Ndebele Wedding - Rich Ranch

Mother and Bride - White Wedding

As I always say our lives are very interesting. 

Once again I have something really cool to share with you.

The Bridesmaids and Flower Girls

One of our staff members was a bridesmaid at her aunt's wedding which was a celebration of note. 
When the Ndebele People get married their wedding feast last for days.This particular wedding lasted three days and included a Traditional Ceremony and a Western White Wedding.

Families come from far and wide and have to be accommodated and fed in lavish style.

Traditional Ndebele Wedding Dress

Marital negotiations between the two sets of families are an extended process that includes the stadial presentation of six to eight cattle and may not be finally contracted until long after the birth of the first child. Marital residence is virilocal, and new brides ( omak jothi ) are involved in cooking, beadwork, and even the rearing of other small children of various households in the homestead. Brides have a lifelong obligation to observe the custom of ukuhlonipha or "respect" for their fathers-in-law (e.g., physical avoidance, first-name taboo). A substitute wife ( umngenandlu or ihlanzi ), in case of infertility, was still common in the 1960s. In case of divorce, witchcraft accusation, and even infidelity, a woman is forced to return to her natal homestead. Currently, wealthy women with children often marry very late or stay single. Fathers demand more bride-wealth for educated women. Both urban and rural Ndebele weddings nowadays involve a customary ceremony ( ngesikhethu ) as well as a Christian ceremony.