In South Africa, there are several different cultures that have different ways of life. Today, one of the largest tribes is called the Zulu tribe. They have a very interesting lifestyle, and a major part of that is their ceremonies such as weddings and the coming of age ceremony.

Weddings

            Zulu weddings differ a great deal from the traditional weddings of today. Family is very ordered in the Zulu tribes, as each member of the family has certain responsibilities that they are expected to fulfill. Because of this, the wedding is quite significant in starting the family. In many weddings there are no invitations sent out. The word gets around the village about the wedding and many people arrive to take part. Since no formal invitations are sent out, no dress code is specified however people know what ceremonies and celebrations will be performed as it is their culture, and they know what to wear for them. The weddings may seem relaxed to Westerners though there are also rules at ceremonies that must be followed.

                           People gathering to take part in the ceremonies.

Zulu weddings are all different and depending on the culture of the particular tribe, they usually have different ceremonies. Zulu's generally do not believe in Western religions: they believe in traditions and rituals that have been passed down from generation to generation. Though some Zulu people are Christians, so many weddings take place in a church. The bride usually wears a white wedding dress. Though this is not mandatory, the brides usually prefer to wear white as it symbolizes purity. The wedding is a long process of rituals including dancing and singing. In these, the women wear lots of beads as well as very colourful skirts and feathers. The clothing is usually very little or loose so that it is easy for them to dance throughout the ceremonies.

The men, women, and children of the tribe performing rituals.

Once the needed rituals are done at the church, the rest of the wedding takes place at the husband and wife’s home. During the ceremonies, the bride is accepted into the groom’s family. The bride shows her appreciation by giving gifts to her new family members. The wife changes her clothes many times through the duration of the wedding. She wears many different traditional outfits with a variety of colours to show her new family how beautiful she is and how intricate the beading is on her dress, as well as its design. The intricacy of the beading shows the women’s desire and ability to be a good wife, and new edition to the family. Even the members of each side of the family compete in different tasks, and the way they dress also shows the other family how well presented they are.

Coming of Age Ceremony

            In the Zulu tribe, young boys and girls go through a stage of initiation where they enter adulthood. Boys start their initiation at the age of around 16 – 18. The male initiation process is circumcision. The boys are taken into an isolated area and stay in grass huts. They only wear one small piece of clothing around the waist before circumcision. No one is allowed to see them with the exception of the older women relatives to give the boys food and to watch out for them. After the process of being circumcised, the boys were said to be “cleaned”. They were given new clothes (mainly animal hide made by the older women) to show that they had a fresh new look. After that they went back to their tribe, and were now seen as men and were accepted by the members of the tribe. The clothing they wore showed how confident they were to be men.

   A boy has changed into a man and has entered his tribe with new respect.

            The girls initiation was much more complex and took longer. When they had “become of age” and their menstrual cycle had started, their initiation began. This varied for girls of different ages depending on their maturity. First she had to collect the roots of the rubia cordifolia shrub. Sometimes they even used these roots to make clothing. Then she would mix this porridge and would have to eat if for seven days. During this time she would stay in her mothers hut, and her mother would take care of her. As she was hidden her clothing did not mean too much, but when she came out she was expected to look clean and renewed.

              The young women of the tribe performing dancing ceremonies.

After as long as two or three months it was time for the girls initiation to be final. It is a long process where the young girl stays in her mothers hut for sometimes as long as a number of weeks. While she is in the hut she passes time by doing tasks that she will have to learn to be a good wife, like weaving baskets, and beading clothing. In the hut she is allowed to have one friend stay with her and was not seen by people other than her mother. The sisters of the young girl gather some friends and they use grass to twist it into costumes for the ceremonies when their sister comes out. Once it was time, the young girls were allowed back into society and then wore their costumes. They sang and danced in the rituals as the initiation was nearly over. The next day the girls wore their costumes to perform one last dance and the grass costumes are burned. This showed that they had finally become a woman. Initiation is a major part of the Zulu culture, showing that they are starting a new stage of their life. They must also look beautiful afterwards with new clothing, showing they have matured into women.

      A young girl has changed into a woman and is being blessed by her father.