lobola

…wives through the payment of lobola (bridewealth). Political structure consisted of a number of subsidiary chiefdoms subordinated in varying degrees to a central chieftaincy under a royal lineage.

…of cattle as bridewealth (lobola).

…groom in a custom called lobola. Matrilineal descent is also observed by the Venda, especially in the religious practice of the ancestor cult. Ancestral spirits, including those of chiefs, are among those thought to inhabit the Venda countryside. Ralu Vhimba is the deity traditionally recognized.