is represented by the civil marriage which in many respects resembles
that of the Eumpeans.

Acculturation. as we all know. apart from being a gradual and adaptive
process. is also a selective process. In this case we noticed that most of
the new elements adopted are such that they do not cause a radical change
in Sotho carriage practices. The use of money in payment of bohadi. for
instance. has not broken down the custom of bohadi. nor has it decreased
the practice thereof. 1 selective process is also noticeable in respect
of the relativd ease with which mterial objects pertaining to marriage
are accepted. The use of European gifts. dress and foodstuffs in weddings
is a case in point. These mterial objects are readily accepted beause
they do not cause radical changes in the existing marriage patterns. But
foreign ideas such as limiting the size of the family. function and pur-

pose of marriage and equal status of the spouses. are not readily accepted

h

V’-
s “ ‘
.
." a
. C
c.
.
Q ,
' v
v . .
I- . Q ‘
_ e ' ‘
. ,
1 A '
‘!7 '
. t -- v
e . ‘
.
~
. , . ~
5 r '
\
- _, A . ~

1. N . . .
‘.
. )
v 4‘

~81»

by the Sotho: in fact. they resent such ideas.

The preceding view brings us also to the notion that a cultural sy-
stem has to maintain a certain degree of stability in order to continue
its existence; outside influences that threaten its preper functioning
are resisted. In the present case. the resistance and tenacity of the
bohadi customs my be illustrative of this phenomenon. The idea of cul—
ture being able to retain equilibrium even in the face of change reminds
us of what Broom and. his associates call the 'boundaryminteining mech»
isma' of culture. is we may recall. these scholars distinguish three
types of mechanisms. namely. the rigidity or flexibility of culture. the
degree of integration of a culture. and the Openness or closeness of a
culture. In the case of the Sotho culture all these mechanisms seem to
be operative. For instance. the Sotho culture is more rigid in marriage

- customs. especially the bohadi custom. and yet it is flexible in its ecu-
emic system. as exemplified by the relatively easy acceptance of European
nterial articles. Again. the Sotho culture is well integrated in its
social organisation. e.g. kin solidarity. and yet it is less integrated
in its economic system. Finally. the Sotho culture is open in its scen-
omic systea in that it allows more readily foreign economic articles such
as money and. consumer goods. and yet it is closed in its ideolog. e.g.
transmission of lestern ideas is slow. In short. Sotho culture adopts objects

more readily than ideas.

14») Manes of _Values in Qlture gh_a_ngg: It was stated in chapter one that
one of the crucial factors in the process of acculturation is the value
system. Studies in this area suggest that acceptance of alien elements by

a people is facilitated by a corresponding change in their values. In re-

~82-
gard to the Bethe. we noticed that the peeple who accept the alien nar-
riage customs more readily are the Christians and the enlightened people
whose values are oriented towards those of the Europeans. In urban areas
where traditionalism and. tribalism are fast disappearing. the values of
the Sotho in respect to bohadi. marriage ceremonies and formalities differ
from those of the peeple in the traditional environments. It seems that.
when there is less interaction between urban and rural peeple. the latter
tend to perpetuate a set of values that is different from that of the peo-
ple in urban areas. The homogeneous nature of rural societies tends to
make them more resistant to change. This point is illustrated by the fre-
quency of traditional marriages in rural areas where traditional values
are still powerful. ‘

5) Lcculturation EoduceggngLultural fitterns: In chapter one we also noted
' that. when two cultures interact with one another. new cultural elements

develop. previously non-existent in either culture. In the case of the
Sotho mriage forms. the Christian marriage offers a classical example
of this phenomenon. The new ceremonies that form the core of this mar-
riage are neither European nor African. Ie have seen that a norml Sotho
Christian marriage lasts for three days. a thing which is not done in the
traditional narriage. Again. the wedding procession consisting of dancers
and singers is quite a new developmnt. What is even more striking are,
the wedding songs that now form an integral part of this marriage. It is
interesting to note that these songs are composed by the young peOple who
act as best men and bride's maids. Another new cultural development in
respect to the Sotho Christian marriage is the engagement of a diviner

who is required to protect the wedding participants from possible accidents

~83“
during the feast. He is also expected to prevent quarreling or fighting

among the pe0ple. This is an entirely new function of the diviner.

