Saamwoon voor die huwelik - AH Bogaards

which are defined as marriages in accordance with customary law, i.e. marriages
concluded according to the customs and usages tradionally observed amongst
the indigenous African peoples of South Africa, and which forms part of the
culture of those peoples. The payment of lobolo (bogadi, bohali, xuma, lumalo,
thaka, ikhazi, magadi, emabheka etc.) is the hallmark of the customary marriage”
(Malindi, 1999:17).
Volgens De Koker (2001:275) het bogenoemde wet (Suid-Afrika, 2004) egter die
hele komplekse saak van inheemse huwelike net verder gekompliseer. Die
grondwetlike erkenning van die inheemse reg en meer spesifiek van
gewoonteregtelike huwelike het reeds tot ingewikkelde en somtyds kontroversiële
regsvrae en debatte gelei (De Koker, 2001:275). Wanneer hy (De Koker,
2001:275) laasgenoemde stelling maak, oordeel hy nie ligtelik oor die saak nie,
want hy sê dit na aanleiding van studie wat hy gedoen het oor die
regsontwikkeling rondom die inheemse huwelike sedert 1652 tot 2001.
De Koker (2001:274,275) skryf dan ook: “It is clear, however, that when it comes
to African customary law and its harmonization with constitiutional principles and
South Africa‟s international obligations, the courts and the legislature are still
sailing in unchartered waters. One can only hope that this position will change in
time, as knowledge of the legal system increases.”
Tereg skryf Labuschagne (1991b:542) dat ‟n mens by enige studie van die
inheemse reg spesifiek bedag moet wees op etniese verskeidenheid. Alle
stamme, selfs binne breëre volks- en taalverband het nie noodwendig dieselfde
ontwikkelinge deurgegaan nie. Maithufi (1992:628) sluit daarby aan as hy sê “the
proprietary consequences of civil marriages entered into by blacks also differed
form those of other population groups”.
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