Drummer rewarded with a wife

A Hurungwe man was rewarded with a wife as a token of appreciation for his drumming prowess. The woman is 21 years old. Tizai Marowa received the wife and two goats from Nyamakate family as a “reward” after he showed good drumming skills at a ritual held in the village. 

Marowa, who is occasionally hired to perform at traditional rituals in the village, confirmed receiving the wife and described her as “the greatest gift of my life”.

When NewsDay visited his homestead, the wife was doing her household chores and could neither deny nor confirm the incident, referring all questions to her husband.

“It is true that I was given a wife by the Nyamakate family, after I had performed at their traditional ritual ceremony and I am glad to have them as in-laws because I had grown old without a wife,” confirmed Marowa.

Village headman Knight Chigara also confirmed the incident, saying there was nothing wrong because traditionally men used to pay the bride price using their skills.

“There is nothing sinister about the issue because traditionally men used to pay lobola using different forms, farmers used to pay lobola with grains, while blacksmiths used hoes and axes as a form of lobola,” said the headman. Meanwhile, Women’s Coalition chairperson Virginia Muwanigwa also said there was nothing wrong if the woman consented, but what they are against is forcing women into marriages.

“We don’t accept a situation where women are given into marriages unwillingly since it is illegal to force a person into a marriage. The feeling should be mutual and reciprocal, where both parties are willing to be in the marriage,” said Muwanigwa.