Lobola- A Money Making Scheme, or Man See Put More Value On Every Other Thing But Love?

 



Lobola cows no longer a symbol of lobola due to money preferences.

Lobolo is a custom folowed by almost all cultures. It is translated “bride price” because the man pays his fiancee’s family  for her hand in marriage. The tradition is with an intention to bring the two families together, adopting joint respect, and indicating that the man is capable of supporting his wife financially. These days many peole believe that the bride’s family use it as a way to drain money out of the groom, for the family to step up in life using their daughter. It is unfortunate when the couple is ready for commitment but  there is a financial barrier on their way to a sweet holy matrimony. Men nowadays prefer investing their money elsewhere, to receive significant financial returns. If a man is willing to pay R1000 000 for a car but complains about a bride price of R50 000, does it mean man value property than love? Or bride’s families should not put too much value on their daughters as it does not sit well to the man who loves their daughter?

Living In The Media and Heritage Circle



A young Koisan girl is guided by a matured lady, to then pass on the values of the Koisan society to her own children when she is old.

It is assumed that media is a major source of definitions. This is because media displays, constructs and communicates all the changing cultures and values of society. We can therefore agree that mass media are persuasive and are indeed a yardstick for deciding what is beautiful. ‘The style star of the year is….’ is one example of the media’s measurement of normality. Society finds it normal to live their lives copying their super stars. From the way they dress, to how they style their hair, sometimes even their values match those of their stars. Heritage on the other hand is the history, traditions and qualities that a society has had for many years. These are considered an important part of the society’s character. My take on this is; heritage did not rain down but was created because of ancient individuals who decided to do things differently and were considered to be wise personalities. Because legacy lives on, their values became embraced by those who looked up to them. Media measures what is normal and beautiful; heritage controls a society’s character by setting its values. Are we living our lives true to our distinct individuality or are our values and beliefs determined by the media or some prehistoric individuals behind heritage?