Weddings for just weddings’ sake

daughter, but I am a poor man. I do not have any money and the US$2 000 they are demanding is a lot of money. I honestly cannot raise this money in a year. It is true that we have three children together, but she is not pregnant. It is not like I have been impregnating her for spite. The other children are twins,” he said.

Chief Makoni reprimanded Lamhi for disregarding the land’s customary laws and not paying the bride price for the mother of his children. He advised him to reconcile with his in-laws and pay the lobola.

“What you are doing is against our tradition and customs. Why can’t you just make it official, pay some bride price and be known officially by the Masimuse as their son-in-law?

“Do you not think that this man and his family do not want to enjoy their own daughter’s bride price and marriage benefits? Besides that, do you not know that if both of you die, it is your children and relatives who will suffer because Mirriam is not your relative?” said Chief Makoni.

As a result, the court fined Lamhi three beasts as damages.

Chief Makoni said the fine will not be considered as bride price.

He ordered Lamhi to find a go-between and visit the Masimuse family for bride price negotiations. Lamhi was ordered to pay three goats as masungiro. He was also ordered to have paid the damages and masungiro by the end of this month.

“It is my wish to pay the bride price for their daughter, but I am a poor man.”.

WAY back when daughters used to cook like their mothers, and not drink alcohol like their fathers, as we see them today, weddings used to have significant social and emotional value.

Back then, weddings were once the epitome of social decency and moral uprightness, especially for the fairer sex. During those years of social and moral uprightness, not just anyone could have a wedding.

No!

Weddings were like a lifetime awards ceremony for those who would have resisted temptations that come with adolescent period and would have managed to preserve their dignity and self-worthy during their youth.

Yes, this is back in the years, way back and well before young men started wearing shoes with all colours of the rainbow and call that a fashionable way of dressing. Surely, wedding used to be valued! Yours Truly understands that things change and in fact, the only constant thing in this life we live is change.

But Yours Truly never thought we would one day live to see weddings being reduced to a mere ceremonial activity devoid of the social and emotional attachment it used to have.

For the benefit of those who might think Yours Truly is just blabbering, look no further than the recent wedding of a certain wellknown female socialite.

This is none other than that other socialite whose name is reminiscent of a Biblical character. The Biblical charwho, acter after years without children, she prayed for a son and was eventually favoured by God, hence the meaning of her name “favour” or “grace”.

She recently tied the knot with another man, but we all know her well documented acts of generosity when it comes to the horizontal mambo game.

She is so generous to the extent that even when she was still married to this other businessman, whose surname has something to do with porridge, different men used to quench their thirst from this avowed public well.

That only will let you understand how weddings have been reduced to a mere display of one’s financial clout and nothing more.

If you, gentle reader, think Blabber is just jealous and tainting the name of this sister of ours, Yours Truly will give you a list of men who groaned, mourned, huffed and puffed while enjoying quality time with her. Believe you me, the list will be equal in numbers, if not more, than a football team, with all its first 11, substitutes as well as the technical bench, perhaps the sponsors too.

Oh by the way, it would be remiss if Blabber fails to reprimand this other bare skinned lady whose exaggerated sense of self-importance makes her think she can threaten Yours Truly after her past as well as her daughter’s misdemeanours were recently exposed on this widely read column.

Blabber will surely not dignify nonsense by responding to her empty and senseless threats, but to this, Yours Truly can only say, Madam, get a life!

Have a pleasant Christmas!