Sunjata
The bride-carrying ceremony in the West African epic, “Sunjata,” originated from the
fact that the feet of the new bride, Sologon Conde, are twisted, so whenever she tries to walk
toward the home of her new husband, Maghan Konfara, she kicks dust onto the other women in the
town. As a result, the women carry her while singing a humiliating song to
her the entire way. The women begin first by making light of the fact that
Sologon’s feet kick up dust as they sing, “Walk well. Do not put us in the
dust” (Sunjata 761-762) and then continue their taunt by singing about her bald
head by comparing it to a “Heron-head” (780). Upon arriving at Maghan Konfara’s
home, the women stick their heads in and out of the house three times
before sending the bride inside in order to avert the sorcery with which her
husband uses to battle his wife’s own use of magic.
In Zulu wedding tradition, The Zulu people of KwaZulu-Natal,
South Africa follow a song-filled wedding ritual by going to the groom's home where
a cow is slaughtered as a sign that the bride is welcomed in her new home. The marriage
finally becomes official when the bride puts money in the cow's stomach
(Pappas). The wedding traditions in “Sunjata” and in Zulu culture are similar
in their incorporation of song into the wedding ceremony, though they vary in
the fact that Zulu culture is deeply rooted in animal sacrifice and precise
rituals whereas “Sunjata” emphasizes the use of dalilu (magic). From a Western perspective, animal sacrifice is
typically viewed as barbaric, but because it has been written about and studied
in several other civilizations, its effect is not necessarily horrifying to
most Westerners. However, the image of a bride inserting her hand into a dead cow’s
stomach is certainly a gruesome one, and it is not an activity in which the
typical Western woman would choose to participate---especially on her wedding
day.
Works Cited
Pappas, Stephanie. “10 Wedding Traditions from Around the World." LiveScience.com.
Live
Science, 01 Nov. 2011. Web. 12 June 2013.
“Sunjata: A
West African Epic of the Mande Peoples.” Trans. David C. Conrad. The Norton
Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puchner.
Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton,
2013. 1517-1576. Print.
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