Luchazi traditional marriage
Luchazi traditional marriage
The Luchazi people have clearly defined ways of choosing a mate according to their traditions. These include marriage by bride price, marriage by capture, and kuzikila.
In the past, marriage by capture occurred when men from a victorious village took women from conquered groups as wives, while the captured men were sold into slavery.
Kuzikila was a rarer custom, in which a girl was betrothed either on the day of her birth or while still in her mother’s womb. Children of good families were often promised in marriage before they were even born. The process worked as follows: if a man (a cindunduka ca yala, the only young adult male permitted to perform the ritual) was interested in kuzikila with a friend whose wife was pregnant, he would smear white chalk (mpemba) on the pregnant woman’s stomach and declare that if the child were a girl, she would become his future wife; if a boy, he would become his friend.
If a girl was born, the man then completed all traditional marriage rites and took on the duty of caring for her until she came of age. This waiting period was called kuzikila. However, such arrangements were always subject to Luchazi traditions and family choice. Wise parents considered the age and social standing of the prospective husband, as well as his character. From infancy, the girl was told who her future husband was. Around age fifteen, she entered vuso, where she was prepared for her role as a wife—learning to care for a home and raise a family. During vuso, she was taught various domestic crafts, including cooking and housekeeping.
In marriage by bride price, a young man who had interest in a girl would first raise the matter with his uncle, grandparents, or parents. Consultations would then be held among family elders, who considered the attributes of the potential mate. It was vital that the family one married into possessed reasonable wealth, good connections, and proper behaviour.
In the past, endogamy (kuli tuva mpoko)—marriage within the family, village, tribe, or clan—was common, and intermarriage with other tribes was prohibited. This helped keep Luchazi heritage free from outside influence. Most Luchazi groups encouraged their children to marry within the stem family (especially where their grandparents or great-grandparents had married from) or clan, so that family values and heritage were preserved. Marriages outside the stem lineage were avoided due to heavy penalties that could follow the death of a child or wife. It is no wonder that the important matter of marriage was not left entirely to the young man or woman.
Because marriage was a family affair, it was never left solely to the individuals. Even today, no decent Luchazi would marry without their family’s consent. The decision was made by uncles, parents, or a full council of relatives—those who bore responsibility for family property—and they deliberated carefully before committing.
When the uncles or parents were satisfied that a young man was ready for marriage (i.e., he had a farming field and other essentials to support a wife), the first consideration was whether the potential mate stood in the proper relationship to the family. This question of kinship was of greatest importance to the family council. Once it was established that the bride or groom’s family was an acceptable one to marry into, they considered the second question: what advantages the family had to offer. In the old days, marriage was one of the few roads to fortune—boys and girls could improve their social standing through marriage. Marrying into a poor or unimportant family might ruin a young person’s chances for a successful life. Therefore, uncles or the family council spent much time and effort ensuring the right choice. The third consideration was the young person’s character: hardworking, industrious, and good-tempered.
After the elders gave their approval, the man asked the woman to marry him. If both agreed, the man gave the woman a token, which she presented to her grandmother or mother. The man’s family then appointed an intermediary called kanganda, who took an initial payment known as njimbu (an axe) to the girl’s family and arranged a meeting to negotiate the bride price. On the appointed day, the uncle or relatives went to the girl’s village to negotiate.
The Luchazi are an agricultural people, so in the old days the bride price was often paid in iron hoes (matemo). After the bride price was paid to the woman’s relatives and any other traditional formalities were completed, the woman was ceremoniously escorted to the man’s home, and the two became husband and wife.
Once in her husband’s home, the woman used her mother-in-law’s kitchen (ntsenge) to cook; she was not allowed to cook in her own kitchen until the ceremony called kuvueka coto. After about a week, the woman’s relatives performed kuvueka coto ceremony, bringing cooked foods to the man’s village. The purpose was to show the man’s relatives that their daughter had been well trained—the food presented represented the standard she would always cook to. The woman’s relatives also gave gifts of preserved foods: calabashes of dried groundnuts, pumpkin seeds, mutete, mushrooms, and baskets or sacks of processed dried cassava tubers. Once the ceremony was performed, the woman was free to cook from her own kitchen (ntsenge) and serve in the ndzango. From then on, the man automatically became responsible for her well-being.
