Tonga Tribe
The Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe (also called ‘Batonga’) are a Bantu ethnic group of southern Zambia extraction. A small fraction of the Tonga people could be found in neighboring Northern Zimbabwe, extending towards Mozambique.
They have settled agriculturists who grow corn (maize) primarily for subsistence but also for limited commercial purposes. The vast majority of Tonga live in small, dispersed villages.
Marriage Tradition and Customs of Tonga
Kusela
This is common marriage practice among the Tongas. A man, who chooses to take a wife more openly as opposed to eloping, may send his representative to the bride’s family to make known his intentions of marrying their daughter. According to standard Tonga practices, Kusela is often practiced in urban areas, especially where a Tonga is marrying another tribe.
Chijalula Mulomo
Among the Tongans, the groom or his representatives are not expected to utter any word to the bride’s family without payment of a token in the form of cash, which symbolizes permission to talk.
Before asking for blessings for a hand in marriage and to commence discussions, the groom’s representatives ask for a slight hollow plate where they put in a certain amount of cash, known as chijalula mulomo.
Upon payment of chijalula mulomo, the groom is asked to pay his bride price, which is traditionally valued in the form of cattle. Payment in the form of livestock happens mainly when the bride and the groom are Tongan. Otherwise, the payment is paid with money.
Fakalelea
Fakalelea is the celebration before the wedding (similar to bachelor eve). Tongan weddings generally take three days. This is done to show that everyone is truly happy for the marriage to take place. There is also a lot of dancing and exchanging other foods and gifts between the families.
Marriage Proceedings
Source: Paula Moimoi Latu
Marriages and weddings among the Tongas are considered a time of grand celebration. During the wedding, the two extended families participate in an exchange of mats and goods.
One of the many famous traditions known to Tongans is tapa cloth making. A wedding couple will have to wear a special Tongan ta’ovala made of tapa cloth and mats. Most of the wedding attire was made out of tapa cloth.
The ceremony is accompanied by a feast, singing, dancing, and many speeches. The bride typically performs her last traditional Tongan solo dance (tau’olunga), signifying the end of her life as a single woman.
Conclusion
The Tongan people of Zambia practiced a robust traditional wedding with various rites and rituals. Marriage to the Tongans is a socio-cultural event involving a long bond between the couple. In the olden days, pre-puberty marriage was familiar, but nowadays, this has disappeared. Polygamy is practiced, but it is scarce.
There is a unique dowry system among the Tongans that requires cows as means of payment. In recent times, Westernization has eroded many of these marriage customs and traditions, while white Christian marriage has gradually toppled traditional weddings, especially in urbanized Tonga communities.
Although some people in the rural settlement of the Tonga tribe still find maximum satisfaction in their indigenous approach to marriage, thus upholding the values of the Tonga marriage traditions and principles.
