•By Citizen Agba Jalingo.
The force with which the dominant cultures of the world are coming at us is threatening to obliterate the vulnerable, centuries old cultures who still want to cling on to their ancestral paths. But across the world, these enclaves abound.
In Asia, the Khasi and Garo tribes in Meghalaya, NorthEast India, still practice matrilineal descent. Women play the dominant role in the society where their men are perceived as second class and have formed several organizations to protect men’s rights.
In the Khasi and Garo tradition, the youngest daughter, known as Ka Khadduh, inherits ancestral property and also holds the pivotal role of looking after the welfare of her parents in their old age, as well as the welfare and education of her siblings. Both tribes accept pre-marital sex by women, but adultery by women is punished. Mothers or mothers-in-law are responsible for the care of children. Husbands live with their mother- in-law after marriage.
Children take their mother’s surname, not their father’s name. In case a couple have no daughters, they can adopt a daughter and pass property rights to her. The birth of a girl is celebrated while the birth of a boy child is just accepted, and there is no social stigma associated with women remarrying or giving birth out of wedlock. They love it that way and are protecting this tradition jealously.
Back here in Africa, we take the example of a tribe in Uganda. Banyankole is a tribe in Uganda in East Africa and Banyankole parents derive great joy and pride when their children marry within the tribe. Virginity is held in high esteem amongst the Banyankole people so the girls must abstain from premarital sex. When a girl gets to the age of eight or nine, it is the duty of her aunt to groom her for expected family life.
On the wedding day, in the Banyankole tribe, before the actual consummation of the marriage rites, the bride’s aunt must test the sexual ability of the groom by having sex with him. This is to make sure that the groom is potent.
During the act, the aunt learns all the sex desires of the groom as well as his favourite styles so she can give the new bride the necessary bedroom advice. After the marriage, the aunt will even observe or listen in while the bride and groom engage in sexual activity to help the couple improve their sex life.
Then back in Europe, every first Saturday of the Orthodox Christian Lent, the town of Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, is usually busy in merrymaking. All the people of the Kalaidzhis tribe join together and celebrate with dance, music, and food. Young teenage girls, adorned with beautiful outfits and gold ornaments, with heavy makeup are presented for sale in the bride market. Their mothers also accompany them in full festive mood and dress very nicely. The mothers are very proud of their daughters as they have grown up and are eligible for sale to suitors, as their centuries old tradition demands.
The virginity of the young girls is a very important factor amongst the Kalaidzhis community before selling the girls. If the girl is a virgin, they would be sold at a much higher price which is beneficial to the family. But if the girl is not a virgin, then the family would get a lower price. The young girls are sold to the men for about $7500 to $11300 after a lot of bargaining. Marriage outside the tribe is strictly prohibited.
There are hundreds of these examples of diversity scattered across our continent and the globe. But the question tormenting the carapace of my mind this morning is, will the world profit more from allowing all the cultures to evolve or by over running them with the dominant cultures?
