Speech events in traditional weddings among the Chasu-speaking speech community

Culture is enacted and transmitted through language, which shapes social identities, values and belief systems. This study examines speech events in Kuchunguiwa, a traditional wedding ritual among the Chasu-speaking community in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, using Dell Hymes’ ethnography of communication as the analytical framework. Data were collected through documentary review of five videotaped ceremonies, which were transcribed and systematically analysed. The study identifies six key speech events: blessings from ancestors, in-laws’ arrival, the groom’s procession, Kuchunguiwa (blessings and counsel-giving), Kudividivishwa (bridal farewell by sisters and the elder brother) and Kuingijwa (the giving away). Analysis reveals that these events integrate verbal and non-verbal acts to negotiate social relationships, transmit moral and cultural values and perform identity transformations during the bride’s transition from her natal household to her marital home. The findings underscore that Chasu marriage ceremonies are complex ritual performances, socially witnessed and culturally codified, linking lineages while embedding both communal and spiritual authority. This study contributes to understanding how speech events structure traditional weddings and highlights the centrality of language in mediating cultural practices and social transitions.