GULUUNI

VERSI
TY
FACULTYOFEDUCATI
ONAND
HUMANITI
ES

NAME:
ODONGODANI
ELOCEN
REGNO:
19/
U/1878/
SEG/
PS
COURSEUNI
T:PHI
LOSOPHYOFEDUCATI
ON
COURSECODE:
2101
LECTURER:
MR.OLOIANTHONY

PHILOSOPHYOFMARRI
AGEI
NLANGO
CULTURE

1
THEINFORMALPHI
LOSOPHYOFMARRI
AGEAMONGTHELANGOCULTUREOF
NOTHERNUGANDA
Themeaningofmar r
iagecanbebroadanditsspeci
fi
cit
ieschangef
rom cul
tur
eto
cul
tur
e,rel
i
giontorel
igi
onandacrosstheti
melineofhi
story
.However,
therear
esome
basi
cpremisesuponwhichtheconcepti
sbased.
Marriageisgener al
lyunderst
oodastheuni onandcommi t
mentbet weentwopeoplei
n
an i
nterpersonalrel
ati
onship 
thati
srecognizedbyanof fi
cialinst
it
uti
on,
suchasthe
stat
eandchur ch,andisofasexualnature.Itisal
soacknowl edgedbyacommuni t
yor
socialstr
ucturetowhi chthecoupl
ebelongs, suchasthei
rf r
iends,f
amil
y,col
l
eagues,
andacquai ntances.
However,
tradit
ionalmarr
iagei
sunionoft
wopeopl
e–amanandawomanwi
thanai
m
off
ormingaf amily,
thi
sisconf
irmedtr
adi
ti
onal
l
yandcul
tur
all
y.
I
niti
ally,theLangopr act
icedt oahigherdegr eepolygynyandat t
achconsi derable
i
mpor t
ancet obr i
de-wealt h.Mencommonl yextolpol y
gynyasani deal,butinthe1960s
onlyabout20per centoft hemenwhower emar ri
edatanygi ventimewer emar ri
ed
polygynousl y
.Mencommonl yf i
nditdiff
iculttoarrangeforthebride-pri
cef orasecond
wif
e, andmanywomendonotwantt obemar ri
edasasecondorsubsequentwi fe;
hence, polygynousmar r
iagesar enotal wayspossi ble.Anotheri
mpor tantfactori
s
populationpr essure.Insomel ocal
es, t
herei snotenoughl andavailableforment ohav
e
mor ethanonewi fe,givent hefactthatmenar eexpect edtoprovi
deal loftheirwives
wit
hf ieldsofappr oximat elyequalsizeforcul t
ivat
ion
Oneoft hedif
fi
cul ti
esinpolygynousmar ri
agesi
st herelati
onshipbetweenco- wiv
es.A
womanwhoal lowsherhusbandt omar ryasecondwi feoftendoessowi ththe
expect ati
onthatshewi ll
hav esomeaut horit
yoverthejuniorwife;
thusthejuniorwif
e
enterst hemarriageinaweakposi ti
on.Awomanwhohasf ai
ledtobearchildrenina
previousmar ri
ageorwhohast hereputati
onofbeingt r
oublesomeorl azyismor e
will
ingt obemar r
iedpolygynously
.Suchawomanal socommandsar el
ati
velylower
bri
de- pri
ce.Howev er
,pol
y gamyislesscommonamongt heLangitheseday s
I
nLangocult
ure,i
twasbelievedt
hatbef
oreaboystar
tsplanni
ngtomarr
yagirl
,he
musthav
eabi gcassavagardenandal
soagardenofbeanstoshowthathei
sreadyt
o
managehiswif
e/f
ami l
y.
I
nLangoev er
ymarr
iageprocessbegi
nswi
thcour
tshi
p.Thi
sisanini
ti
alstageofever
y
r
elat
ionshi
pwhichi
nvol
vesmeet i
ngandwooi
ngwhichmeansto'winoversomebody'
WhenaLangi manmeet sthegi r
lthatimpr
esseshi m andi nt
endstomarryher
, t
hefi
rst
stepofshowi ngr
esponsibi
li
tyistocasuall
yv i
sithermot her'
shomeaccompani edbya
fr
iend.Laterwhenthevisi
tor
sl eave,thegi
rli
nformshermot herofwhotheyare.An
i
nv est
igat
iontoascert
aintheintendingcoupl
ei snotrelatedbybloodorclani
smade.

