Hospitality
With 250 ethnic groups,
Nigeria can be easily be referred to as a culturally rich country with
different ethnic backgrounds and culturally resplendent practices to admire.
Marriage traditions is one of such culturally resplendent practices and Jumia
Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares five interesting Nigerian
marriage traditions to know.
The
fulani sharo tradition
In what is referred to as
an ‘act of bravery’ by the groom before he marries his bride, the potential
groom is flogged publicly just before the nuptial and is expected not to wince,
cry or show he is in pain. It is believed that this process will help prove the
worth of the potential groom in terms of strength, endurance and resilience
because the nomadic Fulani are one group of people known for their hard work,
courage and discipline. The tradition is more or less a test of the strength of
the groom, and any groom who cannot endure the required number of strokes
losses out of the marriage race.
The
virginity test
This is an ancient marriage
tradition that has over time become a controversial tradition hotly debated by
two schools of thoughts. One school of thought supports it and believes that a
female’s pride is in having her hymen intact, and the other school of thought
considers it a crude practice that is a relic of a lost age in these modern
times. The practice is typically carried out after the wedding ceremony, when
the groom is expected to consummate the marriage with his bride. The family of
the groom waits outside, at the entrance of the room, for the groom to come out
with a blood stained bed-sheet as a confirmation that he married a virgin. If
the bride fails the test, a euphemistic message to that effect is sent to the
bride’s family, and this spells doom for the woman because she will have to
live with the shame of defiling herself before marriage.
Igbo
marriage tradition of fund solicitation
This is one interesting
marriage tradition that has been hotly debated over time and has prevented a
number of eligible suitors from marrying their love interests. The custom is a
peculiar and largely expensive one that involves presenting a list of gift
items, sometimes alongside cash, before marriage to the prospective bride can
take place. The list gets more expensive if the prospective bride is a bachelor
degree holder, and increases significantly if she has acquired a masters or
doctorate degree. Many a times, this fund solicitation has led to the collapse
of courtships after the man realizes he cannot meet up with the challenging requirements
for marriage.
Custom
of not marrying until the eldest is married
This is mainly synonymous
with the Igbo custom, although it is currently not as widely practiced as it
was in the past. It is based on the belief that marriage should follow in order
of seniority. This tended to cause a lot of fighting and controversy when the
younger sibling will be ripe and ready for marriage with a prospective bride or
potential suitor, but will have to wait for the older sibling to marry first.
Many men and women who found themselves in such situations, decided to postpone
the idea of marriage till their elders tied the knot or, if they couldn’t wait,
go ahead with the marriage without the blessings of their family. In the case
where it was the lady that was affected, some men would prefer to leave the
lady and marry outside such tribes if they couldn’t wait for the lady’s elder
sister(s) to get married first.
The
traditional wedding act of prostrating
This is a Yoruba
traditional wedding act that is practiced even in modern times. Respect is
highly regarded in the Yoruba kingdom and this goes out to every man intending
to marry a Yoruba girl. The groom and his friends will have to prostrate to the
bride’s family, regardless of what they are wearing - be it imported lace or
even gold; there is simply no escaping the tradition. Usually, after the
prayers are said, the groom dances in with some of his friends and prostrates
before the bride’s family.
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