Government wants all customary marriages registered soon. But almost nobody is talking about a much older problem, a lobola rule made up by a white colonial official over 170 years ago that still decides how much young men must pay to marry today, writes Celani Sikhakhane in Mzansi Royals.
Lobola is not only a Zulu custom. Many South African cultures pay a bride price, just under different names, like Bogadi, Magadi, Mahadi, Bohali, Lumalo or Ikhasi. But it was the Zulu version that got fixed into strict rules by the British.
In the mid-1800s, a British colonial official named Sir Theophilus Shepstone set fixed lobola prices for Zulu people. He said an ordinary bride was worth 11 cows. A bride who was not a virgin was worth 10 cows. The daughter of a headman or chief was worth 15 cows. A king’s daughter was worth 20 cows or more.
Before Shepstone made these rules, families could pay whatever they agreed on, often far less than 11 cows. Lobola was meant to bring two families closer together. It was never meant to be a fixed price tag.
So why is nobody trying to scrap this rule? That is the question nobody in power seems to want to ask.
Lobola has since become a money trap for young couples, especially men. Many cannot afford to marry the woman they love because the cost is too high. King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and Inkosi Sifiso Shinga, who leads the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional and Khoisan Leadership, have both said the high cost of lobola is stopping young Zulu men from getting married.
Cultural experts say Shepstone looked at lobola the wrong way. He saw it as a business deal, not a bond between families. Many communities now treat his made-up prices as if they are ancient Zulu tradition, even though they know it came from a colonial ruler, not their ancestors.
Politicians have stayed quiet on this too. Some of them fought hard to remove colonial statues, like those of Cecil Rhodes and Queen Victoria, from the KZN Legislature. But none of them have tried to remove Shepstone’s lobola price list, even though it keeps adding financial pressure on young men who are already struggling in a hard economy.
Researchers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal have also raised the alarm. They found that money problems have changed how lobola works today. Many young men and their families now join stokvels or take out loans just to afford it.
Pictured above: King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, who has raised concerns over the cost of lobola payments.
Image source: X
