A new app that calculates your lobola value is now available from Play Store.
“In the olden days, lobola was charged on merits such as virginity, but this app shows how this has changed,” said Nosipho Ngwenya, who has experimented with the app.
The app, developed by Robert Matsaneng, is easy and quick to use. You begin by stating your gender and then answer a series of questions like how much you weigh, what your height is, your marital status, if you have children or not, if you are employed and what qualifications you have.
And at the end of the questionnaire, you find out how much you are worth, in livestock and in rands.
“This is good because families can now stop fighting about how much a man should pay during lobola negotiations,” said newlywed Lesego Molepo.
Lobola is an important part in some cultures and more so the African culture.
A man has to arrange with the family of the woman he wishes to marry and pay the bride price.
In the olden days, lobola was a form of giving thanks to the woman’s family for raising her. Has this principle changed?
In some cultures, after the lobola payment process, the woman leaves her family and joins her husband’s family and has to change her name.
“Back in the day lobola was meant to put families together and not for riches, because nowadays it seems like some families sell their children.
For example, in the Zulu culture back in the day, they would ask for 11 cows and it was easy because they had the cows, but they were not all paid in at once.
Today, however, some families calculate how much a cow is and convert that into monetary value,” said Mpume Nzimande a mother and wife.
When a Northcliff Melville Times reporter calculated her value, she was worth R 82 500, which is equivalent to 11 cows according to the app.
An 18-year-old unemployed woman with children and no tertiary qualification was calculated to being worth R 5000.
The app also shows you bride price averages around the country.
How much do you think you are worth? Calculate your bride price and share the results and your thoughts with us.
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