THEAFRICANS
task such as weeding, culminating in a party when the' day's work was
done.s"
Marriages were major social and economic events. Complex negotia-
tions between the kin of the bride and the kin of the bridegroom preceded a
marriage. It was accompanied by a series ofexchanges ofproperty between
the two groups, including the transfer of cattle from the bridegroom's kin
to the kin of the bride. This custom (Nguni lobola; Sotho bohali) cemented
the relations between the two groups. It also strengthened the hold of
parents over their children, since the parents received the bridewealth and
usually decided whom their children should marry-though
young people
would often find ways to flout their parents' wishes. Wealthy men, es-
pecially chiefs, were polygynous. An exceptionally powerful chief might
have as many as a hundred wives, one of whom was recognized as the
"great wife" and the mother of the heir.
People owned such personal equipment as weapons, axes, hoes, mats,
household utensils, clothing, and ornaments. In addition, men owned the
cattle and the grain, which gavethem economic power over women. There
was no concept of individual land ownership, however. Land belonged to
the community, not to individuals. Familiescould use land in the hamlet or