Lobolo

Last week I attended my first Lobolo with Francelino. Lobolo is a ceremony practiced in most parts of Mozambique before marriage. Before the marriage is agreed upon the bride's family name's a "price" that they want to receive for the marriage of their daughter. The father of the bride and the father of the groom decide upon this "price" before the lobolo ceremony. This payment of sorts can be in the form of money, clothing, shoes, alcohol, soda, goats, pigs, chickens, cows, or a combination of any of the above (and more). At the beginning of the ceremony the two fathers take off their shoes and sit on a grass mat with their legs straight and opened and the bottom of the feet touching the bottom of the other's feet (see picture). They then pull out a list of the agreed upon items and they are presented very slowly and carefully. The money is diligently counted out for everyone to see and the bride's father must approve of every item before moving on. At the lobolo I was at the groom's family provided 20,000 meticais (almost $700 US), which is a LOT of money in Mozambique! They also had a dress, gold necklace, and gold earrings for the bride to be, a full suit with hat, shoes, and cane included for the bride's brother, capulanas and other clothing for the bride and her mother, several cases of soda and beer, at least 10 liters of wine, a chicken, a goat, and some homemade liquor. It was quite the event! The bride to be and her brother then went and put the clothes on and paraded around in them for a while. After the ceremony there was much gift giving by the invitees and the day was concluded with a meal. Events like this really take the whole day. We arrived there at 9am and didn't leave until 5pm, and we were one of the first to leave! Enjoy the pictures of the event!