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On marriage, the
bride is given a marriage blanket nguba which, in time she will
adorn with an intricate design of beadwork that is either added to the blanket's outer
surface or woven into its fabric. |
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The long beaded strips( milingakobe, which literally means 'long
tears') worn by women signifies that her son is currently undergoing initiation to
manhood. Milingakobe records a central event in a woman's life
and wearing marks the attainment of a higher status inNdebele society. It records a
women's simultaneous joy at her son's achieving manhood as well as her sorrow at losing
her boy to the world at large.
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For two weeks prior to her wedding a
bride must be shielded, particularly from the eyes of men. She has to be secluded in a
specially made structure in her parent's home. |
When she emerges from seclusion she is wrapped in a blanket and covered by
a umbrella held by a younger girl who attends to her needs. |
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Amajogolo
five-panelled ceremonial aprons worn by married women. |
| After initiation the
lighabi is replaced with the iphephetu a stiff square
apron |
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The ipometi
is a beaded panel that is suspended from the neck of a married women. |
Isigolwani
is worn by a women
whose husband have not yet provided a housefor her. |
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