2
Iti
squi t
ei mportantt hattheboyget ssomeone; couldbeacl osefriendorarelati
ve"
usuallyknownas' Akwena' ,t
omeancoor di
nator"whoi snearthegi rl
'
shome.Sucha
personshoul dknowcr i
ti
call
ythefami l
ybackgroundoft hegirli
nquest i
on,he/she
shouldinqui r
eifthatf amilyisnotinvolv
edinwitchcraft
,ift
herear enochronicdiseases
l
ikewhoopi ngcough, ast
hma, HIV/AIDS,amongmanydi seases.Iftheboyissureoft he
familyoft hegir
l,thenev entual
ly,t
hemant el
lshissideofthefami l
yabouthishear t
's
i
nterestsandwheni tisagreedupon, theysetoffforint
roducti
onandset tl
ementof
bri
depr ice.
Usuall
yaf teri
ntr
oduction,aprocessknownas" RangoNy ako"isconducted.I
nt his
process, t
heboy ,
accompani edbyt hecoordi
nator
,somebr other
s,andsomet woor
threefri
ends,organi
zeandgot othegi r
l'
shomewher ebytheyarerequir
edtogiv esome
moneyt othegir
lwhoi nturnforwardsittoherfat
her.Her
enegot i
ati
onscommenceand
anagr eedamounti sreached.Afterthat,t
her
eissomeamountofmoneygr eaterthan
thefir
stonet hatisnowgi vendir
ectlytothefat
herofthegirl
justatthatver
ymoment
Inthepast,i
twaswiseforagirlt
olookf orsomebodywhocouldaffor
denoughcat t
le
butwiththemanychangeswi t
hinthe21stcent ury
-rangi
ngfr
om pooreconomyand
mat er
ial
i
sm, t
herequi
rementscanv ar
yf rom l
iv
e-st
ocktoasset
ssuchasv ehi
clesand
soonaccor di
ngtothewishesofthebride'sfamil
y.
Thebr i
de- priceinLangoi saboutf ourteenheadofcat tl
eandasi gni fi
cantamountof
othergoodssuchasgoat s,cloth, cooki ngpot s, andhoes, whi char epai dt ot hef ami l
y
ofthebr i
de.Thepr obl em ofaccumul at i
ngt hebr i
de-pricecanbev erycompl icated,and
boy smustst artplanni nghowt osol vei tdur i
ngt heiradol escence.Aboymayobt ainthe
suppor tofhi smot her , whowi l
lat temptt ogetsomeoft hecat t
lef rom herhusband' s
herdf ortheboy '
sbr ide- price.Boy salsoar elinkedt ot heirsi sters; theymustwai tunt i
l
theirsister sar emar riedsot hatt heycanobt ai npar toft hei rbr i
de- pricest opayf ortheir
ownmar riages.Oneot herpossi bilit
yisf orboy st osol icitcat tl
ef rom member soft heir
l
ineageorf rom theirmot her s'brot hers.Aki nsmanwhosponsor samar riagemay
expectt hey oungmant oresi denearhi m aftermar ri
ageandt oser v eashi sdependent .
Thus, menwhohav enosonssomet i
mesacqui rethel oy altyofy oungmember soft hei
r
ownl i
neagebysponsor i
ngt heirmar ri
ages.I famansponsor st hemar r
iageofhi s
sister'
sson, t hechildrenbor ntot hemar ri
agewi llbelongt ot hel i
neageoft hesponsor
(i
.e.,theywi l
l bel
ongt ot hedescentgr oupoft hei rfather'smot her 'sbr other ).This,of
cour se,isadev i
ati
onf rom t henor mal l
yst r
ictr uleofpat r
ili
neal descent , butt heLango
seet hisar rangementasent i
relyconsi stent.Theysayt hatachi ldbel ongst ot he
descentgr oupoft heper sonwhopai dt hebr ide- weal thofi tsmot her.Nor mal ly,a
woman' shusbandr ecei vest hebr ide-pri
cef rom hi sowndescentgr oup, andaboyi s
discour agedf rom aski nghi smot her '
sbr otherf orbr i
de- weal th.Chi l
drenbor ntoa
womanf orwhom nobr i
de- weal t
hhasbeenpai dbel ongt othei rmot her'sdescentgr oup
(i
.e.,thedescentgr oupofherf at her).Ifamansubsequent lymar riest hewomanby
payingbr ide- wealth, hemaypayanaddi tional amountt oherf atherandpr ocureher
chil
dr enf orhi sowndescentgr oup.Becauseoft hedi f
ficultyt hati sencount eredi n

