South African Tribal Customs

* The man is the undisputed head of the family, and as such the woman is not allowed to walk next to him, but rather a few steps behind him.
* The woman has to carry parcels while the husband walks ahead of her ….. She carries these on her head.
* It is also the duty of the woman to collect fire wood and water, which can be miles away from their village.
* The Women have to keep the village swept and clean as well as doing all the cooking. They use brooms made of twigs to sweep the outside areas around the huts they live in, and open fires outside with black cast iron pots for cooking.
* It is the woman’s duty to till the soil and to sow and plant as well as reap the crops, while the men tend to the live stock.
* Until a girl marries, she walks around bare from the waist up.
* When there are eligible daughters in the household, the father will put out a flag on a long stick, serving as a flagpole, outside their hut for each of the girls.
* There a certain rituals like dancing by the eligible girls for the Chief to choose a wife from. Bigamy is a common every day occurrence.

These are only a few rituals and customs, and come from different tribes, but these are basically the same in most tribes.

This may seem strange to modern society, but these are taken very seriously in Rural areas, and the men are very strict about it.

I hope you found this informative and interesting. As modern independent women we often forget how the other half lives. Sometimes I wonder who is more fortunate..us as the modern woman who is free to do whatever she chooses, or these traditional women who know exactly where they stand in their tribe and has her path set out for her. They don’t need to plan further than the day.

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