Greetings From South Africa Richards Bay, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town

After leaving beautiful Réunion island in the Indian Ocean, we hit the expected rough seas with 30 ft waves before we made it to South Africa with its many big game preserves and tradition-rich Zulu population.

I thought big game reserves where limited to wild life safaris in Central Africa but was pleasantly surprised that South Africa too, had plenty of game preserves. Our excursions took us to Addo Elephant National Park which contains the Big 5 – Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Buffalo and Leopard, as well as a boat ride in Port Elizabeth to observe water animals such as Hippos and Crocodiles.

Unfortunately it was cold and cloudy at Addo, so much of the wildlife was huddled too far away although we were lucky enough to see zebras, a bull elephant, water buffalos and antelopes. Many of the included pictures were “borrowed” from fellow passengers and staff.

The neat thing about excursions that require long bus rides is the stories our “good” guides tell us. Once back to the ship, we re-tell interesting titbits and discover they are generally consistent.

Of the many, many Zulu traditions, love and marriage are significantly different than ours and human relations are most interesting anyway, so I will relate what we learned in our brief visit to their country.

Polygamy is legal and a sign of a person’s status and wealth. Also a person’s wealth is measured by his cattle.

“The Zulu kingdom has a king, determined by the royal family line. Each spring the Reed Dance takes place in the town where the Zulu king resides. This festival is a rite of passage and celebrates fertility, virginity, and respect for elders and Zulu traditions. Typically around 40,000 women participate. During this four-day event of song and dance, verified virgins wearing only short skirts and a beaded necklaces carry reeds and set them before the queen mother. Tour guide said that the king has the right to pick another wife from this group of women.

When a man is interested in a young woman, he will go to her home and negotiations begin, always in cows. For a good wife he must own land and give her parents 11 cows. If the woman is no longer a virgin, less cows are needed, if she has a child even less which is a disgrace to the family. This is not really buying a bride, more like thanking the family for raising such a fine woman. It is the daughter’s choice whether she will accept the offer. Once married, women are completely clothed to show they are off limits. A man is not considered a man unless he is married so he must eat with the boys no matter his age. Also a girl is not considered a woman until she is married, no matter what her age. She must eat separately because she shouldn’t be influenced by the married women.” (Copied from Mark Rholl”s blog)

Boys must also earn the right of passage (story told by another tour guide). At 18 years old, boys go to a mountain for three weeks with a male elder to teach them what they need to know to be men. When the elder decides they know enough, they are circumcised using tools found in nature, OUCH! They are now men and the rite of passage is celebrated by drumming and singing traditional songs.

Now their priority is earning more money to buy the cows required to acquire a wife. Once the man has accumulated enough cash, The uncle goes to the potential bride’s family for more serious negotiations to determine family compatibility. Eventually they settle on a bride “price”, usually around 3 bulls, 5 cows, a horse and 10 sheep or about 53,000 rand ($3,000)…….She then moves to the man’s family house, changes names and lives with her in-laws.  I could go on but there are too many other traditions to contain in this blog.

We are now rounding the southern tip of Africa, once nicknamed the Cape of Good Storms. Its an area known for its strong winds and rough seas. Tonight we will cross into the Atlantic ocean and our final leg north to Europe and finally to London. I’m looking forward to the many leisurely sea days but sad this part of our journey is almost over. I will continue blogging when interesting events unfold.