The exorbitant price of marriage in our society

In Botswana, and in African societies generally, a culture has slowly developed which views weddings as opportunities for unparalleled splurging.

The template for these types of weddings is that there must be mountains of food, oceans of hard and soft drinks to quench the semi-desert that is Botswana and more colour in the wardrobe and décor than is available in the rainbow. The people must feast. The people must drink and they must be merry for one’s wedding to find a place in the folklore around ‘the finest weddings the village has ever seen’.  Imagine how huge some villages are and yet those tying the knot are expected to ensure that all palates, tastes, idiosyncrasies and stomachs are fully taken care of.