In most African cultures, women are required to get married when they come of age.
Marriage was really emphasized on to the extent that deliberate preparations are made in advance, even as early as a girl is born.
In Uganda, girls as young as 15 are taken to a paternal aunt’s, called Ssenga for training on how to conduct t
hemselves within a marriage.
“Away from the general conduct, love and respect, there are certain rituals paternal aunts perform for girls to become real women. While at the aunt’s place, a girl is taught about the good and bad side of marriage, how to deal with marital issues and then cautioned to be resilient in case of challenges,” Charles Lwanga Busuulwa, a ceremonial spokesperson told the Daily Monitor.
“The kitchen and bedroom habits are vital aspects during the ssenga’s training,” mentions Annet Nandujja, a commercial ssenga and counsellor. After the training, the bride’s parents along with the f
amily elders would start looking for a man to marry their girl. This is after they are well-informed about the behaviour and background of a certain family that they wished to relate with.
The search for a husband or wife was headed by elders from both the bride and groom’s family but the proposal came from the man’s side. Apart from the elders, the girl had no hand in the preparation or discussions whatsoever, according to Busuulwa.
Back in the day, marriage was taken more seriously than today. Parents groomed their children with a direct motive of getting married at a certain age. This meant giving extra time to the children, most especially girls, to be good wives and mothers. However, today peopl
e start dating or hook up while at school, night clubs or pubs, in taxis or buses and probably move in without their parents’ knowledge.
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