Have you ever head of the Dinka custom of marriage? If you haven’t then read on.
In general, African customs demand for dowries, but most do not decide or determine how a man should treat his woman paying the dowry. The Dinka tribe of South Sudan is unique in how they treat newly married women.
Unlike in many African tribes where women are almost considered to be worthless and are objectified, such is not the case with this Sudanese tribe. Despite a payment of dowry that ranges from 100 to 500 cows, newly married women are highly valued are still treated godly by their men.
In the Dinka tribe, once a man gets married, his wife does not have to cook or sweep for a period of fours years. This period is called Anyuuc which means ‘generous welcoming’. It is meant for the new bride to rest, relax and study her husband’s homestead values.
During this time, her husband’s sister will do the cooking, washing utensils, collecting firewood, fetching water, and doing other domestic work till later. After 4 years, her husband will decide to arrange a very big party called “That” (cooking festival) where 3 cows and 5 goats are slaughtered to initiate a wife into cooking for the family.
To reiterate how the Dinka tribe highly values their newly wedded women, if the man misbehaves during the four year Anyuuc period, the wife can decide to leave the marriage and will not have to pay her husband back her dowry, contrary to many other Africa cultures where dowry must be paid back.
