The Wife-Stealing Ceremony In South Sudan's Latuka Tribe
If you take a trip to South Sudan and visit the Eastern part of the landlocked country in East Africa, you’ll likely come across the Latuka tribe.
This tribe is mostly traditionalists who believe in nature and ancestral worship. Over the years, they have stayed true to their belief. They have defied all forms of religious penetration from the white missionaries down to the breeze of Islam which is major in North Africa. Another thing that’s interesting to note about the Latuka people is the fact that they promote a communal lifestyle in the tribe. They share what they have with one another and there’s no single person in authority, rather a group of elders.
The Lutaka people’s courting customs are still very different from the typical tradition you know. In Latuka , when a young man wants to marry a girl, he kidnaps her from her home. It is after this act that he goes to visit the girl’s father along with his elder male relatives to ask for the blessing to marry.
The father then has to respond with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. If he says yes and blesses their marriage, he is expected to beat his prospective son-in-law to show consent. However, if he says ‘no’, the young man is at liberty to return the girl to her father’s house or marry her as he so wishes.
The Latuka tribe of South Sudan where men kidnap girls they want to marry before asking for father’s blessing
The Wife-Stealing Ceremony In South Sudan's Latuka Tribe
However, when a man from the Latuka tribe desires to marry a girl, he has to first of all, kidnap her from her family home and thereafter, return to the family to officially ask for her hand in marriage.
The suitor asks the girl’s father for his daughter’s hand in marriage, along with elderly male relatives who accompany him.
With the girl still in his possession, her father is left with a choice on whether or not to agree to the proposal by this suitor. The response of a “yes” or “no” from the father comes with its separate ceremonial activities.
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South Sudan's Latuka Tribe |
If the girl’s father agrees to the proposal from this suitor, as a way of showing his appreciation, he is expected to beat his prospective son-in-law. This action explains that the man is willing to be beaten for her. It’s about the sacrifices he’s willing to make for the woman he loves.
However, if the father’s response is “no”, the choice is left in the hands of the suitor: he decides whether to return the kidnapped daughter or chooses to go ahead to marry her regardless.
Many have argued on this practice for long, wondering if it is right for a woman to be kidnapped and left without a choice to decide if she wants to be with a man or not. But others believe that what the Latuka do is similar to what happens in the Western world.
Common among the crops they grow are groundnuts, sorghum, maize, and tubers like yam and potato.
Cultural Beliefs And Practice Of The Sudanese Latuka Tribe
According to their history, the Latukas embody a communal lifestyle where nothing is kept from anybody: they practice a system of sharing and as such, no single person rules over them. Instead, they have a group of elders who are vested with the authority to guide them.
The Latuka tribe is also known for its strong defiance of many forms of religious penetrations and other cultures, including marriage. Over the years, they have not changed their marriage tradition despite great criticism.
In many other parts of the world, there is usually a gentlemanly ceremony of handing over a woman to a man, mostly by the father of the bride-to-be, after both the man and the woman have agreed to live together.