Sino-African marriages bridge cultures

Three years ago, Ya Xing married Ruth Njeri before his friends and family in China. His peers considered him brave for starting a new life in Kenya but the ebullient entrepreneur, once a TV host, did not think so.

"I am in love," he said. "It might be complicated to marry into a new culture, but I think people think too much about it."

Ya, 40, was born in Luoyang, an industrial city in Central China's Henan province. He met Njeri, 34, from Nairobi, Kenya, in a restaurant in Shanghai while she was studying on a Chinese government scholarship. At that time, they were both participating in the World Expo before meeting again in Beijing at events marking the 60th anniversary of foreign students in China.

"It was fate," said Ya.

They are among the new faces defining Sino-African relations. People-to-people exchanges, riding on the back of education, commerce and diplomacy, have buoyed interracial marriages. Such marriages have elicited widespread curiosity about the couples, who admit to responding to numerous requests from strangers to have pictures taken with them.

Moreover, in China, such couples have large numbers of followers on social media platforms. Last year, Beijing Youth Daily reported that a Chinese-Cameroonian couple in Liaoning province earned $1,000 a month in advertising revenue from streaming their lives online.

Ya and Njeri often welcome media crews from China into their home in Nairobi to document their lives. Moreover, they often travel to China to sing in cultural events while responding to a growing fan base on WeChat. They field questions on how they deal with cultural differences.

South African scholar David Monyae believes that such experiences may well pave the way for improving Sino-African trade ties, where culture and language continue to be the biggest hurdles.

He said he has seen growing interest among African youths in understanding cultures. The African philosophy known as Ubuntu is not far from Confucianism, since both emphasize sharing and caring, Monyae said.

"In Ubuntu, we believe that 'I am because of you', which means I cannot exist in your absence. Your well-being is good for me as well. For me to get peace in my life, I have to make sure that my neighbor is not hungry and there's peace in my neighbor's house," Monyae was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.

Meanwhile, Ya faced challenges when he settled with Njeri in Nairobi. To earn a living, they opened a business that soon collapsed because the location and concept were not good. He had difficulties communicating with his in-laws despite successfully performing the traditional bride price ceremony known as ruracio.

"It was hard to fit in at first. But I wanted to understand her background, history and culture," he said.

The number of Chinese-Kenyan marriages has begun to increase. Last year, the Kenyan government received 13 requests for certificates of "no impediment" to marriage - a document needed for a Kenyan to marry anyone outside the country - compared with eight in 2017.

For those in China, the time to obtain the certificate has been drastically reduced due to improved logistics between the two countries.

Njeri finds Ya's diligence and persistence endearing. "Despite the difficulties in language and culture, he never gave up. He still looked for the positive aspects of my culture," she said.

And he found it. The talented musician said that in Kikuyu, Njeri's home district, people have traditional songs similar to those sung by the Dong people of southern China.

"The tune and even the ululation are similar," he said.

lucymorangi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/12/2019 page1)