CHAPTER VIII 

 MARRIAGE CUSTOMS 



MUCH of the interest in the life of all races centres 

 round the question of marriage. It is interesting to find 

 that in spite of the great difference in the marriage 

 ceremonies it is an almost universal custom to celebrate 

 the wedding with a feast. Many of these celebrations 

 are exceedingly picturesque. 



The Rev. A. L. Kitching, a missionary who has spent 

 a good many years in Africa, describes some of the 

 marriage customs of the native tribes in the Uganda 

 Protectorate. 1 He says : " In Africa one of the prime 

 requisites in a wife is that she should be obedient, 

 and not what the Baganda call mulalu, or mad that 

 is to say, one who is uncertain in temper, impatient 

 of control, and therefore likely to cause trouble. Such 

 a wife may refuse to cook the meals, go off visiting 

 when she ought to be at work, decline to allow the 

 husband access to the food supplies, and make things 

 generally uncomfortable. If prowess and industry are 

 the prime requisites in a husband, then a pliant temper 

 is the sovereign virtue in a wife. 



In the case of a regular marriage the amount due 

 to the father varies in accordance with the sex of the 



1 See Bibliography, 21. 

 HO 



