UKUTHWALA It is generally thought that this practice is about kidnapping a potential wife and forcing her into marriage, but I can assure you that that is a total corruption of the practice, as it was meant to be used. Originally, a girl and a young man who love one another and want to marry, but having difficulties with the girls family, perhaps refusing to sit down for lobola negotiations, the young couple could simply arrange with the young mans family to mock kidnap the girl with her consent, and thereby compelling her father (and family) to listen to lobola negotiations, which would effectively result in a legal union. Todays practice is not ukuthwala.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 21:37:12 +0000