Migratory labor is also a new development in the Bethe culture. The
flew of people to areas of employment has become a way of life for the
Bethe in the Reserves. It Ins mentioned earlier that a young Sotho nu
does not think of marriage before he has worked in these areas. In fact.
in many respects. migrant labor has come to be used as a substitute for
the initiation school. A young man who has never been to the mines or
any other place of employment is usually ridiculed or despised. Iorking
in the mines or industrial areas has become an integral part of the Bethe
way of life. It is therefore evident that migrant labor is no longer any
a means of supplementing the subsistence eoononw. but also serves as a
transition to adulthood. That migrant labor has become an integral part.
of Sotho way of life, is evident from the fact that even if a man is fi-
nancially in a position to provide for the bohadi of his son. the latter
must still go and work before he can narry. True, the rigorous nature of
work underground. the harshness of the mine officials and the even-looming
dangers of mine work are. in the mind of the Sotho. similar to the beatings,
tortures and hardships of the initiation school. Thus working in the mines
offers almost the same training which young. men were expected to receive
before they could be promoted to adulthood. For married men too. migrant
labor has become an accepted way of life. In the Reserves it has become
a common practice for men to leave their families after the plowing period.
Some of them return during the harvesting season. but a great majority of
them have become regular workers. visiting their homes at the end of the

month. Fast and adequate transportation makes it possible for some workers

z.
t.

5)

ash-
to spend week-ends with their families; this is particularly true for
workers who are not employed in the mines.

The prolonged absence of men from their families has given rise to
a new phenomenon of matrifocality. For instance. many of the duties and
powers of men as heads of families have been transferred to women. Non-
days womm's activities are no longer confined to domestic work. weeding
and harvesting only. but they must also supervise duties that are tradition-
ally defined as belonging to men only. For example. they supervise plowing.
attend the chief's meetings on behalf of their husbands. take charge of the
household budget. enter into contracts with other people or traders. Open
credits with traders and so on. In this way many households are run by
women. a thing which is without precedent in Sotho culture. Others again,
have adopted the practice of hiring other men to look after the' livestock
and cultivate the fields. whilst the wives do the supervisory work. hep-
ing servants and placing a men under the supervision of a woman is also
foreign to the Bethe society; the latter usually results in serious cen-

flicts because it is aginst all tradition to take orders from a woman.

Importance of Economic ii‘actors in Culture Change: Other crucial factors

‘ in acculturation are education and economy. Without adequate educational

and economic facilities. acceptance of new cultural elements is retarded.
This became evident when we dealt with the new marriage customs of the
Sotho. It was mentioned that Christian and civil marriages are more com-
mmi among the educated people who are economically better off. To value
and to desire foreign cultural traits are not the only requirements in ac—

culturation. the financial ability to acquire them must also be there.

I (I ,l v u . mi
‘ 4 .7
\ A . I c 1 o ‘.
4 \l
er. . . . 1 . I
r Ia
. k . . .
c . I . o. a. . ,
n .
a p
. a
. a! n .
Aha s‘ n .« a e I I.
0 D n
. . ye 5.. J.
o. t L
. i v
t . ..
. A . . t e i
I a I I
. \
_ A. V . . . . . .. 2
. , . , o
. . .
a... i _
n .
,v .9.- ‘ . s
e
a e
d b. e r
n
t w 0‘ .o
o
,4 _ a a a I e
.
— I
v
. . . fa
u .
.
. v
. o‘
4
I I .. .c
. s
u ,
. e
a n
. ~
,
U.‘
’ .2
.. a . ,
.
vs
I
may ..
. .
. II n ..m
e
.
r a. I
.. .
r n
. .< s n
. 0| . ~
. v ,{
. .
O a ..
u
a
.
t
. a
. .
O
1! ' n
, . t‘
. . .
.o
.

~65-
One of the reasons why many Sotho people still cling to some of their
nrriage custom is because they cannot afford the other fame of narriage.
even if they envy them. Among the Sotho. as among other groups. there
are many people who are desirous of emulating the Mean way of life.
but fail because of unfavorable economic conditions. Therefore. it see-
that the position of the Sotho in the economic structure of South lfrica
has unlch to do with the rate and extent of their acculturation: one is
tempted to males the assumption that this is true in all contemporary con-
tact situations. Studies of culture change should therefore. in conjunction
with other factors, consider economic factors as determinants of accultur-

ation.