3
pay
ingbri
de-
wealt
h,ay
oungmancannotreasonabl
yexpectt
obemar
ri
edbef
orehei
s
21,
whereasgi
rl
scommonlymar
ryataboutage16.

wi l
lbelongtothelineageofthesponsor( i
.e.,t
heywi llbelongt othedescentgr oupof
thei
rfather'
smot her'sbr
other).This,ofcour se,isadev iat
ionfrom thenor mallystr
ict
rul
eofpat ri
li
nealdescent,buttheLangoseet hisarrangementasent ir
elyconsistent.
Theysayt hatachildbelongstot hedescentgr oupoft heper sonwhopai dthebride-
wealthofitsmot her.Normall
y, awoman' shusbandr ecei v
est hebr i
de-pricefrom his
owndescentgr oup, andaboyi sdi scouragedf rom aski nghismot her 'sbrotherforbri
de-
wealth.Chil
drenbor ntoawomanf orwhom nobr i
de-weal thhasbeenpai dbelongt o
thei
rmot her'
sdescentgr oup(i.e.,t
hedescentgr oupofherf ather).Ifaman
subsequentlymar r
iesthewomanbypay ingbr i
de-weal th,hemaypayanaddi ti
onal
amountt oherfatherandpr ocur eherchildrenforhisowndescentgr oup.Becauseof
thediff
icul
tythatisencounteredi npay i
ngbr ide-wealth, ayoungmancannotr easonably
expecttobemar ri
edbeforehei s21, wher easgi r
lscommonl ymar ryataboutage.
InLangocul ture,ifthegi r
lgetspregnantbeforetheintr
oductioncer emony ,t
heent i
re
mar r
iagepr ocessi scalledof f
.Thisisbecauseitisbeli
evedt hatwhenagi r
lispregnant
andal sointhepr ocessofmar r
iage,somepeoplemaybecomej ealousaboutt he
pregnancyandt hebr idepricethatisgoingtobepai dtothegi r
l'
sfami l
yandmaydoev il
thi
ngs( witchcraft)thatcanl eadtoherdeathdur i
ngdelivery
.Itisalsobelievedthat
mar r
yingapr egnantgi r
lisli
kemar ryingtwopeople,soonecannotmar r
yhisownchi l
d
i
nsidet hewomb.I nthatcase, theboy '
sfamil
ywai t
suntilshedeliverssuccessfull
yand
conti
nuewi ththemar ri
agepr ocess.
Evenbeforeherdeliver
y ,aprocessknownas" pi
dol
uk",
thi
siswheret
hegirl'
sfamilygo
totheboy'
sf amilytodiscussupont hechargest
obelevi
edontheboyforimpregnati
ng
thei
rdaughterbeforemar ri
ageandsomei t
emsandmoneyar egi
ventothegirl
'
sfami l
y
togobackwi th.Exampl esoftheitemsare;
6goat
s/1cow,2hoes,
transpor
tmoney ,
moneycall
ed'
obalkwan'
,thati
smoneypaid
f
orspoi
li
ngthegi
rl
'
seducationprocessi
fatal
lshewasatschool
,andmanyother
i
tems
Afterthepr ocessof' rangony ako'
,thegir
l'
sf at
herwr i
tesal et
tertot heboy'sfami
ly
i
nv i
tingthem t obringt hefi
rstconfirmati
onitem, usual
lyonecowandf ewi t
ems,thi
sis
knownas' akumu' whi chispresentedbyt heboyasapr oofofcommi t
mentand
seriousnessofmar r
iage.Thedat esfordowr ysettl
ementar ethenest abl
ishedandthe
woman' sfatherwr i
tesal i
stofwhati srequiredasbr i
deprice.Itrangesfrom cashand
tangiblegoodi es(edibleornot )t
ol i
vest
ockandsoonTher eaf ter
,throughacoordinat
or,
negot i
ationsar emadeandadat ef ort
het r
aditi
onalceremonyi sset .
Negot
iat
ionsar
ebasedont
hei
temst
hatt
hegi
rl
'
sfami
l
ydemandast
hebr
idepr
ice.

