UMumbeso as a Part of Wedding Ceremony in African Zulu Tribe Essay

UMembeso is an African cultural ceremony that happens in the African Zulu tribe. When two people decide to get married in my Zulu culture, marrying a person is like marrying their family too, you have to become one with them, love them and treat them with respect because they become your family too. There are many stages that one has to take on before the actual white wedding ceremony and uMembeso is the third stage. UMembeso usually takes place at the home of the bride first then at the grooms house on different days. Some people do uMembeso one day after the Zulu wedding. Two days before this ceremony traditional Zulu beer is brewed which is called isiZulu to be used on the day of the cultural ceremony.

Umembeso is used as a gesture for the two families to show that they accept each other by means of exchanging gifts to show their love for each other. The families separately write a list of the gifts they request from their inlaws, the name and relationship with the bride or groom. It has been a custom that the parents get more gifts than the other family member, other family member like for example women get a blanket, a dress and a scarf, men also get blankets and any gift i.e. a jersey, shoes etc. The mother of the bride gets a blanket, food, huge black pots, an axe, gas stove, dishes, scarf, 2 cases of cold drink and beer and a goat that is dressed up with a blanket and a scarf as a present that will be slaughtered on that day. The father of the bride also gets a blanket, towels, a hat, a suit, a case of cold drinks and beer, a wheel barrow, a bottle of whiskey regardless if he drinks alcohol or not. The parents of the groom get the same things like the parents of the bride. However the exchange of gifts varies from family to family and may also depend on the finances (the funds that they have) some give more and some less. Even members of the family that have passed away receive gifts.

The community comes out to celebrate with these families. The families sing and dance during this ceremony. Presents from other people from the community are also welcomed. The two families take turns in exchanging presents. The last person to get presents is the bride, she gets clothes that she has to wear immediately and an umbrella, then comes back with other maidens covering their heads with one blanket and the family of the groom has to pin point the bride from the maidens. If they choose the wrong person they have to pay a fine of whatever amount the brides family chooses. If they choose the correct person, the bride then sit with the groom and open the umbrella, people now have to pin money onto the umbrella using pins to donate and show their support for the couple.