Royal couple tie knot at scenic venue overlooking Mngazi River
The bride is expected to plunge the spear into the doorway of the main animal kraal of the royal place to mark her seniority as the queen and mother of [the] Amampondomise
Amampondomise King Luzuko Matiwane and his bride Amangcwangule Princess Siyonwabele Langa tied the knot in a white wedding ceremony held at Umngazi River Lodge near Port St Johns on Thursday.
Only about 100 guest attended the private ceremony, held at a breathtaking wedding farm overlooking the Mngazi River.
The wedding was held on the eve of the traditional royal wedding to be held at Kroza Great Place near Qumbu.
Amangcwangule are one of the tribes of Amampondo.
Twins Mpondo and Mpondomise were the founding fathers of the two nations, hence the union of the two royals is dubbed a unification of the twin nations.
In attendance were ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi, Mhlontlo mayor Nompumelelo Dywili and leadership from the Port St Johns municipality.
Elders of both Amangcwangule and Amampondomise also graced the union.
The bride was handed to her groom by her father, Nkosi Phikolomzi Langa, who is a former Port St Johns mayor, while his four wives ululated, sang and danced.
The bride’s dress and veil were designed by Andrettee le Roux from Trinity Bridal Couture.
The dress was off-white with a lace detail tail.
The bouquet contained white roses and gold ribbons.
The groom’s suit was tailormade by Melano Henry and his shoes were from Temadou. The boutonnière had a white rose and diamond details.
The black suit had gold details (buttons) and a white handkerchief.
Their wedding rings had Mr Mati with a heart engraved on hers, and Mrs Mati with a heart engraved on his.
The king and queen exchanged their vows before retired Methodist Church district head Bishop Sizwe Nyembenya.
The reception area had round tables with gold and white chairs and white cloths with beige overlays.
The Thursday wedding was the seventh of eight chapters that started on April 27 with the king paying 70 head of cattle in lobola. Other included the marriage at Mthatha home affairs offices on June 8, utsiki (a welcoming ritual where the bride eats meat and drinks milk of the family she is marrying into) on June 28, and amabhaso (sending-off party) on September 18. The traditional wedding is on Friday.
On August 28, Amangcwangule brought the bride for the ritual of utsiki nokudliswa amasi by the Jola family.
On September 18, her family held amabhaso.
Amampondomise royal spokesperson Nkosi Mnoneleli Ranuga said he had slaughtered 30 sheep and 15 cattle for the traditional wedding
“These all come from the nation. Each traditional council contributed R15,000 towards this traditional wedding.
“The bride is expected to plunge the spear into the doorway of the main animal kraal of the royal place to mark her seniority as the queen and mother of Amampondomise nation,” Ranuga said.
All the kings and queens of the Eastern Cape and government leaders were invited.
After the wedding, Amampondomise plan to work towards coronation of the king.