“he is scarcely ever seen shedding tears, excepting when the chief lays violent hands upon some part of his horned family; this pierces him to the heart and produces more real grief than would be evinced over the loss of wife and child.”

On another page (85) he says that in time of war the poor women fall into the enemy’s hands, because

“their husbands afford them no assistance or protection whatever.  The preservation of the cattle constitutes the grand object of their solicitude; and with these, which are trained for the purpose, they run at an astonishing rate, leaving both wives and children to take their chances.”

Such being the Kaffir’s relative estimation of cows and women, we might infer that in matrimonial arrangements bovine interests were much more regarded than any possible sentimental considerations; and this we find to be the case.  Barrow (149) tells us that

“the females being considered as the property of their parents, are always disposed of by sale.  The common price of a wife is an ox or a couple of cows.  Love with them is a very confined passion, taking but little hold on the mind.  When an offer is made for the purchase of a daughter, she feels little inclination to refuse; she considers herself as an article at market, and is neither surprised, nor unhappy, nor interested, on being told that she is about to be disposed of.  There is no previous courtship, no exchange of fine sentiments, no nice feelings, no attentions to catch the affections and to attach the heart."[141]

BARGAINING FOR BRIDES

The Rev. L. Grout says in his Zululand (166): 

“So long as the government allows the custom called ukulobolisha, the selling of women in marriage for cattle, just so long the richer and so, for the most part, the older and the already married man will be found, too often, the successful suitor—­not indeed at the feet of the maiden, for she is allowed little or no right to a voice as to whom she shall marry, but at the hands of her heathen proprietor, who, in his degradation, looks less at the affections and preferences of his daughter than at the surest way of filling his kraal with cattle, and thus providing for buying another wife or two.”

So purely commercial is the transaction that if a wife proves very fruitful and healthy, a demand for more cattle is made on her husband (165).  Should she be feeble or barren he may send her back to her father and demand compensation.  A favorite way is to retain a wife as a slave and go on marrying other girls as fast as the man’s means allow.  Theal says (213) that if a wife has no children the husband has a right to return her to her parents and if she has a marriageable sister, take her in exchange.  But the acme of commercialism is reached in a Zulu marriage ceremony described by Shooter.  At the