Traditional customs
Ms Xiniwe signing permission letters
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| This is Ms Xiniwe busy signing the permission letter |
Permission Letter signed by Ms Xiniwe
This is the permission letter that was signed by Ms xiniwe
File Type: Adobe Acrobat File: 160 K
African Traditions
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Why are huts round and not square?
Africans believe there is good and evil. Evil is witchcraft, something that can be seen or touched. To avoid that, they have round huts. Africans say that evil lurks near dark and round corners, so that is why they have round and not square huts.
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Do you cook foods in black pots?
Food that it is cooked in black pots is actually is much nicer than the food that is cooked in another method. At the beginings, Africans didn't have the black pots so they would use what we call "ceramic pots". Africans made their own pots by using mud, which they later burnt so they could use it for cooking. The reason was that these kind of pots became what they cooked in the fire outside because they had no stoves.
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What is a Tikoloshe?
This is like asking what is a devil? There is no physical item/thing called a Tikoloshe. It is a symbol of evil. It is a sprit which cannot be seen or touched. We only know the meaning and what it stands for. If you behave suspiciously, we say that you are a tikoloshe, which means that you are a witch and a witch is therefore someone evil.
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Why do you slaughter animals?
Africans slaughter animals to celebrate like as in ritual or a ceremony. To slaughter an animal, you need a certain person, someone who is chosen by the family as their "spear". Africans respect respect them as they are closest to the ancestors. When animals are slaughtered, their cry is seen as a symbol. It means that the ancestors have acccepted whatever you are doing. If the animal does not cry, and remain quiet, it cannot be killed. The family will go to a sangoma to find out what went wrong.
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Is clothing important in African Culture?
This question depends to who you are talking about. For a child who is 4 years old, nobody minds what he/she is wearing. That child living his/her age is a innocence. Young girls, and those who are older, and those who are not married only wear a "inkciyo". This is a short beaded skirt, that is meant to cover the private parts. Even when you dance, nothing gets exposed.
Lobolo in a Xhosa marriage
In a traditional amaXhosa marriage the bridegroom's family first has to agree about the number of cattle he must pay for his bride. This is called lobolo. The wife must go and live with her husband's family when they are married and she has to show special respect to her husband's family.
Xhosa Initiation
Firstly the boy has to be atleast 18 to 20 years. then he has to visit the clinic to check his health,the family's elden will meet and call the boy and educate him about manhood,while the woman cook the seeds to make african beer the goat may be slughtered for the boy,then young men of the namnty will sings songs and hyms and the boy will be accompanied by elders to the bouhes where the initiation process will take place ,then one elder will be elected to look after the boy to see whether he is healing or not.
His duty is to make sure that the new man must eat everything and he tells him about responsibilities of being and a man and the challenges of life. After seventy days the new man will slaugher a fat sheep to celebrate his healing, then he can start eating meals with salt (tasty food). After a month the new man will be ready to go home, celebrations will begin, the boy has become a man.
Information is from Lithemba's family and community.
Xhosa funerals
If a person passes away the mourners of the family will gather together and say prayers. The neighbours will come every day and pray for the family so that they can be strong.
After seven days the funeral will take place and the members of the family will shave their hair and some member may just wear black covered button and some members who were more close to the decease will wear black clothes to show respect and to also show that they are still mourning for their beloved,black clothes can be worn for some time depending on the family's costom.
Wedding pictures taken by Lithemba
| The new bride sits on a special mat and listens to the lessons from the older women in the room. | The traditional bride has to look down always and sit on a mat always until she is given permission to sit on a chair after some time by the elder members of her new family. | Then the new wife has to wear an outfit like this for some time depending on the family’s custom. Some families will let her wear the blanket until she conceives. |
Traditional Xhosa Weddings
It takes place on the groom's side. The bride has to bring gifts for each important momber of the groom's family. She mostly may use the lobolo money (bride price paid by the groom). When the traditional wedding takes place,the groom's sisters and aunts will then dress the bride with traditinal clothes they have made for her which is a black duke, the warm blanket on top of her shoulders and two pieces of skirt (imishweshwe)and she also has to wear soft round shoes,and her face is hidden by the duke. She then sits on a mat made from reeds designed for her (llechuko). The older woman will educate her on how she has to live her life as a mfe,then they sing hyms and food will be served and drinks to celebrate.