AmaZulu king Misuzulu and his fourth wife, queen Sihle Mdluli
Cultural expert Professor Sihawu Ngubane and the Zulu royal family have moved to defuse the confusion surrounding the status of King Misuzulu’s new wife, Queen Sihle Mdluli, regarding her acquisition of "mother of the nation" status.
The confusion arose from the 70 cattle the King gave to the Mdluli family as part of lobola last week. The cattle were donated by several amakhosi (traditional leaders), and people confused the donation with the cultural policy where each Inkosi provides a cow for the King to take a "mother of the nation" who will bear the heir.
Weighing in on the confusion on Thursday, Ngubane cautioned people to distinguish between the donation (isipheko) and the contribution to lobola for a King’s wife who will bear the heir. He said when the King decides that he needs a wife to bear the heir, he directs his Traditional Prime Minister to make an announcement to the nation. Each Inkosi and his tribe will then provide a cow as a lobola contribution. However, in the case of Queen Mdluli, Ngubane said amakhosi willingly gave these cattle as a donation, not as a lobola contribution as defined by the cultural practice.
