Nigerian Weddings
By: Immanuela-Nicole Enwesi
Marriage is a union between two people. It is also a union between two families and cultures. Nigeria is significant for its rich and numerous culture and ethnic groups. Some cultures are very unique to a cultural group. Let’s explore the cultural differences in the union of marriage significant to the two out of the three main ethnic groups in Nigeria. We will see a significant difference between the Igbo and Yoruba culture.
RELIGIOUS WEDDING
Although Nigeria has many wedding traditions to choose from, one of the most popular traditions is a religious wedding. A Christian wedding, where the couple and their families go to church, is known as a religious wedding in Nigeria. This ceremony is truly known for blessing the marriage (Itoje, n.d.). This is done depending on a persons religion. In the years past the Christian wedding is mainly to invite the presence of God in the marriage and to take vows before God. Some religious affiliations make it a priority to ensure that the couples specially know the seriousness of the commitment (Itoje, n.d.). On the day of the ceremony, the priest reads a couple of scriptures about marriage from the Bible. For the marriage to be legalized, the couple signs a certificate that is then taken to the registry for the union to be legally recognized by the state.
For the attire of the bride and groom of a religious wedding, it can be simple, or complicated depending on the bride’s taste. The bride has to pick a white, ivory, or cream dress that she loves (cream used to signify second marriage or pregnant bride), which she will be wearing during most of the ceremony. The groom often wears a tuxedo. The most common color of tuxedos for wedding is black suits with white shirts (and the option of a tie that suits the color theme of the wedding). He and his groomsmen also have flowers on the tuxedos which match the color scheme. The bride has a maid(s) of honor and bridesmaids who wear colors that suit the color theme of the as well. They also have a bouquet of flowers that suit the color scheme.
Engagement in this type of wedding tradition is often embarked on depending on the family believes, exposure of the couples and economic status of the couples and their families. Depending on the length of time the couples may have known each other for, and on depending exposure, a couple may want to go the western route of engagement. A typical western couple, will date, then engage each other with a ring. In the Nigerian culture, a young man would ask for the hand of a young lady from her father or the oldest man in that family. If the union is an arranged union, it is usually just an agreement between the fathers of the two families, with little to no impute from the bride, and sometimes the groom (Bender, n.d.). Once the intention of the couples are made known to their families and the families are certified with the relationship, there may or may not be an official engagement party. If the union is arranged by the families, the bride is often forced and encouraged to stay away from any potential suitor, and is encouraged to begin making preparations for her wedding.
The preparations are one of the most time consuming part of the entire wedding. One of the categories that fall under the preparations is the food. When it comes to planning for the wedding food, the brides family is allotted the responsibility of feeding the wedding guests. While the grooms family takes care of the drinks and other responsibilities. The family cooks (usually the family members, but sometimes may hire caterers, depending on the distance of the reception from their home). The food is preparation starts a day or two before the wedding day due to the fact that families buy goats, cows or rams depending on economic status. In Nigeria, the most common wedding foods are Moi-Moi, Eba, Rice and Plantain, etc. Moi-Moi is made up of blended beans which are later mixed with water and eggs. It is then wrapped in foil paper then boiled. Eba is a type of fufu which, is made out of cassava plant. There are also snacks that are common, which are Chin-Chin, Plantain Chips, Suya, and etc. Suya is meat that is cooked, then mixed and combined with spices to add flavor (Nigerian Food Recipe Helping You Explore Top Nigerian Recipes).
For bride preparations, depending on the local customs, the town’s elders might help the bride bathe and prepare for her wedding, or her bride’s made may complete this task (Bender n.d.). She then puts on her make-up, and wears her wedding gown. She is now ready to walk down the isle with her father or most elderly male relation.
TRADITIONAL WEDDING
Another Nigerian wedding tradition that is said to be very common is the traditional wedding. The traditional wedding has several different types and parts to it. There are the Igbo traditional, the Yoruba traditional, and the Hausa traditional wedding. The weddings have their own differences due to customs, language, and engagements. The focused traditional wedding would be the Yoruba traditional. There are many steps to marrying a Yoruba girl. First, there is the engagement.
Due to the fact that the religious wedding is mixed with some traditional features, the engagements are slightly similar. The engagement consists of many parts. First, there is proposal letter. The proposal letter is a letter written by the man’s family, asking for the ladies hand in marriage. The oldest person who is accompanying the man to the house of the bride gives this letter to them. The eldest woman from the bride’s family is to read the letter out loud. After it is read, the bride’s family decides if he is suited for the young lady. Next, if they decide yes, they give him a list of things to bring to the town (Agun, 15 October 2014). This may consist of livestock, money, juices and soda, beers and wines, whiskey, cola nut and etc. When giving these gifts, they are each wrapped up very fancy and beautifully. They are called out one by one and given the same way. Having all the gifts makes the groom look more suitable. When all of those things are given, there is a ceremony that takes place in which the bride is presented the ring and given to the groom’s family.
Subsequently to the ceremony, the wedding preparations begin. There is food to be cooked, gifts to be given, people to be dressed, and family to be invited. In a few months, so plans are made to who will be catering and serving the food. The guest will be buying gifts for the bride and groom. The gifts that the groom’s family gave are given to the town, and are used for wedding preparations. On the day of the wedding, a lot of things happen. The bride is bathed and clothed by the elders of the town; she is also decorated on her hands and feet by henna tattoos (Bender, n.d.).
The bride will then be dressed in traditional native wear. This is a fabric that is sowed and tailored to fit the bride. It may be a wrapper (it is fabric you wrap around the waist) and a native top, or a dress made out of the fabric native. After the clothing is worn, the bride also wears some coral beads on her head, her neck, her waist, and her feet The groom also wears native, with coral beads, but just around his neck.
At the ceremony, the bride dances for the groom and they dance together. They are sprayed money, when guest throw money on the people dancing; the money is meant for the couple getting married, while they dance. Later after that, the pastor prays for them and breaks cola nut for them. Cola nut is used as a sign of peace and harmony between two people. When the cola is broken, it means that there is peace and harmony. Cola nut is very bitter, but the bride and groom must eat it. At the nights end, the bride and groom are married, and they now live together.
Marriage makes two families one. Whether the union is arranged or love at first sight, traditional or religious. The colorful ceremony carries us away, but the core of the union is the ability to endure the uniqueness of each other. Although every wedding ceremony ties each family together, many of the Nigerian traditions are unique and special in their own way. They have different attire, purposes for the wedding, and different engagements. There are many different, unique, and powerful Nigerian weddings and traditions. If you were put in the circumstance, which would you pick?