What follows are personal observations based on -

• my own experience of marriage in rural Zimbabwe,
  
• conversations with my Zimbabwean in-laws,
  
• observations of rural society in Zimbabwe during the three years I spent living there, and
  
• what I have read about the subject in the years since then.

I claim no special scholarship of the subject! The custom is highly complex and there are considerable variations in the practice of roora throughout Zimbabwe. At best all I can hope to do is to provide a brief introduction to the subject.

What is the meaning of Roora?

Translation is invariably a difficult and imprecise process. The Shona word, "roora", is generally rendered into English as meaning either "bride-price" or "dowry". However I believe that these terms are misnomers and do not adequately reflect either the process or function of roora in Shona society.

A more subtle and accurate rendering of the meaning of roora is found in

HANNON: Standard Shona Dictionary.

Here we find that, in the Shona language, ku-roora means

"to be a partner in a marriage transaction; to acquire a wife by Shona custom"

Roora should not be seen as payment for the bride. Valuables are given to the girl's family to legitimate or seal the marriage. It is also important to recognise that this is not something which can be understood in isolation. Roora is but one component of the rich fabric of Shona custom, which defines and regulates the complex relationships between tribe, family and individual.

How Roora is determined

The first step in the process involves the selection of a munyai, or messenger, whose function is to convey news of the intended marriage to the family of the bride-to-be. The munyai will either be a relative or a close friend of the suitor.

The manner in which the news is conveyed to the woman's family may appear somewhat curious, though anthropologists have speculated that it emerged from a historical necessity. (See "Historical Context" below) The munyai approaches the village, finds himself a vantage point at a safe distance and calls out

"Matsvakirai kuno!"      "Look, here she is!"

It is customary that any villagers, who may be within earshot, will then chase away the munyai while attempting to beat him with whips!!

Some time later the munyai will be allowed to return to the village without fear of chastisement. The family elders (in practice, this would normally be the woman's uncles, rather her father) then meet to determine at what level the roora should be set. Beer is brewed and shared to formalise the settlement. The munyai then returns with the terms to the groom-to-be.

In rural Zimbabwe a man and his cattle are not easily separated. They pull his plough, fertilise his fields and give him security. It is not surprising then that the major portion of roora will usually consist of a specified number of cattle.

Roora is but one element of the process - other gifts, blankets and perhaps shoes, hats and suits for the woman's parents may also be exchanged. The son-in-law will probably deliver these in the short term. However it is not expected that he should provide all the cattle immediately.

Completing the process of roora will most likely take the son-in-law a considerable number of years.

The Historical Context

Naturally enough I enquired of my wife's family why Shona custom required the use of the munyai and, in particular, what lay behind the chasing and beating of the unfortunate messenger! I was told that they could not say for sure - it was simply a part of Shona culture.

One possible explanation of the origins of this custom is given in

"SYMBOLS OF LIFE" by Herbert Aschwanden (Mambo Press, 1982)

- an investigation into the oral tradition of the Karanga tribe, the largest of all Shona-speaking groups. With cultural prohibitions on marrying someone with the same "totem" (clan name) as oneself, young men were often required to find "foreign woman" as brides. Aschwanden states:-

"The earliest method of obtaining foreign women was by forcible abduction. A group of men went and overpowered some girl while she was fetching water or collecting fire-wood.... As a rule, such violent proceedings caused tribal feuds and much bloodshed. One was, therefore, anxious to find other, more peaceful ways such as the following. One first took the girl to the hut of an old woman and left her in peace, so that one could always return her unhurt to her own people. A messenger then crept up to the kraal of the girl's people and shouted towards the village: 'Matsvakirai kuno, look, she is here.' He then ran for his life, for such bad news was, if possible, taken out on the messenger. If he was caught he was beaten unconscious or even killed.

This attempt to inform the other tribe shows the beginning of a desire for a peaceful solution to the problem. One was trying to make contact and find a basis for negotiations in the hope of avoiding a feud. This was the purpose of the brave messenger who risked his own life. If it did come to negotiations, the offending tribe had to pay a fine called pwanya zhowa, the 'breaching of the kraal fence'. The fine was a heavy one..."

How is Roora viewed within contemporary Zimbabwean society?

There is a Shona proverb, which states:

Mukwasha mukuyu, haaperi kudyiwa.

The son-in-law is a fig tree; he never stops being consumed.

(The fig tree always bears fruit.)

The proverb is likely to be quoted by a munyai in the course of the original roora negotiations or later by a mukwasha bemoaning the "demands" of his tezvara (father-in-law) for another instalment of roora. The elders who receive roora and the young men who pay roora tend to view the custom somewhat differently! Should we be surprised?!

In the modern era when the young men have a greater appreciation than before of marriage customs in other parts of the world, many of them see roora as either primitive or out-of-date. The elders, on the other hand, profess the belief that roora is a key strand in the fabric which is rural Zimbabwean society. (One may surmise that considerations of their own financial self-interest play a significant part in informing their respective views.)

Many young girls see a man's willingness to pay substantial roora as confirmation of his commitment to the marriage. Others might regret that the new family unit is being established already burdened with a semi-permanent and substantial debt.

In practice the custom of roora is concerned with far more than simply the transfer of material goods between the two families. Roora plays a fundamental role in defining the relationships between the two families and, in particular, the levels of respect, which are due between various members of each family.

What does this mean in practice?

THE SHONA PEOPLES by Michael Bourdillon (Mambo Press, 1987) states:

"... cattle were traditionally paid not simply to the head of the family of the girl, but to the family group, and were normally reserved for the marriage exchanges of the young men in the group. (Roora) paid for her make their marriages possible, and a man can expect special hospitality from his wife's brother's wife who is married with the cattle he originally paid."

Conversely younger brothers owe their married sisters a high degree of respect.

Why do young men continue to pay roora? Under traditional customary law, roora is mandatory. A man's children only belong to him after he pays roora. If a woman died while living with a man before he paid roora for her, he had no right to bury her.

Our Own Experience of the Process

When Norah Matyatya and I decided to marry in January, 1992, Norah was already living in Ireland some 8000 km. away from her home in Wedza. However it was clear to me that we should do as much as was reasonably possible to respect the marriage customs of our respective cultures.

Since I had no relatives living in Zimbabwe, I chose one of Norah's brothers-in-law, with whom I was acquainted, as my munyai. Taking account of the difficulties which our remoteness presented, the elders decided that the monetary value of the roora should be determined and that I would be permitted to pay in cash. A friend, living in Harare, travelled to Wedza in the company of the munyai and made this payment on my behalf.

In 1993, Norah and I travelled to Zimbabwe to wed - the process of wedding and marriage being quite distinct in Shona culture. The couple are considered married once the payment of roora has begun. Wedding is a parallel process and would probably only be seen as essential by those Shona who are Christians. It does have benefits for the married couple, as the wedding gifts are often looked upon as a return for the outlay of roora! However wedding may not occur until many years after the marriage.

(My parents also travelled to Wedza for the wedding and in this way we fulfilled both Shona and Irish custom.)

None of my wife's brothers has yet married, so I have been unable to test whether I can expect special hospitality from my wife's brother's wife! However I and my family are warmly welcomed and honoured each time we return to the village in Wedza. So it seems clear to me that if we are prepared to show respect for the customs of others, even though those customs may sometimes seem quite strange to us, we will be repaid a thousand times over.