Greed strains courtship rite in South Africa.

From: Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL) | Date: December 27, 2005| Author: Goering, Laurie | Copyright information

Byline: Laurie Goering

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa _ In rural South Africa, a man seeking a wife has long had to pay a few cattle to her parents, as a token compensation for their loss and as a gesture indicating his financial ability to support a new family.

Lately, though, as South Africa's cities swell with former rural dwellers and with the aspiring nouveau riche, the practice of paying lobolo has gotten increasingly out of hand.

Brides' familie...

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