[De] Attachment (A PartyNextDoor Story)

.14

~~ Nakita T. Ncube ~~
Tuesday May 13th 2014
London, England.

Literally everyone from my dad's side of the family is here. Two of his siblings live out here. One being my auntie Abigail and the other being my uncle Lwazi (luhwah-zee). His other brother, the oldest lives in Ottawa but he's also here; uncle Anele.

Auntie Abigail has one child, my personal favourite. She was also disciplined in South Africa but only for two years. Her name is Nandi. We call her Nadi (nah-dee). She's currently 22 and has just graduated from uni as a pharmacist.

Uncle Anele has two children. One is called Aaron who is 26, him and Vuyo used to be really close. Then another called Evelyn and she's 34. She's married with one kid and one on the way.

Uncle Lwazi has two sons; Emmanuel and Jasper. I know them both quite well because they spent three summers in South Africa whilst I was there. They're twins so they're both 25.

I'm currently sporting a black African attire dress with orangey print (shown below)

The fact that Lobolo starts in the morning makes me want to cry but I love my sister so I'm here for her. I'm just glad it's not my job to look after her baby.

The door bell rings and we know they're here. We are currently sat on the floor. TamTam is sat beside my mom who's beside Stembi. On the other side of Stembi is her best friend and maid of honour, Sola, who's holding Cassie. I'm sat beside her and my mama.

Samuel walks in with 3 uncles and 2 aunties along with his parents, 2 brothers and an extra. The extra is cute though. The Lobolo starts from the door. He had to pay £60 to enter through the door and then another £20 for us to be able to communicate.

My mom starts off stating the three rules she wants and then my auntie follows. My dad is the final one to speak. Whilst that occurs, the extra guy makes eye contact with me every so often.

The next stage is called 'ukususa izitsha' which is basically where he treats my mom. My mom receives a new outfit from Samuel. The following stage is 'ukuvula umlomo wakho' which is where he treats my dad. My dad receives a series of cashmere sweaters.

This is my second time attending one of these and I still don't care. The process doesn't make any sense to me. But I know that for a man in this generation to actually go through with the traditional Lobolo, he loves his girl.

'Ukukhulelwa' is the next stage. This stage is basically symbolic for the groom thanking the mother of the bride for giving birth to the bride. She receives a set of dresses.

After the Ukukhulelwa is over, we can eat something. I get up and go up the stairs to the guest room I'm sharing with Nadi and Raye. It's now just gone past 2 and this started at 10.