In The Mind of a Zulu Wife

Chapter 18

Today is the day he and I become officially husband and wife, I am at home in Mpumalanga, waiting in my room, with my cousin doing my make up, and helping me dress up, I believe this is a waste to wear make up and dress up in this expensive dress because I will be wearing a blanket for the whole day, no one will really see how beautiful I truly look. Anyway we finish dressing up and its 5am now we are supposed to be on our way to Mpangeni now, we will not make it at 10am we will be late anyway doesn't matter. My mom comes to my room teary eyed, "look at you, leaving me now you are about be someone's wife and mother. You are joining a big family where you will have to be a daughter, a sister, a mother, an aunt, to everyone in the family. I hope you are ready." She hugs me I feel tears in my eyes falling. 

"I know ma, I will have to take on new responsibilities, but you are my strength ma, don't cry I will still come and visit you." I say.  Thandolwethu(my sister) coming in to join us in the hug. She doesn't cry that one and mostly with no emotions but today she is emotional. My brother (Sethu) comes in he looks at us and my father joins him they are just looking at us cry our eyes out. "We are supposed to be leaving now." My father says. My father starts saying the clan names informing my ancestors that I am now leaving to join the family that was here few months back to be their daughter now. Okay this is real. I am not supposed to look back because its bad luck. I don't look back my brother is driving the car we are in its my fathers car. I am with my cousin Sphesihle the one who did my make up and sister and mother.

We are there before at almost 10:30 am. They start saying clan names of the family they are marrying me to, We came with dancers who are singing at the gate now, alongside my family. The grooms family also comes with their own dancers who are singing inside the yard. Its like a competition between the 2 families I look for my groom, I see him dressed in a traditional Zulu attire looking as yummy as ever. I look down once I spotted him. He looks happy, so I am contempt. The ceremony proceeds well and we are both happy.

At the end of the day

I am officially a Mrs. Xaba. We don't have rings on yet because with umabo they don't form part of the process. "MaZondi, you are so quiet what are thinking about?" He asks me. "I am thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life, thank you for all this." I say being emotional as usual my hormones are working overtime. "No, thank you. You have made me the happiest man on earth. I love you." He says while leaning in for a kiss. The rest is history.

I wake up and the sun is already out and it looks like I am too late to start my wife duties, I was supposed to be up at 5am to prepare breakfast for my in-laws and then start sweeping the yard, I would do that for 6 months but Siyas family said a week is fine because Siya didn't marry me to be his family's slave. I am late and the time is 6:30, I wash as quickly as possible I am tired honestly, but I need to complete this week so we can go to our own house, which I am in a rush to get to, we bought a new house just outside Durban 30 minutes away from where I work and an hour from his work place. I played the pregnancy card getting emotionall and all till he agreed to get a house close to my work. 

I get dressed quickly and its now 7 am. I walk to the kitchen and find the other wives there, they are preparing. "Hey guys I am so sorry, you had to take over my duties. While I slept." I apologize. "we figured you would be late, and you would need our help so here we are, so don't stress nor worry about." Says Anelisa Sihlangu's wife, the older wife and the older brothers wife. She is beautiful and she is a nurse while Sihlangu is I actually don't know what Sihlangu does but they are the richest couple in the room, they are high school lovers. Anelisa is intimidating and she is the one who knows more about this family than any of us. I look around and there is Mnqobi's Wife ZamaJobe, she is beautiful and smart she is an oncologist by profession and she is a professor at one of the top universities in RSA. She is petite and has curves in all the right places. I guess she and Mnqobi met at medical school.