Learn About Traditional Marriage Among Bafumbira People in Uganda

The Bafumbira are a group of people who make the modern Uganda. They live in the district of Kisoro in Southwestern Uganda. They are neighbours to Bakiga, Banyarwanda and Congolese.Marriage is a sacred sacrament according to most religions in this world and the same happened to African traditional societies when it came to marriage as a commitment.Before the coming of Christianity in Uganda, many indigenous tribes had their ways how they initiated marriage ceremonies.

Among those tribes the one that took my attention is that of the Bafumbira –Banyarwanda people in south western Uganda.On this article I will show you how the Bafumbira traditional marriage was carried out.And may be you can learn how really tradition is fading among the modern people. The Bafumbira People in Uganda is of 3 indigenous groups. The Batutsi, The Bahutu And the Batwa.

Compared to the Batwa, and Bahuutu, the Batutsi married at a latter age. Although there seemed to be no taboos against marriage relationships, intermarriages between the Batwa, Bahuutu and Batutsi were rare.Among the Bahuutu and Batutsi, intermarriages between close relatives were prohibited on the claim that this connection would render the resulting offspring weal and vulnerable to spiritual attacks.

Among the Batutsi, boys were usually pressed to marry even before they were ready. The girls were closely watched by their mothers and aunts.In Bafumbira-Banyarwanda,Virginity was highly prized . Premarital pregnancies were unwanted. A girl would be thrown into the forest and left to the mercy of wild animals if she conceived before marriage.

Formerly, parents would arrange marriages for their children. But there was also what was known as Gufata or Gaturura.Gufata was an acceptable forced marriage in which a boy would conspire to and carry away a girl by force to become his wife.Among the Bahuutu, there was also what was known as ukwijana.

This was a pre –arranged marriage in which the girl would sneak away from her parents and go to a boy’s home to get married.This occurred whenever a girl had a pre-marital pregnancy. Both Gufuta and ukwijana were socially accepted but not praise worthy.

Bride wealth was paid in the form of cows and goats. If a girl was forced into marriage, exorbitant bride wealth was paid.

On the other hand, if a girl went to the boy’s home to get married, the bride wealth depended on how the girl went there.If it was the girl who decided to go, bride wealth would be small, but if it was the boy who wooed, it would be exorbitant.

Thereafter, wedding arrangements would be entered into. On the wedding day, local sorghum beer and banana beer were served.The wedding celebrations took place at night and carried on into the morning hours.On wedding days, traditional dances were performed. The Women would ululate while men sang and recited great historical events. They danced in pairs.The men would also jump. The musical instruments were drums and harps. Clapping was a common feature for all the groups. The Batwa were renowned harp players while the Bahuutu, like the Bakiga, played the zither.Among the Batutsi the girls sang and danced in pairs while men danced in groups usually of more than ten people, called intore.

In Bafumbira-Banyarwanda, Polygamy was an acceptable practice. Not only did it increase the man’s status, but it also increases the family size.

“Being monogamous was like marring one’s mother”, so they said. Divorce was also acceptable and could occur in any of the following instances; Drunkenness, ill-treatment, adultery, gluttony, refusal or inability to offer sex and several other undesirable instances.