The culture of South Africa is one of the most diverse in the world. The country boasts of 11 official languages and other recognised languages with each group having its own vibrancy and culture. Although the country’s culture is not homogeneous, it is a collection of cultures with different culture being predominant in different regions.
However, some of the cultural activities practiced in South Africa are generally acceptable, some are really bizzare
Forced circumcision in controlling boys’ deviant behavior.
While circumcision in Khosa community is one of the many acceptable South African cultural practices, its application as a deterrent for boys deviant behaviors remains bizzare. When boys become deviant and uncontrollable they are subjected to circumcision by force.
The deviant boy is caught and restrained in the village by Kraal men who take him to the surgeon and restrain him the entire night because circumcision is done at sunrise. During the process, the boy must not cry from pain the hot spot is thrown on the ground and the boy has to bury it in an ant heap which will eat it up.
Use of copper rings around the neck
According to the norms of the Ndeble tribe of South Africa, when a wife is married and taken to the man’s home, she is expected to look as spectacular as possible which is done in two ways. One of these is wearing of copper rings around the neck arms and legs which are provided by the husband and is believed to possess a lot of ritual power. Because they are expected to wear the ring throughout their lives, neck bones get malformed and become painful leading many of the women to go to hospitals to remove them.
Marry wives for leader
This is commonly practised in Kwa-Zulu where the status of a man is determined by the number of cattle, goats and wives he has. Leaders in particular are allowed to have more wives because of their status.
Although the South African Community is getting westernized due to its high levels of education, most men in Kwa-Zulu believe in this tradition and marry many wives. The marriage ceremony is even more bizzare.
The bride is required to wear coloured beads in her skirt and head so that everybody can know that she is already married while the groom is required to escorts the bride in full traditional clothing and inspect the house she will be staying to ensure there is no animal such as snake, to harm the new bride.
This cultural practice is not just practised in Kwa-Zulu, but also in other parts of the country.
Special reference to camp fire
Campfires lit to celebrate visitors are considered to hold a lot of significance and bonding. The people gathering around a specific fire are believed to have special bonding and their words are not to be heard by others in a different fire even if they are next to each other. Some people believe that talking to a person from a different campfire is impolite.
Use of cattle to pay for the bride
Many people from the Zulu community despite having migrated to the city still practice this custom. They believe that cattle is the best way to get compensation for the daughter they are giving(losing) in marriage.
The groom is expected to physically drive head of cattle to the lady’s home in celebration. However the number varies depending on the lady being married. A daughter of a prominent chief could attract as much as 20 heads of cattle and the number could go as low as 5 for other girls. Even Zulu men in the urban areas go to the countryside to take cattle to ladies home in order to be allowed to take their brides
