A feature of marital affairs for many Bantu-speaking tribes in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, lobola is practiced by, among others, Zulus (pictured). Lobola is also referred to as “bridalwealth”, with the prospective groom’s family negotiating with the bride’s for her hand in marriage. The dowry comes in many forms, including money, but some choose cattle. There were reports in 1998 that Nelson Mandela (of Thembu lineage) paid the marital lobola of 60 cows to the family of new wife Graca Machel.
“It’s the cause of much conflict,” says Lewis, “because in order for a man to get married he must provide often quite a substantial head of cattle, and so he’s in indentured labor to his father until the herd he’s caring for is big enough.” In societies that are cattle based, men tend to marry in their mid-forties, he adds, explaining that “there’s always a backlog of women who are available but unable to marry” because men of a similar age have not yet raised the required bridalwealth.
Article source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/05/health/hunter-gatherer-diet-tanzania-the-conversation/index.html