7) Acculturation causes Disintegration in culture: Finally, let us turn to

the disruptive effects of culture contact» It was mentioned in chapter
one that the introduction of alien elements into a culture may cause dis-
integration of the culture. The peeple diose culture is undergoing changes
are often in a state of confusion. This state of affairs is also present
in the Sotho culture. Acceptance of foreign marriage practices has given
rise to a host of disruptive effects. Let us list some of the outstanding
sigis of disintegration.
(1) Marriage Instability: One of the social evils in contemporary Sotho
' society is the instability of marriage. Many marriages are charact-
erized by frequent disputes between the spouses. hoes arising from
marital disputes are common in the courts of chiefs and Bantu Counties-
ioners. Divorce. though still frowned upon. is increasing in fre-
quency. Some of the common causes of marriage instability are the
prolonged absence of men from their families. lack of adequate sup-

port of their families by some men. irregular unions. temptation on

--86--
the part of wives to have affairs with other men mile the husbands
are absent from home. bearing of children by other men. loss of con-
trol by parents over their married children and weakening of kin ties.
Relatives no longer perform the useful function of nipping marital
disputes in the bud.

(ii) Ieakenigg of Barenj'é], Control: Acetflturation has caused the weakening
' of the authority of parents over their children. and this in turn

has made children disobedient and less respectful. Many of them
even go to the extent of ignoring well-meant advice and counsel of
the parents. Parents find it difficult to discourage them from mis-
chievous conduct. Many children become delinquents because of laxity

of parental control.

(iii) $172522 Marriages: In the previous chapter we pointed out that snny
‘ of the migrant laborers are tempted to enter into loose unions with
other women. These unions usually lead to the breaking \@ of legal
marriages. Many wives and children suffer from hunger. ill-health.
inadequate clothing and education because men spend money on women

other than their wives.

(iv) Misuse of Bohadix We have already noted in the previous chapter that
the bohadi custom is increasingly becoming disfunctional. Its origi—
nl function of stabilizing marriage and fixing the position of chil-
dren is no longer effective. For many peeple it has become a commer-
cial transaction. The use of money‘in bohadi. lack of a uniform
bohadi scale and the pressures exerted by the money economy have

tempted may people to raise the bohadi price. The better educated

~87.
a woman is. the higher the bohadi becomes.

(v) Mected Families: Nowadays it is comon to find families in which
one of the spouses is missing. Some men or women who are attracted
by better conditions of life in urban areas desert their families.
The practice of irregular unions is also one of the causes of neg-
lected homss. Children born of such families end up as professional
criminals. because. in the absence of one of the parents. proper up-

bringing is non-exist ent.

(vi) Increase oLglegitimte Births: Iith the relaxation of parental
control. and the subsequent freedom of the young people. morality
has descended to the lowest ebb. In traditional Sotho society con-
stant parental vigilance helped a great deal to keep illegitimate

births to a minimum. but nowadays unnarried mothers are increasing.

(vii) leakenigg of the in—law Avoidance Qustogi; Some of the mrital dis-
putes stem from the frequent quarrels between a woman and her hus-
band's parents. With the decay of the custm of showing respect and
avoidance to one's parents-in-law. serious quarrels often crap up
between a daughter-in-lsm and her parents—in—law. Young women are
no longer prepared to subject themselves to the strict discipline
of their parents-blew. Men often quarrel with their wives because

they (wives) do not get along with their husbands' parents.

1—

(viii) leaksning of Kin Ties: with the acculturation of the Bethe has cane
the weakening of kinship ties which are so important in African so-

cieties. The sense of blood relationship and Initial interdependence

48-
among relatives is fast dying out. Money economy. a sense of in-
dividualism and the breaking down of group solidarity often set bro-

ther against brother. Jealousies‘among relatives are replacing the
feeling of interdependence. obligation and nnitual help.

(ix) Confusion: It is true that members of a changing culture are in a
state of confusion. Confronted with two ways of doing one and the
same thing. serious conflicts within the individual himself and be-
tween him and other members of his society are bound to arise. The -
half—baked young Sotho. whose manner of living and thinking is neither
African nor EurOpean. finds himself torn between two different ways
of living. His interests often clash with those of his parents or
older members of his society who are less acculturated than he. He
wants to go it alone in his marriage affairs: he wants to make his
own decisions and follow his own desires. but. to his disgust. he.
often has to reconcile his wishes with those of his relatives {or else
face the danger of being ostracised. He faces life with no definite
goals in mind. nor does he have the right motivation to go ahead in

. , life. for he lives in two worlds far apart from each other.

