TRADITIONAL AFRICAN GAY WEDDING GOES INTERNATIONAL

Two young gay men’s traditional African wedding in KwaZulu-Natal has captured the imagination of the world and turned them into African LGBT role models.

In February, Mambaonline reported on the engagement and upcoming marriage of Tshepo Cameron Modisane and Thoba Calvin Sithole.

They chose to publicly proclaim their love for each other to challenge stereotypes surrounding homosexuality.

“Our marriage is largely symbolic and a sign that black gay men can commit and build a family through a happy and loving marriage,” Modisane said at the time.

On Saturday, the 27-year-old men, who live and work in Johannesburg, finally tied the knot in front of 200 guests at the Stanger Siva Sungam community hall.

They were dressed in their respective traditional regalia; Modisane (an audit manager) is Tswana and Sithole (an IT specialist) is Zulu. The couple was welcomed by the enthusiastic community, including friends and family.

Local reports on the groundbreaking wedding, including a video insert by eNews Channel Africa, have since expanded into international headlines. The video of the wedding has been viewed more than 22,000 times.

Commenting on the video, one man said on YouTube: “Yes…. it feels good to see Africans feeling proud of their gay sons and taking to gay marriage in a positive way. THIS is how Africa can be.”

Another commenter wrote: “Good for them. As Long as they are happy. People need to stop the nonsense and allow people to enjoy their lives.”

Websites and blogs around the world, including Towleroad, Huffington Post and Pinknews.co.uk, have described the ceremony as Africa’s first traditional gay wedding.

“It’s crazy,” Modisane told Mambaonline.com. “It’s gone all over the country, and now the world. We even have an interview scheduled with a London-based TV channel. My phone has been off the hook!”

He said that the impact of their very public marriage has exceeded his and Sithole’s expectations.

“We’ve achieved a lot. People are so inspired – they want to come out, especially in the black rural community. They’re inspired by seeing it live on TV and seeing it in the newspapers. It’s had an amazing response”.

Modisane noted that the event has ignited a debate on the widespread myth of homosexuality not being natural to the continent.

“It’s good for the gay community to be tackling this idea that being gay is un-African,” he said, adding, “I believe that this debate is going very far.”

The couple’s traditional wedding is of particular significance in light of recent calls by the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) to remove sexual orientation protection from the Constitution.

In 2006, Contralesa opposed the legalisation of same-sex marriage in South Africa, claiming that “same-sex marriage is against nature, culture (all types of culture), religion and common sense, let alone decency”.

The Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini, has also been accused of making anti-gay statements, including proclaiming that homosexuality is “un-Zulu”.

Watch the eNews Channel Africa report on the wedding below.