4
I
nLango, dowrysettlementhappensonlyintheev eni
ngatt hehomeoft hemother
-of
-
t
he-
bride-t
o-be.Iti
sdi sr
espectf
ultovisi
tthemother -
in-
lawduringdayti
me.Therestof
t
hepeoplewhower enoti nvi
tedduri
ngthev i
sitt
ot hemot her
-i
n-l
aw'shousecancome
t
ocelebrateaftereveryt
hinghasbeenset t
ledsothatall f
il
li
nvolved.
Theceremonyisalsodoneint
heeveningbecausei
tisassumedt
hatduri
ngdayti
me
ther
earemanypeopl ewhomightnotwishthefami
l
ywel l
andwil
ltr
ytodoevi
lthi
ngs
l
ikewit
chcraf
tift
heywitnesst
heproceedings.
Beforetheguestscome,spies,usual
l
yauntsf r
om bot
hsidesareplacedi
ndif
fer
ent
partsofthehomet oseewhocomesbef or
ei ti
seveni
ng.Thi
si smoreofagame.The
fi
rstpersontoseethearr
ivalofthegroom andhiscompanyululat
esandisawar
deda
gi
ftusuallyi
nform ofmoney
Ari
bbonisplacedatthehome'sent
rance,
usuall
ythegat
esothatbef
orethegroom'
s
f
amilyent
ers,hepaysanagreedent
rancefeebefor
eiti
scutt
ogivehim passage
Af
tercut
ti
ngt
her
ibbon,
muchmor
eul
ulat
ionsar
emadet
oshowhappi
ness
Immediat
elyaf
terenter
ingthecompound,
theyarerequi
redt
ogetont
hei
rhandsand
kneesasasignofrespectandcrawl
tothemother'
sdoor.
Therei
salsoanotherent
rancefeethattheyar
er equi
redtopaybef
oret
heyar
e
welcomed.Thi
sfeeisoftenref
err
edt oasopening-mouthfee
Someoft
heessent
ial
requi
rement
sexpect
edf
rom t
hegr
oom'
ssi
dei
ncl
ude:
2hoes:hoesar
etakent
ocompensat
ethehoesthatgotwor
nouti
nthepr
ocessof
f
eedingthegi
rlwhi
l
eshewasst
il
latthef
ather
'shome
1spear
,thi
sismost
lyf
orhunt
ingpur
poses
Abi
gsaucepanl
ocal
l
yknownasny
wal
-ber
TWOpai
rsofshoesf
ort
hebr
ide'
smot
herandf
ather
Agomesi
andki
koy
i(t
radi
ti
onal
out
fi
ts)f
ort
hebr
ide'
smot
her
Asui
tfort
hebr
ide'
sfat
herAl
ampandpar
aff
inf
ori
t
Goat
sfort
heuncl
esandaunt
soft
hebr
ide
Thegir
lisal
sorequi
redtorecogni
zethegroom endhi
sfamil
yandconsenttheyar
ethe
onesbutbef
oreshefreel
yspeaks,t
hegroom'sfamil
yhastopayacert
ainfee.
Thebr i
deWi l
l t
henspreadanimalskinonthegroundtort
hisiswheret
hedowr ycashi
s
placed.Herfatherwi
llthenchecktheli
sttoconfi
rmthatever
ythi
ngissett
led
accordingl
yandt hegr
oom Wi ll
beacceptedintothef
amily
.Ifevenoneisnot,t
he
functi
on'Millnotpr
oceed.

