There is no provision for divorce in Zulu customs: Cultural Expert

Cultural expert Dr Gugu Mazibuko from the University of Johannesburg has stated that Zulu customs do not accommodate divorce. She made these remarks in response to AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s recent court filing seeking to divorce one of his wives.

However, Mazibuko also points out that divorce rates among Zulu people are currently among the highest in the country.

She says traditionally the families of the husband and wife would come together to resolve problems.

Mazibuko says this would provide the children with a sense of security, allowing them to grow up in an intact family.

“Amongst the AmaZulu, there was no divorce; if you marry a wife, you take a wife, and if the wife misbehaves, you are not supposed to divorce the wife, but a lot of engagement and involvement of families, including the chief negotiators from both families, is involved, but if the matter is not resolved, the wife will remain in the homestead with the children, mainly to protect everyone so that the children will grow in the homestead.”

Royal Marriages | AmaZulu King files for divorce

‘Good advisors’

Meanwhile, another cultural expert, Professor Musa Xulu believes King Misuzulu needs good advisors since a divorce could cause complications when it comes to succession because a boy from this marriage would not lose his standing as a prince.

Xulu explains that the fact that the king entered into a civil marriage—instead of also having a customary marriage—further complicates matters. He says it hamstrings members of the royal family to try and help resolve marital problems.

Xulu says it is believed that King Misuzulu plans to marry someone else in the near future.

“This marriage of the King to the wife he is divorcing now was not perfected, meaning that traditional aspects were not performed, and it remains more or less a civil marriage. When it’s private like they go to home affairs and get a certificate and so on, it becomes for families to participate or engage because they were never involved except for lobola negotiations. But in an actual marriage, the actual wedding day is a public affair in Zulu society and many societies in Sub-Saharan Africa that didn’t happen with the King of the Zulus.”

Nontombi Velelo weighs in on King Misuzulu’s divorce: