Boy 8, Weds 61 Year Old Because Dead Grandpa Said So

[stromboli]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -wife.html

With his feet dangling above the floor and his child's portion of food, it looks like he's having dinner at his grandma's.
In fact Sanele Masilela, 8, is enjoying dinner with his wife, following his marriage to her two weeks ago, and said he is now beginning to feel like a proper husband.
The school boy married Helen Shabangu after his grandfather contacted him from beyond the grave telling him that he needed to wed.

The schoolboy chose family friend and mother-of-five Helen and his family paid £500 for her to be his wife at a £1,000 ceremony in Tshwane, South Africa.
Sanele admitted that since the wedding, he has begun to feel like a married man.
He said:'The day was great and it was exactly what I had imagined it would be like.
'My friends thought it was really funny that I was getting married but I do now feel like a husband.'

Dressed in a bow tie and tiny silver suit, little Sanele, the youngest of five children, exchanged rings in front of 100 guests and even puckered up for a kiss.
But, despite appearances, it wasn't real, the marriage was just a ritual and not legally binding.
The couple do not live together but Helen is often invited to have dinner with him at the family's home.
Sanele has gone back to his life and continues to enjoy school and playing football with his friends but admits that the wedding was important to him.

He said: 'My grandfather contacted me through a picture of my mother's wedding.
'We have a special bond because I am named after him.
'He said he had seen the picture and felt sad that he had never been able to have a white wedding of his own so he asked me to get married. I chose Helen because I love her.'
News of the wedding sent shockwaves around the world but Helen, who has already been married for 30 years and has five children between 37 and 27 years old, defended the ceremony.
She said: 'I know the story went out all over the world and it's great that other countries have been able to learn about our culture and our ancestors.
'What we did was not wrong. It's just our culture. When the ancestors ask something, we do what they say. I don't think other people understand that.

'I know the ancestors are happy now because we are all alright and everything seems better and greater.
'The whole family is much happier than we've ever been.'
Helen admitted the expensive ceremony had been much bigger than her original wedding to husband, Alfred, 65, and had no regrets.
She added: 'I will always stay close to Sanele's family even before the wedding and before Sanele chose me as his wife we were very close.
'Nothing has changed since then.'
Her husband of 30 years, Alfred, 65, said: 'My kids and I are happy.
Sanele also said he hoped he would have a proper wedding to a woman his own age when he was older.

Hey, we got child brides. Why the hell not?

[Hijiri Byakuren]

What. :-s

[aileron]

:-k

[stromboli]

Definitely need to cut back on the coffee.

[Solitary]

That's nice.  :)   Solitary

[LikelyToBreak]

stromboli wrote:

Hey, we got child brides. Why the hell not?

Uh.? I don't know.  Maybe because two wrongs don't make a right.  :-k

What's scary is when grandma says, "'What we did was not wrong. It's just our culture."  I remember a story of a guy getting arrested for molesting his toddler daughter, by rubbing her genitals in public.  His answer was, "'What we did was not wrong. It's just our culture."  Somebody kills their daughter or son because they think they embarrassed the family and then say, "'What we did was not wrong. It's just our culture."  

Its' scary, and otherwise rational people support them in their claims.  

[NeoLogic26]

stromboli wrote:

Hey, we got child brides. Why the hell not?

Uh.? I don't know.  Maybe because two wrongs don't make a right.  :-k

What's scary is when grandma says, "'What we did was not wrong. It's just our culture."  I remember a story of a guy getting arrested for molesting his toddler daughter, by rubbing her genitals in public.  His answer was, "'What we did was not wrong. It's just our culture."  Somebody kills their daughter or son because they think they embarrassed the family and then say, "'What we did was not wrong. It's just our culture."  

Its' scary, and otherwise rational people support them in their claims.  

I do believe you need to get your sarcasm meter in for its 6-month overhaul. I don't think strom was actually suggesting that because there are child brides that child grooms is ok as well.

That said, this story doesn't sound that bad to me. It seems like a quaint cultural thing and that the marriage is not stopping the boy from having a normal childhood. He goes to school, plays with his friends and doesn't even live with his "wife". This is akin to two kids getting "married" in a fake ceremony. Certainly not the same as a middle-aged man taking a child bride who basically assumes the role of housewife at the age of 10.

[stromboli]

We really need a WTF section on here, because that is what this comes under. It isn't religious or political but cultural, which is kind of between the lines, subject wise.

[Colanth]

Two things bother me.

1) "White wedding" - the reason the grandfather supposedly contacted the kid - is a European thing, it has nothing to do with native African culture of any sort.

2) Where did the kid get this idea?  Eight year old kids don't think like that - that he should get married because of something his dead grandfather missed.  Since it wasn't his actual dead grandfather who gave him the idea, some adult had to come up with this.  Some live adult.

And I agree with LtoB - "it's our culture" isn't what decides whether something is right, wrong or even sane.  If it were, HUMAN culture is living in the trees in Africa, so let's all pack up ...

[Brian37]

What. :-s

Human stupidity surprises you?

[Hijiri Byakuren]

What. :-s

Human stupidity surprises you?

No, but new forms of it occasionally catch me off-guard.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I have the impression y'all oppose the basic ownership of children and females in particular?
Isn't that in the buy-bull? (hint: note "buy" in buybull)

[caseagainstfaith]

Sounds pretty weird, but, if it is just a pretend wedding a ritual, not sure it is a lot of harm.  If the 61 year old is trying to consumate the wedding, that would be totally different. As I read it, it is just some goofball thing.