Analyse the importance of marriage in Indigenous Religion.

Authored by Zivave W
(PhD) @0773902626.

Marriage is defined as a union between a man and woman/women as husband and

wives. It is sealed through lobola payment.

 Marriage should be productive: It is a common belief that marriage should produce

off springs. Children are the seal of the marriage institution. As such, marriage is for
procreation, it perpetuates human life and lineage. Failure to get married is
anathema and is against the traditional beliefs and practices. According to Mbiti
marriage has an obligation to bear children.

 Marriage as interlink between the ancestors, the living and the future generation:
All generations are said to be connected together because of marriage, the past,
present and future generation are jettisoned together through marriage. The past
generation are represented by the elders, the present generation is represented by
one’s own life and the future is represented by the bearing of children.

 Building a family: A family is built around and extended through child bearing. It is
considered tragic if the marriage fails to produce children. As such, mechanisms
are put in place to make sure the family is extended for example through chimutsa
mapfiwa, Chigadzamapfiwa and kugaranhaka.

 Formation of new relationships: Marriage provides for new social relationships to

be established between families and relatives involved “inosunga ukama”. It
extends the web of kinship socially. As such marriage is between two unrelated
people who come together as husband and wife. This will eventually lead to the
creation of new relations.

 Remembrance of parents after death: Marriage and children produced in marriage

help in commemorating the parents when they die. Anyone who dies without living
behind a child who will help in libation (kupira) is unfortunate. Thus marriage is
connected with life after death. Since death is not death in African cosmology, the
products of marriage are therefore important in remembering the dead through
kupira

 Improvement of one’s status: Marriage puts the individual and his family on the
 social, religious and physical map of the community (Mbiti). A person is recognised
as a holistic person when he/she gets married. The more the children a person has
the higher the status he has. This is the reason why the person who is not married
or delayed in getting married is given derogatory names like pfunda, tsikombi,
mumvana. According to Mbiti “without marriage a person is only a human being
minus”. As such, marriage upgrades one’s status in society.

 Improvement of virtues: Marriage creates good personal qualities which makes

one human. Virtues of life which are marriage and family life brings include love,
good character, hard work, beauty, companionship, caring for one another, parental
duties and kindness. These are the qualities of humanness which propagate and
grow within marriage in an African setting. Success is associated with marriage.

However:

 Conflicts: Marriage is a source of conflict between two families particularly in the

case of failure to pay lobola.

 Stress: It causes stress on one of the married partners and even in-laws.

 Gender imbalance: It is the source of marginalisation of women and strengthening

of patriarchy