5
I
fal
li
ssett
led,
ther
eWi l
lbeul
ulat
ionf
rom oneoft
heaunt
stoconf
ir
mthatt
hemar
ri
age
i
sgoi
ngtobeoffi
cial
.
Ther
eisalsoal
otofdanci
ngandulul
ati
onwit
hall
sort
sofdrinksser
vedthroughoutthe
ni
ght.Ol
dwomenrubbigsaucepansonthegr
oundtosoundsofthetr
adi
tionaldance,
l
akubukubu
Forev
erycel
ebrat
ion,
theLangocult
ural
weari
sthegomesi
forl
adi
esandakanzuf
or
men.sui
tscanhoweverbepermi
tted.
Themot her
-in-
lawcooksforthegroom'sf
amilyandthemarr
iagecel
ebr
ati
ontakes
pl
acefor2-3day s.Thi
sincl
udesintr
oduct
ionofall
thefami
l
ymember sofbot
hsi des,
congr
atulat
ionsandconclusi
ons.
Whenall i
sdone,
thebri
deremai
nsathomef orsomedaysassheispreparedbyher
mother,si
ster
sandaunt
sformarri
ageassheleaves,
hermotherpacksforherki
tchen
war
et hatshewil
luset
ocookatherhusband'
shome.
Thebr i
degoeswithhersist
erst
ohernewhome.Thereisfurt
herr
ejoi
cingand
mer r
imentatthegr
oom'shomei nwelcomingt
henewbride.I
naceremonyknownas
kiyal
otomeanappreciat
ion,t
hebri
de'
ssist
ershel
phermakeameal forheri
n-l
awsso
thattheyt
asteherfood.
Event
ual
l
ythebr
ide'
ssi
ster
sleav
einor
derf
ort
henewbr
idet
otakeupherwi
fel
yrol
es
i
nhernewhome.

6
REFERENCES:
Langoweb2016
Jul
i
usOdwee2013"
Tri
cent
enar
yoft
heLangoi
nUganda"
Kihangi
re,
Cypr
imus(
1957)
.mar
ri
agecust
omsoft
heLango(
Uganda)i
nrel
ati
ont
o
canonLaw"
Cur
ley
,Ri
char
dT(
1973)
.El
der
s,Shades,
andWangl
:Changi
nUganda.
Tosh.John(1979)
.ClanleadersandColoni
alChi
eft
sinLango:
ThePol
i
ticalHi
stor
yof
anEastAfri
canStat
eiessSociety1800-
1939.
Jul
i
usP.
O.Odwee.Pr
oposal
tocel
ebr
atea(
300y
ear
s)ofLango
I
mportanceandcont
ri
but
ionst
oUganda.AConf
erencepr
oposal
present
edt
othePr
ime
mini
ster
Mi
nist
er.MangoCul
tur
alFoundat
ion,
Lir
a(Uganda)
,11Nov
embe2011.