This article examines the role of customary law in the South African legal system in the context of the Constitution’s attempts to foster cultural diversity and a common citizenship. The article notes that the treatment of cultural rights by the legislature and the courts is an important indicator of how embedded the ideal of common citizenship is in South Africa after 25 years of democracy. Using the customary law of marriage to explore the impact of court decisions on this area of the law, the article concludes that there is cause for concern, especially in the determination of validity of marriage, which is in a state of disarray due to conflicting interpretations of the provisions of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act. It suggests that the search for certainty in customary marriage is misplaced, urging instead an understanding of the processual nature of living customary law as opposed to treating this law as rule-centred. The article concludes by proposing that two core essentials should determine the validity of a customary marriage: the lobolo process and integration of the bride. The key consideration is that these two must be defined widely in the spirit of the values that underlie marriage for the community in question.

本文在宪法旨在促进文化多样性和共同公民身份的背景下，考察了习惯法在南非法律体系中的作用。文章指出，立法机构和法院对文化权利的对待，是南非实行民主25年后，如何体现南非共同公民理想的重要指标。该文章使用婚姻习惯法来探讨法院判决对该法律领域的影响，得出结论，令人担忧的是，尤其是在确定婚姻的有效性时，由于解释矛盾，该婚姻处于混乱状态承认习惯婚姻法的规定。这表明寻找习惯婚姻的确定性是错误的，相反，它敦促人们理解生活习惯法的程序性，而不是将其视为以规则为中心的法律。文章最后提出，两个核心要素应决定习惯婚姻的有效性：lobolo过程和新娘的融合。关键考虑因素是，必须根据构成相关社区婚姻基础的价值观，对这两个因素进行广泛定义。