Women and children are considered valuable to the tribe. Upon the birth of a couple’s first child, the child’s name is used to refer to the parents—for example, SaChiyena (father of Chiyena) or NiaChiyena (mother of Chiyena). It is considered inappropriate to call a person who has children by their first name. This system of naming, it is believed, binds the core family together and emphasizes the importance of raising children.
Marriage Taboos, and the Sanctity of Marriage
Health and Maternity Taboos
Traditionally, it is a taboo to have sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman. The Luchazi also imposed a strict taboo on sexual intercourse for breastfeeding mothers until the child reached at least two years of age. It was believed that a new pregnancy would "spoil" the mother’s milk and cause the nursing child to fall ill due to premature-weaning (Vuse). In a practical sense, this served as a vital safeguard against malnutrition (Vulili), ensuring the child was fully weaned and strong before the mother conceived again.
Dietary and ritual restrictions also governed pregnancy. For instance, expectant mothers were forbidden from eating eggs to prevent prolonged labour. Furthermore, if a husband had been unfaithful during his wife's pregnancy, he was required to knock on the door and wait for his wife to step outside before he entered. This ritual was believed to cleanse the home and ensure a safe delivery; ignoring it was thought to lead to complications during childbirth.
Family Protection and Compensation
In the past, the community maintained strong sanctions against the mistreatment of women. If a wife suffered a physical injury or fell ill due to neglect during the marriage, the husband was required to pay compensation (vikuka) to her relatives. Should a wife die while in her husband's care, the compensation was exceptionally high. In the past, vikuka—which included livestock and manufactured goods—was a communal debt collected from the husband’s entire extended family.
Resilience Under the "Estatuto do Indigenato"
The Luchazi view marriage as a sacred bond to be preserved at all costs, a belief tested during the era of forced labour (Estatuto do indigenato) in Angola. While men were sent to plantations for months or years, women were forced into grueling road maintenance work, where many suffered sexual abuse and became pregnant.
Remarkably, these women were not marginalized. As one woman told researcher Edward Ross, survivors were welcomed back with support rather than shame, for the community recognized that both men and women were victims of colonial violation. This led to a cultural standard: a husband returning from forced labour or a long trade expedition could not divorce a wife who had become pregnant in his absence. He was obligated to raise the child as his own, and the biological father was barred from making any future claims.
Divorce and Polygamy
While the Luchazi strive for unity, divorce does occur for reasons such as infertility, impotence, cruelty, or laziness. Interestingly, adultery is rarely cited as the official reason for divorce; to do so was considered an insult to oneself, as it implied the spouse had failed in their "matrimonial duties." Instead, a family might cite "talkativeness" or "laziness" as the formal grievance. This is reflected in the sayings of certain lineages, like the Vaka Sachisunga, who suggest that while a child binds a family together, a "troublesome" wife without children may be sent away.
Though discouraged by Christian missions, polygamy remains a part of Luchazi life for those who can provide for multiple households. A much rarer historical custom was kuli solokela, a practice of wife-lending between close friends. In this tradition, a man would offer his wife to a friend in exchange for a goat, after which the husband would temporarily leave the village to grant the pair privacy.
Luchazi Royal marriage
In the past, many of the Luchazi royal rulers were females who were of Nama clans. The selection of a Mukuetunga (royal consort) follows a strictly defined traditional procedure. When a young Chieftainess or Princess is deemed ready for marriage, the reigning Chief initiates consultations with the elders of the royal family and the Chief’s advisors. Together with the Princess, this group suggests several potential candidates. Each man is carefully scrutinized for his character, leadership qualities and social attributes. In the past, he had to come from the Chungu clan just as the royal bride had to come from the Nama clan. A shortlist is then presented to the reigning monarch for review, and a final selection is made—once again in consultation with the royal lady concerned.
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