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) and Helen Shabangu (61) and the
bride’s husband and her five children were also at the wedding in Zimbabwe.
The boy’s
aunt, Patience Masilela (46), 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), 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
seals their marriage with a kiss.
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