Marriage customs in Africa

Last updated September 23, 2024

Marriage ceremonies within Africa vary greatly between countries due to the diversity of culture and religion throughout the continent. Africa has a population of over 1.4 billion people spread throughout 54 countries.^[1] The large size and extreme diversity of the continent leads to enormous diversity among the marriage ceremonies and traditions that take place. Marriage ceremonies throughout Africa vary greatly depending on the faith of the individuals. The World Book Encyclopedia states that 40% of Africans identify as Christian while 45% are Muslim.^[2]

It is common practice in Africa to combine practices of major religions with local religious traditions.^[3] This is evident in marriage ceremonies where both Islamic and Christian marriages will also follow traditional practices adopted from tribal communities or smaller religions. The wedding is an exceptionally respected tradition within Africa due to their deeply rooted appreciation for the notion of family. Many African communities believe marriage is primarily about procreation and providing for children as this is seen as the foundation of society. They are often encouraged against marrying for love or sexual attraction.

Diversity of African weddings

Due to the sheer size and diversity of Africa, wedding customs vary greatly not just between countries but between local communities. There is a growing trend among African communities where wedding ceremonies and marriage processes are blending traditional customs with modern practices. This is evident throughout many locations within Africa, where Catholic and Islamic followers will participate in traditional customs as well as ones typical to their religion. The diversity of traditional beliefs throughout the country leads to enormous diversity among African communities. Despite this, there are also many similarities between African weddings and the customs that surround them.^[4]

Ceremony and traditions

The various marriage ceremonies performed in Africa begin with the initial introduction between the groom and bride. The Yoruba call this ‘Mo mi i mo e’ (know me and let me know you) while the Igbo call it ‘Ikutu aka n’ulo’ (Knock on the door).^[5] The family is typically involved within this process. Within many African communities, such as Nigerian ethnic groups, the engagement is where the traditional practices are performed.^[6]

It consists of an elaborate ceremony with heavy involvement from both families. The families dress in traditional and often colourful attire. It is common for the families to choose a colour to abide to in their dress code. The ceremony is typically held at the Bride's house. It is here that payment from the groom's family to the bride's is made and wedding rings are exchanged. Traditional customs relevant to the specific community are performed during this engagement ceremony, while the more modern marital customs will be performed at the religious wedding ceremony.^[6] The wedding will consist of more modern marital customs relevant to the religion of the participants families. Examples of this include the exchange of marital vows and modern wedding attire being worn by the bride and groom.

African weddings often consist of modern Islamic/Christian ceremonies whilst intertwining traditional African beliefs and practices. An example of this is the common practice of bridewealth in Africa, particularly among the Zulu people. Bridewealth is when a groom's family pays the bride's family in traditional forms such as livestock, food and clothing to confirm the marriage. In modern practice, the payment is typically in forms of cash. To many Africans, bridewealth is considered to be a crucial part of a marriage ceremony and the marriage will not be acknowledged until the bridewealth has been paid.^[7]^[8]

While this is not a custom of Islamic or Christian marriage, many Africans adopt the traditional practice into their communities creating a strong link between their primary religion and their traditional and cultural beliefs. Enormous economic growth within the continent has caused the bridewealth payment to inflate so significantly that many couples are now straying from the tradition, instead opting for other forms of marriage.^[9]

The amount of bridewealth that a family is able to pay serves as an icon of her family's social status and indicates how much the family will be able to support the groom's. Bridewealth is seen as a form of “insurance” for the bride's family, as they know that if economic hardship entails they are able to rely on the groom's family to care of them. Some academics believe bridewealth leads to marriage stability, as the bride's family will put pressure on the daughter to remain in the marriage if the payment made was of significant value.^[10] In contrast to this practice, other African communities such as many Moroccan ethnic groups participate in a marital custom known as “dowry”. This is where the bride inherits gifts from her family with the purpose of using them within her new home.

Examples of traditional marriage customs within Africa can be seen when analyzing the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The Yoruba integrate many traditional Yoruba marriage customs (such as arranged marriages and bridewealth) into their Christian and Islamic ceremonies.^[11] Marriage to this ethnic group is seen to be the foundation of their society rather than a bond between two people expressing love for one another. They are taught from a young age that marriage is about responsibility and providing to their society by having children. Children are taught through folktales that families built on love and attraction risk damaging the foundation of their community.^[9]

It is cemented into their culture that marriage is about procreation and providing the child with an environment in which they can thrive. It is of traditional belief that the child does not know when he is ready to marry, therefore the parents will make the decision for them. The Yoruba teach proverbs such as ““Bi omode ba to loko, aa fun loko, bi o ba to l’ada, aa fun l’ada” which translates to “when a child is ripe for hoe, he is given a hoe, if he is ripe for cutlass, he is given cutlass”.^[11]

When the parents believe the child is “ripe” for marriage, they will begin the process of seeking out a wife, often without the child knowing. The wife will also be sent a school where she is educated on her roles as a wife and importance of marriage. The traditional beliefs of the Yoruba share some similarities with traditional Catholic marriages, such as the wife being expected to remain a virgin until she is married. Marriage to the Yoruba was not focused on love but rather on structure and order. Some African academics have argued that this is a strong foundation for a society and that it is the woman's role to attend to household duties.^[11] This standpoint is particularly polarizing and has not been backed up by scientific data.

