The bride was 61 years old and the
groom was an eight-year-old boy! Both
families were present at the wedding of
Sanele Masilela 8-year old boy and
Helen Shabangu 61-year old woman and
the bride’s husband and her five children were also at the wedding in Zimbabwe.
The boy’s aunt, Patience Masilela 46
years old, explained why the wedding
took place. She said:
“The boy was named after his late
grandfather who never had a white
wedding, so the ancestors told the boy
to get married and he chose Helen to be
his bride. The family took his desire to
get married very seriously. They paid for the bride in March last year and spent a
lot on the wedding because they
believed it was what the ancestors
wanted.”
The bride said: “I’m married and have
five kids of my own, but I know that this
is what the ancestors wanted – and now
they are happy. It is a ritual. We are just
playing now, but it is a sign that he will
get married one day.”
The young groom said: “I told my
mother that I wanted to get married
because I really did want to. I chose her
because I love her and I’m happy that I
married her – but I will go to school and
study hard. When I’m older I will marry a lady my own age.”
The bride’s long-time husband, Alfred
Shabangu 65-year old, said that “he
never had a problem with her marrying
the boy, because he too knew that it
was what the ancestors wanted. My
kids and I are happy. We don’t have any problems with it,”
He said; However, some community
members said they were shocked. One
woman said: “How can a family go this
far for the ancestors? It shows that
people do take messages from the
ancestors seriously.” This was a not a legal marriage – it was only done for
ritual purposes. The happy couple seal
their marriage with a kiss.
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