Electronic Theses and Dissertations (PhDs)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37993
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Item Invisibility of women’s voices, choices, and opinions in African traditional marriages: a case study of the Swati people from Kanyamazane(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Ngobeni-Hlophe, Nkateko; Zungu, E. B.Most Africans believe that marriage is a gift from the ancestors. Marriage is also perceived as an occasion that brings together two families through the union of two individuals. The study explores the role of makoti within traditional Swati marriages. Traditional marriages require several cultural marriage rites to be observed and completed before a couple can be considered to be married. Different types of traditional marriages require different ceremonies, but the basis of every traditional marriage is lobola. In traditional Swati societies, the only way a woman can officially enter into a man’s family and become a member of that family is through marriage. Once lobola has been paid and makoti joins her new family, she begins to form relationships with her in-laws. Having unpleasant relationships within the family can cause a lot of conflict between family members, which in turn angers the ancestors. African families are known to avoid direct conflicts as a way of avoiding angering the ancestors (Ngidi, 2012). Therefore, family members opt for alternative ways of dealing with conflicts by using mitsi on one another. For this study, Critical theory and Feminism theory were used to explain the impact of cultural practices in the way that woman are perceived and treated in traditional societies. The study was conducted from an ethnographic perspective using a qualitative method for data collection. This was done in order to fully outline different cultural aspects with full understanding of the people being studied. This study has proved that the excitement of being a makoti is short-lived and has demonstrated how culture is often used to eclipse the voices and choices of traditionally married women in the Swati society with particular reference to the Swati community of Kanyamazane. Makotis who participated in this study have reported experiencing a shift in character upon getting married. Most of these shifts have resulted in there being conflict within the household. They have also reported drastic changes in their relationship with their in-laws after they were married into the family. Some of the v negative experiences they have had with their in-laws include physical altercations, being bad mouthed, name calling, being put under excessive pressure to conform, and many others. Once married, in-laws expect makotis to transition into their role as the newest member of the family. Makotis are expected to change the way they dress, behave, who they associate with and are also told how to treat her husband. Failure to meet any of these expectations will result to makoti being mistreated.