For eons, the Baganda have delighted themselves in sustaining their cultural norms and values. These values have been upheld in their way of nurturing children, preparing cuisines, marriage customs among others.
However, with the way Buganda’s traditional marriage has evolved and given ‘vibe,’ the essence of the whole tradition is slowly fading out. This can be loftily attributed to the change of the cost of one of the unifying traditions in Buganda-Kwanjula.
How it was before
The friendship between the families of the proposed groom and his bride was the first and authentic cost for marriage in Buganda. This is the sole reason why the marriages lasted a lifetime, according to Mr. Godfrey Mutumba Kamya, a resident of Wamala cultural anthropologist and traditional wedding Emcee.
“You could not use violence on someone’s daughter because she had no price tag. I was also easy for the elders to talk to the couple whenever they had a misunderstanding,” he no said
The groom’s father initiated the intentiCultureon of having his son marry from the family of his choice. In return, the bride’s father negotiated his daughter’s marriage arrangements. This was without the knowledge of the two intended married couples.
The girl’s father then shared the proposal with his wife and other family members. They would together agree if the boy’s family was fit to mingle with theirs.
Mr Kamya explains that even if the groom’s family had money and were morally upright, but had a record of any hereditary disease, the girl’s family would turn down the marriage offer.
“If both families agreed, the marriage intention would later be made known to the boy who would later visit the girl’s aunt (Ssenga ow’ensonga) in company of his grandfather. They would take paraffin, five Kilograms of sugar and meat to her. During this visit, all the girls in the home would be asked to come and greet the guests. The Senga would then sit behind the intended bride and it is at this point when the intended groom would see his bride to be for the first time,” he says
He further elaborates that after this visit, the senga owensonga would then meet with her brother and other family members and discuss the bride price they intend to ask from the groom’s family in exchange for their daughter.
“This list would then be forwarded to the groom’s family who would in turn, prepare and bring these items on the day of introduction (Kwanjula ekyama). Because the groom’s father was the initiator of the marriage proposal, he was responsible for funding the bride price,” he said
The Bride Price
Bride price items were between five and ten kilograms of meat, five-ten kilograms of sugar, two back cloths ( one for the mother in-law and the other for the aunt), two Kanzus for the bride’s father and brother (omuko), omutwalo that was paid to the father, a gallon of wine (local brew) and five litres of paraffin.
Mr Kamya says that the paraffin worked as a compensation for all the nights the bride’s mother lit a lamp when the baby cried.
He further explained that the paraffin got the name ‘kasuze katya’ from how the neighbors used to ask the mother of the new born. Akaana kasuze katya? translated as how did the baby sleep?
The Mutwalo was taken as a small token of appreciation, thanking the father for raising the bride and teaching her proper home administrative skills.
Unlike now where the groom is escorted by as many guests as the bride’s family can manage, Mr Kamya says that in those days, only between three and four people would be allowed to escort the groom.
These were his sister or grandmother, (his grandmother would join the entourage in the absence of the sister), brother who acted as the best man, grandfather who acted as the traditional Emcee on the groom’s side and his father’s closest friends.
The introduction ceremony usually had not more than 15 people and was held inside the girl’s home.
How it is done now
When western culture sunk in and overtook different African cultures, marriage was not spared either.
For example, unlike traditionally, where the groom’s father used to initiate his son’s marriage, it is no longer done like that, now the son does it and the father is just called to witness.
It is perceived as barbaric and a backward culture by most of the youths for their parents to choose their partners.
Daily monitor spoke to several youths on the matter who said that they would rather stay unmarried than marry someone picked for them by their parents. Majority say marriage is a union between partners who never grew up together thus do not know each other and therefore, it is their obligation to choose them by themselves.
For the past weeks for example, mainstream media has been awashed with a story of a 24 year old Ms Bushura Najjuko who ran away two days to her marriage ceremony only to resurface after a week and informed police that she was running away from a marriage organized by her father.
Mr Kamya explains that these days the majority of people, especially youths, are driven by their physical appearance, education, religion and financial status, while choosing their partners. The inception of the union, he says, greatly influences the entire marriage process and it’s longevity.
“The traditional marriage has become commercial with entertainment involved. The best man is the groom’s closest friend; his entourage is determined by his family and the people who contributed to the function.
Brides’ mothers hire Ssengas to their daughters’ weddings simply because they are not in talks with their sisters’-in-law. Some mothers add their friends’ names to the list of people who are supposed to get Gomesis because they helped in the upbringing of their children,” he said
He adds that in-laws have lost shame for cultural values to the point of undressing and changing clothes at the Kwanjura ceremony.
Even though the ceremony has been hyped, Mr. Kamya says the items that used to make the Kwanjura are still in the game though partly lost meaning.
For instance, he says that as the list of the people who receive gifts on the bride’s side has grown big, the mother, father, brother and Senga’s gifts are packaged in a special way.
Today, uncles, grandfathers and mothers, more aunties and mothers are gifted as well.
The mutwalo can now be given in monetary terms or an expensive gift. Other items taken to the bride’s parents’ home in exchange for her hand in marriage are cows, goats, wholesale shop items, some market items, furniture, a gallon of local brew, five litres of paraffin among others. The ceremony is done in presence of friends, family and members of the community.
Renown Senga for hire and a marriage expert, Ms Hamidah Namatovu says people should not judge brides who hire sengas because many of them have no relatives and others have reasons known to them.
She further revealed that there are situations where brides hire homes for their functions and sometimes, family members too.
Mr Kamya explains that hiring sengas is slowly becoming the new normal because many sengas don’t play their roles of preparing girls for marriage.
“Girls used to be very close to their sengas and the bond started as early as 12 years so by the time the girl would be ready for marriage, the role of the senga was very clear,” he says.
Unlike in the early days where marriage was affordable, given the limited numbers of people attending the ceremony, the current situation has become expensive given the fact that youths have modernized it through organization of meetings, having many people escorting, brides are also expensive, the traditional emcees, and the hype involved in.
