© 2018 Dr Margaret Sheppard

Departure of the Bride to Groom’s Home

As the women walk in procession they will sing a special song for this occasion, especially loudly as they enter the groom's Kgotla:-

Ngwana wa rona 0 a ya  (Our daughter is going, is going)

Ngwana 0 ya gobeleketsa (The child is going to know about the ways of marriage and being a wife( Repeat once

o a go tewa gotwe o.~Egotswana ((She will be called a thief)

Ke baruakgomo (By people who have cattle (are cattle herders))

o ya go tewa gotwe 're a go amoga" ke baruakgomo (She will be told "we welcome you" by people who have cattle.)

This song is sung very sadly, and is not nearly as lively as the songs that are sung by the groom's female relatives as the procession with the bride arrives.

At the bride's home, her married relatives will collect. She will be dressed in her smart clothes, and all the women will be wearing their best clothes and the customary head scarves and blankets (the latter around the shoulders). Then they leave in procession (if it is a long way to the groom's home they will have transport to the edge of the groom's Kgotla. They usually arrange to arrive at the groom’s home at around 2pm.

All her possessions she is taking with her are laid out in the lolwapa and the women who will be taking part in the procession arrange who will carry what. N.B. Only married women who have no problems with their marriages participate in this stage, nor do widows still in their year of mourning - i.e. still wearing black. The possessions are household items and at least one traditional basket of sorghum seed that she will plant at the next ploughing season at her husband’s Lands.

When all are ready, the procession to her new home sets off with the maternal Uncle’s wife leading the way. (If there is more than one maternal Uncle, their respective wives will follow in order of the age(s) of their husbands).  All the women (except the bride) carry one of her possessions on their heads. She carries either a Setswana broom  (as one of her first jobs the next day at her new home will be to sweep) or, more usually nowadays, she will carry a hurricane lamp, as she will be the source of light.

This bride is third in the procession (behind her two maternal Uncles’ wives) to her husband’s home. She is wearing a black and white check blanket.