AFL1501 ASSIGNMENT 4

Name and surname :Tiisetso Mofokeng

Student Number:15085295

Group Number:

Department of African Languages, Unisa

AFL1501: Language through an African Lens)

Name of instructor:

Name of TA:

Due date: 12 September 2022

Task 1
A. Marriages like these are very complicated and difficult to handle regarding cultural
varieties. I believe that everyone can marry someone who he/she wants and we have
no right to interfere with the decision he/she takes. I believe that African cultures
combined together with Western cultures is not a bad thing. Generations are
changing and things are changing, so we have to adopt to the environmental
conditions we find ourselves in. I find it very normal and I hope all the people who
want to combine cultures could do it without feeling judged or embarrassed. I
personally would like to see more marriages of different culture as it will bring more
knowledge about other cultures

B. In my opinion I think that a person can belong to more than one culture. There are
common situations whereby a Sotho man marries a Zulu woman, the Zulu woman
will have to adapt to the Sotho because now she is part of the Sotho culture. She can
follow the Sotho culture while still following the Zulu culture of her family. She
belongs to both the Sotho culture and the Zulu culture.

C. i. I once attended a marriage between a Xhosa man and Zulu woman. The Xhosa
man could speak both IsiXhosa and IsiZulu fluently. The woman was also familiar
with both languages but I noticed that the couples mostly used IsiZulu to
communicate
ii. The ceremony had a modern style marriage on Saturday and on Sunday they held a
traditional ceremony. On Saturday the groom was wearing a suit and the bride was wearing
a white dress. The groomsmen and the bridesmaids were present just like the casual
commonly known wedding. On Sunday it was a visibly traditional wedding where people
had to wear traditional attires in including both the groom and bride. Traditional food was
on the table and traditional music too was played
iii. There were many different language backgrounds. We had people who speak IsiZulu,
IsiXhosa, Tshivenda, Tswana, Sotho, Afrikaans and English
iv. Xhosa and Zulu was mostly used at the wedding but there was a person who acted as the
translator and translated everything the speakers said to English. When the speaker used
English he translated to Zulu or Sotho. I can say that different languages were
accommodated.
v. The groom wears a white wrapper similar to that of the bride. The bride wears a long skirt
or dress which is called the ljermani. Once married(the guests) a makoti wears a dress given
to her by her husband’s relatives. Guests were served an array of traditional African
delicacies like flame-grilled corn, umngqusho and meaty bones. Xhosa and Zulu music was
played to entertain the guests.
vi. The wedding followed both the traditional and modern style by hosting two separate
events. All the traditional attires worn was inspired by the past generations and they
followed the past generation accordingly. The set of events followed were those of the past
marriage events.

Task 2
A. I would personally would like to have both traditional and modern wedding. I want
to accommodate both my culture whereby I hold a traditional wedding to honour
my culture. People will wear traditional attires and traditional food will be eaten. A
Cow will be slaughtered as it is commonly done at traditional weddings. This is where
the bride is accepted in the family is given a new name. There will also be a modern
wedding where suits and dresses are worn. A pastor will hold the ceremony as the
two families join together to make one family. Modern food will be eaten and
modern music will be played. The modern wedding will be on Saturday and the
traditional wedding will be on Sunday

C. After successful negotiations both families would exchange gifts in the form of
a bottle of wine or whisky, dishes or blankets. The two families will then agree on
the date of the traditional wedding when they will bring the bride to the groom’s
parents’ home. The two families will then slaughter cows and exchange some of
the blood to each other. The bride would then be given a new first name by the
groom’s family, indicating that she has been accepted into the family. This new
name might be a female family name, like a grandma’s name. [Reference:
google,Klipculture.com]

Task 3
A. They should build the public awareness by making events to give more
knowledge and show the roots of the Masai Mara tribe. They can eventually write
books about the tribe and put the books at the library or they can also build
museums consisting of knowledge of the tribe
B. Yes there is, everyone African has to practice his/her tribe freely. Africans believe
in different tribes and in Africa we have to accommodate different tribes because
we are all Africans. Africans rely heavily on their tribes and interfering with their
tribes would be selfish.
C. They could use modern tools/technology further enhance their tribe. Using the
modern Era will accommodate the current generation. By also using modern
technology they can have analysis of everything.
D. Gender roles have changed drastically. Women were considered as housewives,
they had to clean the house, cook, and do other chores like fetching wood or
water . Men would go and find a job to support and provide for the family while
the woman is at the house. Things have changed and both genders provide for
the family as they now both go to work and do the mostly the same job that men
 do. Women were not allowed to be CEO’s or leaders but now women can be
leaders or be the boss of men. It was not normal to see a women driving a truck
or a taxi but now it is normal. Times have changed and Women are now faced
with responsibilities slightly similar to those of men.
E. I believe that this relationship represents Ubuntu because the uncle respected
and helped the Masai Mara people in every way he could. He hunted buffaloes
with them, this is a sign of Ubuntu because he is helping his fellow brothers. In
return, they allowed him to put up a tented camp. He also helped them to the
hospital which is also a sign of Ubuntu

Academic Honesty Declaration:

1. I know that plagiarism means taking and using the ideas, writings, works or inventions of
another as if they were one’s own. I know that plagiarism not only includes verbatim
copying, but also the extensive use of another person’s ideas without proper
acknowledgement (which includes the proper use of quotation marks). I know that
plagiarism covers the use of material found in textual sources and from the Internet.
2. I acknowledge and understand that plagiarism is wrong.
3. I understand that my research proposal must be accurately referenced.
4. This research proposal is my own work. I acknowledge that copying someone else’s
research, or part of it, is wrong, and that submitting identical work to others constitutes a
form of plagiarism.
5. I have not allowed, nor will I in the future allow anyone to copy my work with the
intention of passing it off as their own work.
6. I confirm that I have read and understood UNISA’s Policy for Copyright and Plagiarism
- https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Apply-for-admission/Master%27s-&-
doctoral-degrees/Policies,-procedures-&-forms

Full Name: Tiisetso Victor Mofokeng

Student No:15085295