When boys from the Hadzabe tribe from the North of Tanzania come of age and are ready for marriage they are obliged by the family-in law to present a dowry of baboon / monkey meat, eland meat, marijuana, tobacco and a traditional beer brewed from honey. It is only after bestowal of these items that the two families will then seat to start wedding preparations. Failure to present these items will nullify the boys eligibility for marriage as the family-in law believes he will be incapable of taking care of his own and the in-laws family.

Daughters over the age of 15 are married with neither their prior knowledge nor consent. The girls only come to find out about their fiancés once the initial stages of the wedding preparations are completed. The girls are not notified in advance for fear that they might run far off to their distant relatives.

The Hadzabe men are monogamous by tradition and are only allowed to re-marry if there arises a dispute between the husband and wife that leads to a separation and divorce.

A BBC News Swahili report by Eagan Salla – https://bit.ly/2LUBAKx

Image from: https://www.hadzaexhibit.org/