African Marriages
Marriage in African is determined by cultural dictate of the
particular society in which the marriage ceremony is taking place. Culture is
the totality of people’s way of life and it embraces what people eat, what they
wear, the way they talk, the manner in which they treat their dead and greeted
their new born, et cetera .
It is often said that each society has different ways of
doing things based on the prevalent culture of that particular society such as
dressing, eating, burial, festival and even marriage. However, Africa as the
focal point of this discourse is a continent that is made up of 1000 ethnic
groups which means thousands of different cultures.
With regards to Nigerian wedding ceremonies, such ceremony is
also determined by the culture in which such wedding is taking place. Nigeria
as a country is made up of about 350 ethnic societies.
African Marriages; Yoruba Wedding
Ceremony
At the heart of every wedding ceremony among the Yoruba
speaking culture of the Western Nigeria is the family which plays a prominent
role in marriage process. For instance,
most of the time no wedding can take place without the support
(Blessings) of both parent of the couple especially the bride’s parent who
would have to give their daughter in marriage to the groom’s family. Secondly,
the bride-to- be is not handed over to the groom but to his family especially
the eldest in the groom’s family (groom’s father) due to the fact that the
young groom is responsible to his family as such any misunderstanding between
the couple has to be resolved by the groom’s family.
The contemporary wedding process is
divided into four stages namely;
·
The
introduction stage
·
The
Engagement stage
·
The
Church and or Court(Registry) wedding stage
·
The
reception stage.
The introduction Stage: It is imperative for the couple to receive the “blessings” of their family before
getting hitched. Therefore the two families would like to meet each other in
order for them to know the kind of family their children are getting married
into. The process of introducing the two families to each other is known as
“the introduction”. On the day of
introduction, the groom and at least five members of his own family would go to
his Bride-to-be’s house where the family
of the lady would be waiting to be introduced to their in-laws. Most of the
time, the wedding date would be agreed to by both parties and the obligation of
the groom’s family will be spelt out-this is known as the “Dowry”.
The Engagement stage: This is also known as the traditional
wedding. This is the day the bride would be handed over to the groom’s family.
The groom would come with all the members of his family and the dowry to ask
for the bride’s hand in marriage. It is always a day of fanfare and merriment.
The most important feature of the day is the dowry which is regarded as the
gift that will open the door of the bride’s family house. The dowry contains;
I.
A
she goat
II.
2
bottle of Honey
III.
40
tubers of yam
IV.
A
basket of variety of fruits
V.
Keg
of Palm oil
VI.
Keg
of vegetable oil
VII.
2
carton of wine
VIII.
A
box filled with clothing
IX.
Roasted
fish
X.
Kola
nut
XI.
A
bag of salt
XII.
A
bag of rice
XIII.
1
umbrella
XIV.
4
crate of soft drinks
XV.
A
bible
XVI.
4
envelopes of money -1 for the
father
-1 for
the mother
-1
wives in the family
-1 men
of the family
The highlight of the day is when the
couple are a brought out each at a time amidst dancing and songs. The groom is
first brought in and made to perform certain obligations such as prostrating
with his friend to the bride’s family three times and each time prayer is
rained on him concerning the new quest of marriage. Subsequently, the bride
dances out to come and meet her husband while the two families would pray for
her for fruitfulness in her matrimonial home. Finally, the couple are prayed
for and released to the care of the husband’s family.
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| A typical African dowry |
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| Groom's Family |
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| Sitting with the bride's parent |
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| Bringing the bride out |
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| Display our bride |
Reaveling...
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