To Port Elizabeth and Back Again 5

March 27, 2004 -- Front Page Lobola
The front page story of the Eastern Cape newspaper today was about the lobola a very wealthy businessman was paying for his marriage to the princess of the reigning Zulu family. In addition to the requisite cattle, the lobola included extravagant gifts for the entire royal family and a shopping mall, which the princess will manage after the wedding. Lobola, the traditional form of dowry, is still very alive and well here. For me, of course, it's not a typical headline story, but I found it fascinating.

The night of our "Bush Camp" braai, lobola was the topic of an extended conversation. Thoko teased Donald, saying that his lobola had expired...she had given him three children. There was quite a bit of play about loblola and who was really the boss followed by much teasing of Mthunzi about his need to come up with the lobola to marry his fiance, Linda, in December. H-m-m-m-m...how many cows would Jason, my husband, have coughed up for me?

If I had read that front page story from my home subject position – American, feminist, academic – I'm sure I would have found the concept of lobola pretty appalling. Interestingly, that knee jerk response was mediated and much softened by the discussions (and joking) about lobola with Thoko, Linda and Mthunzi. There is a pride and a power underneath it all. It's a lesson in complexity and a lesson in perspective.