Malawian wedding traditions are among some of the most valued traditions in the country. Each tribe has its unique wedding traditions that they follow whenever a man and a woman are getting engaged.
Malawi has both matrilineal and patrilineal descent systems. Issues around marriage, including the age at first marriage, decision making on when and to whom to get married, and the type of marriage a couple will engage in, largely depends on the prevailing descent systems, among other factors. In patrilineal systems of descent, upon marriage the woman moves to the man’s village and lives among his relatives and this new family becomes an integral part of the husband’s lineage. Children in patrilineal communities belong to the man’s line. The man has the responsibility of bringing up the children. In Malawi, the patrilineal system is found mostly in the northern region, for example, among the Ngoni of Mzimba and the Tumbuka of Rumphi and Nsanje and Chikwawa in southern Malawi.
In matrilineal systems of descent, a family is an integral part of the woman’s lineage. Two types of marriages exist in Malawi’s matrilineal systems and these are chikamwini and chitengwa. In Chikamwini a man leaves his family and goes to live in his wife’s village where he stays with her relatives. Chitengwa is when the woman goes to live in the man’s village. The children from both chikamwini and chitengwa belong to the woman’s lineage. Chikamwini is prevalent in southern Malawi among the Yao, Nyanja and Lomwe. Chitengwa is more prevalent in the central region in Malawi among the Chewa. Customary marriage is the most common form of marriage in all regions and religious marriage is also very common. Partnership without marriage is most common in the Southern Region and in urban areas, Women in general enter marriage or partnership significantly earlier than men.
- Lobola
In the northern region, they practice Patrinual system groom to the bride’s family. Lobola is paid in form of cattle or sometimes cash equivalent to the number of cattle charged. The minimum number of cattle for a wedding to take place is three.
- Chikamwini
- Chitengwa
