By Nyasha Dube
Inkomo yohlanga/Mombe yehumai is a very significant component of the Ndebele and Shona culture during matrimonial ceremonies.
It is a sacred cow paid to the bride’s mother as a way of recognizing her labour pains and acknowledging the effort she put in nurturing her daughter.
The inkomo yohlanga/mombe yehumai protocols, when followed properly, can be a source of wealth for many African mothers’ families and generations to come, as the cow is expected to give birth to many calves.
In some cases the cow is usually accompanied by a goat and/or chicken depending on the family’s beliefs.
However, the cow tends to be a source of conflicts for most families, and can do more damage rather than sustaining the family.
How so?
Customarily, the mother is the only one who should have control over the cow, and failure to pay the cow is usually associated with bad luck.
The cow is never substituted with cash or any other form of payment. It always has to be a live beast.
The first challenge is that, sometimes the mother does not receive this cow due to marriage practices like “kutizira” where the daughter just runs away from home and starts staying with the husband without any bride price paid.
Poverty also contributes to failure by the son in law to pay lobola.
Another challenge in African homes is that in most cases, the stock card is registered in the name of the father, because the father controls all assets, hence the cow ends up being registered in the father’s name.
Legally, the mother loses control of the cow and any other calves bred by the cow. This creates problems in the event of disputes caused by death or divorce.
The complex nature of customary laws always disadvantages women because they lack ownership of movable or immovable assets as they spend their whole lives doing unpaid care work.
The father has control to finances, pays for veterinary services and any other costs incurred in the upkeep of the cow, therefore he can decide to sell or kill it anytime.
It is in this regard that Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in partnership with Lupane Youth for Development Trust, is on a quest to educate traditional leaders and communities in Lupane District on the importance of women’s land and property rights.
One of the women in Lupane had this to say:
https://youtu.be/e692evBlUAw
Such complexities in customary laws, and lack of knowledge on general law, can be resolved through education and awareness.
For women in Dongamuzi, cultural practices are a significant part of their lives, but they lack knowledge on how they can benefit from the assets they acquire.
According to legal experts, the law allows women to register inkomo yohlanga/mombe yehumai in their own names on a separate stock card.
This makes it easier in the event of death or divorce, hence showing how customary laws can be merged with general law to benefit women.