4-5 minutes
Different kinds of events make up traditional marriages in
Nigeria, some totally hilarious and others interesting. Yemi Alade revealed one
of her interesting encounters with a member of the Maasai ethnic group of
Kenya.
According to her, the man offered her 20 cows for her hand
in marriage, but his friend said she was fat and couldn’t build houses.
Seven interesting activities in Nigerian traditional
marriages
Across Nigeria, you’ll find many marriage rites that are
similar to Yemi Alade’s encounter with the Maasai man. Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and
other Nigerian ethnic groups have one or two interesting things about their
marriage rites.
The lift test
One of the interesting things during the Yoruba traditional
marriage is the carrying of the bride by the groom. It doesn’t matter how slim
the groom looks or how weighty the bride is. This sight is always hilarious,
especially when the woman ends up proving too much for the man to carry.
The
lift test is a way for the groom to show that he has the strength to carry the
bride.
Wine Carrying
Wine carrying is a rite during an Igbo traditional marriage
where the bride carries freshly tapped palm wine in a cup and looks for her
husband in the crowd. When she finds him, she goes on her knees and presents
the wine to him.
On his part, he has to accept the drink because to reject it
would be to reject his wife-to-be. After emptying the content of the cup, he
puts some money in it.
Catching of the bride
Catching the bride is an interesting rite that takes place
during a Hausa traditional wedding. It is organized so that the groom’s family
can come and “catch” their beautiful bride. The man and his family are not
allowed to see the bride until they have paid the required token. This is the
final moment between the bride and her friends, which can be heartbreaking and
that is why they ensure that the bride doesn’t go away too easily.
During this
time, the bride’s face is mostly veiled while her friends haggle with the groom
and his family for a price to see the bride’s face.
Hilarious Prayers
The Alaga Iduro is a woman who is the master of ceremonies
at Yoruba traditional weddings. Usually, friends and family shower the couple
with prayers of prosperity, fertility, and good health. But with the Alaga
Iduro, things take a funny twist. The Yoruba people believe that a woman’s
buttocks sitting in her husband’s house for long is a blessing.
It isn’t
uncommon for you to find the Alaga Iduro telling the bride to hold her buttocks
for this prayer.
Raining money
This is a longstanding tradition in the Nigerian traditional
marriage scene. The bride and groom dance on stage while family and friends
spray money on them. The interesting thing here is that the couple have foot
soldiers whose job is to collect every last penny in bags or baskets while
pretending to dance.
Prostrating
During the Yoruba traditional marriage, the groom and all
his friends will come before the bride’s family and prostrate in the dust. It
doesn’t matter the colour of the agbada they’re wearing or how dirty the floor
is, (though in most cases, mats are laid on the floor). When it comes to
respect, no ethnic group in Nigeria comes close to the Yoruba people.
Exchange of vows
In the Hausa culture,
it is the representatives from the groom and bride’s family who exchange vows
and not the bride and groom. They do this in the presence of an Imam and some
wedding guests. They then go on to make prayers for the newly wedded couple and
the celebration continues.
Traditional marriages across Nigeria are quite interesting
for many reasons. The food, the music, the outfits, and the rites all combine
to make the day memorable.
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