In conclusion. we my state that. although the Sotho show a relative-
ly rapid acceptance of new cultural elements. many traditional customs
are still beirg practiced. On the other hand. it is also true that the
rate of their acculturation is seriously hampered by the restrictions im-
posed on the Sotho. Their exclusion from full participation in economic
and political ayatems of South Africa have very adverse effects on their

develOpment .

~89-
BIBIJOGRAPHY “

geeks and Articleg

Narnett. Homer
195} The Basic of Culture Change. McGraw-Eill. New York.

Broom. Leonard et al
1951+ “Acculturation: An Exploratory Fomulation'. American AnthrOpologist.

553973-995-

Caudill. Em. and Barry Scan‘
1962 “Japanese Value Orientations and. Culture Change". Ethnology. 1:53—92.

Dohrenwend. Bruce and Robert Smith
1962 'Tourd a Theory of Acculturation'. Southwest Journal of Anthmpology.
18. 1:30-39.

Eellowell. A. I.
1955 Culture and Experience. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia.

Hellmann. Ellen
1937 “The Native in the Towns“. In the Bantu-speaking Tribes of South Africa.
I. Schapera. ed. George Routledge and Sons. London.

Hughes. Charles C.
1958 'The Patterning of Recent Cultural Change in a Siberian Eskimo Village“.
Journal of Social Issues. 11}. 1"25-65.

Inboles. Alex
1960 ”Industrial Man: The Relation of Status to Experience. Perception and
Value'. Amrican Journal of Sociolog. mu. 1:1-31

Ishino. Iwao and John Donoghue .
1962 ”Information Flow and Culture Change”. Paper presented to the Anerican
Anthropology Association Meeting in Chicago. Nov.

”311110“. Be .
19-6 The Dynamics of Culture Change. Yale University Press. New Haven.

Mair. Lucy
1938 “The Place of History in the Study of Culture Contact'. In Methods of
Study of Culture Contact in Africa. Hemorsndua IV. International
Institute of African Languages and Cultures.

Marquez-d. 1.. (2nd edition revised by Julius Levin)
1914-8 The Native of South Africa. Witwatersrand University Press. Johannesburg.

Ottenberg. S. and P. eds.
1960 Cultures and Societies of Africa. Random House. New York.

Radcliffe-Brown. ‘e Be
192% ”The Mother's Brother in South Africa”. The Bobbs-Herrill Reprint Series
in the Social Sciences. Ar-185. Reprinted from the South African Journal
of Science. vol. 111.

. I
V
b — s
1.
\1
' C
°.“" ‘ ¢~
0L9
I ...

. r ..
‘ ‘
e .4 is
. _ 2 9
e- ‘
l
O . ¢
9
I _ _ 1
_ . 3 x; _.
i .. ‘ s
‘ I
v - O 6
4
9 9 c

‘

.90...

Redi‘ield. R.. R. Linton and M. Nerskovits
1936 "Memorandum for the Study of Acculturation". American Anthropologist.
38:149-152.

Redfield. Robert
1956 The Little Comnunity. and Peasant Culture and Society. University of
Chicago Press. Chicago.

Schapera. I.
1931+ Iestern Civilization and the Natives of South Africa. University of
London Press. London.

 

19131 Married Life in an African Tribe. Sheridan House. New York.

Sheddick. V. G. J.
1953 The Southern Sotho. Southern Africa Part II. International African
Institute. London.

Simone. N. J.
1958 “The Status of African Women". In Africa in Transition. Prudence Smith
ed. Max Reinhardt. London.

Wallace. ‘0 r.
1961 Culture and Personality. Random House. New York.

'srmelo. van N. J.
1952 Language and Map of South Africa. Ethnological Publication No. 27.
Department of Native Affairs. Union of South Africa.

Ihitney. Daniel
1963 Aioi Village: An Analysis of Change in Japan. Unpublished nl. thesis.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Michigan State University.
East Iansing.

-M--s-----

moms am) nocumg
Report of the All—Africa Seminal-on Christian Home and Family Life held at
Mindolo Ecumenical Center. Kitwe.‘ Northern Rhodesia. Feb. 17 to April 10. 1963.

State of Union Year-book for South Africa. 1959-1961. Da Gem Publications.
Johannesburg. South Africa.

"An-.—

all. .Or.» Iatriaadlmflflflglfblu Inf! ,

 

P100123.- USE GE‘ELY

We'd-M _k _ A;

 

 

HICHIGQN STQTE UNIV. LIBRRRIES

 

293008085825