Indigenous Marital Therapy: A Case of Botswana

Abstract

Botswana has a long history of indigenous marital therapy. This indigenous therapy is embodied in the indigenous philosophy of motho ke motho ka batho (I am because we are). This philosophy promotes togetherness, connectedness, collectiveness, compassion, love and harmony and the building of sustainable relationships among families. The paper explores some of the indigenous therapeutic marital approaches used during wedding ceremonies amongst them, songs, proverbs and group counselling.  It also argues that these indigenous marital approaches build family relations and are a continuous source of therapy for the married couple; in addition to relieving women from marital stress and maintaining strong family relationships even after the marriage has ended.