Charlene Ruto was taken through Abatsotso cultural practices when she was introduced to Daddy Owen’s home.
Charlene visited Daddy Owen’s rural home in Eshifiru village in Kakamega county for an ‘introduction ceremony’ with the singer’s mother Margaret Mwatia.
The ceremony took place on December 23, 2023, but Daddy Owen only chose to share the photos on January 2, 2023, as he reflected on the major events of the past year.
It’s not clear if Daddy Owen and Charlene’s ‘introduction ceremony’ is real or if it’s just clout chasing.
The Abatsotso Cultural Council of Elders Secretary General Andrew Shiroko Shilenje however insists Charlene was introduced to Daddy Owen’s mother as the singer’s wife.
“Charlene was invited the way we invite a woman who has joined our community as a wife,” Shilenje told The Nairobian.
Shilenje said the groundnuts in a pot presented to Charlene during the ceremony meant that she cooks for her husband.
Culturally, he said, the groundnuts are ‘a motivator in bed’ and the mother-in-law (in this case Owen’s mother) expects grandchildren from the relationship.
“The message from the mother-in-law to the daughter-in-law was very clear…’ let your marriage life blossom and bring forth children,” said Shilenje.
“The lesso Owen’s mother tied around her waist was symbolic in nature as it meant that Charlene should look decent whenever she’s passing near her father-in-law without raising eyebrows, in case she is wearing a skimpy dress that’s revealing.”
He said the lesso also means ‘you are now our wife’ and ‘you have been welcomed to the family officially’ through a traditional wedding.
“The lesso is like a gown and that was an Abatsotso cultural wedding, the reason you saw people celebrating. The community was happy to have gotten a wife.
“If Owen marries Charlene, he cannot divorce her in future because ‘huyo ni bibi wa jamii’ (community wife); he can only marry another wife to make them two,” said Shilenje.