The West African people of Ghana participate in marital customs that differ greatly from many other African countries. Generally, the woman would not live with her husband and would remain living with her parents.^[12] The married couple would have fairly minimal interaction with one another, to such an extent that the wife would often refer to her husband as the father of her sons name.^[12] This form of relationship emphasizes the importance of marriage towards social stability and minimizes the significance of the bond between the husband and wife.

Due to Africa's expansive diversity, marriages within the continent are not limited to previously mentioned forms of marriage. Throughout the continent many individuals are electing for non-traditional forms of marriage that do not abide to traditional African marriage customs or more modern religious customs. This includes marriages performed in front of a registrar, bypassing the religious and traditional aspects of marriage entirely and instead opting for a simplified process which still provides the legal benefits of marriage. Some African couples are opting to bypass the legal marriage status entirely and alternatively having irregular unions as a symbol of their love and connection. Some academics believe this may not be a choice, but rather the outcome of current living conditions within the continent.^[13]

Many Africans are unable to produce the money required to fund a traditional wedding and pay dowry. They may perform their own simplified ceremonies as a response to their economic conditions. Other Africans are unable to participate in tribal or community centric ceremonies as they are required to move far from their community for employment.^[13] These irregular unions are performed when travelling back to their community was unrealistic or unachievable. The significance of marriage forming the foundation of a community is made obsolete if the couple were no longer a part of this community.

Changing attitudes among Africans

Africa is going through a rapid state of change and development, both in an economic sense and a social sense. Alongside this comes a shift in attitude towards marriage and relationships. Studies performed on students within Ghana showed strong evidence suggesting that young people within Africa are drawn towards civil or religious marriages as opposed to traditional marriages.^[12] The study revealed that men were more likely to want a traditional marriage than women.

Polygamy is heavily integrated into traditional Ghanaian marriage. The study also revealed that 73% of young people surveyed believe that polygamy is an outdated process.^[12] The results also show that 87% of students believe love is the most important factor of marriage, despite that in traditional Ghanaian culture, marriage and love share a relatively loose connection.^[12]

Within Ghana, it is common for the maternal uncle to pay dowry. 90% of surveyed students disagreed with this practice, believing the father should pay the dowry and pay for the costs of the child (such as education).^[12] A large majority of these students defended their answer by stating that everyone has a father while not everyone has an uncle. The researchers believe this may be due to a lack of support from their uncles with only 22% of students stating that their uncle had helped them throughout their education.^[12]

The results show a dramatic shift away from traditional beliefs within African communities, with young people holding more progressive attitudes towards relationships and marriage. The rapid economic advancement of Africa is having an enormous impact on the youth and the attitudes they hold towards marriage.

Clothing

Yoruba wedding attire Tmp-cam-7327580579878436180.jpg — Yoruba wedding attire

To most African populations, clothing is a significant and important part of the engagement ceremony and the religious marriage ceremony. The wedding attire worn during these ceremonies depends heavily on the ethnic group being examined. Traditional African clothing is typically vibrant and colourful. These forms of attire are worn to integrate traditional African dress with modernized religious weddings. Catholic African communities most commonly dress in western wedding attire (white dress for women and a suit for men) for the religious ceremony and will utilize their communities’ traditional attire for other phases of the marriage process.

Related Research Articles

A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, denominations, countries, social classes, and sexual orientations. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vows by a couple, presentation of a gift, and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or celebrant. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers, or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony, as well as superstitious customs.

An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself. During this period, a couple is said to be fiancés, 'betrothed', 'intended', 'affianced', 'engaged to be married', or simply 'engaged'. Future brides and grooms may be called fiancée (feminine) or fiancé (masculine), 'the betrothed', a 'wife-to-be' or 'husband-to-be', respectively. The duration of the courtship varies vastly, and is largely dependent on cultural norms or upon the agreement of the parties involved.

A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment by the groom, or his family, to the bride, or her family, dowry is the wealth transferred from the bride, or her family, to the groom, or his family. Similarly, dower is the property settled on the bride herself, by the groom at the time of marriage, and which remains under her ownership and control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahr</span> Islamic marriage gift from groom to bride

In Islam, a mahr is the bride wealth obligation, in the form of money, possessions or teaching of verses from the Quran by the groom, to the bride in connection with an Islamic wedding. While the mahr is often money, it can also be anything agreed upon by the bride such as jewelry, home goods, furniture, a dwelling or some land. Mahr is typically specified in the marriage contract signed upon marriage.

A mangala sutra, or tali, is a necklace that the groom ties around the bride's neck in the Indian subcontinent, in a ceremony called the Mangalya Dharanam during a Hindu wedding. The necklace serves as a visual marker of status as a married Hindu woman.

Weddings in India vary according to the region, the religion, the community and the personal preferences of the bride and groom. They are festive occasions in India, and in most cases celebrated with extensive decorations, colour, music, dance, outfits and rituals that depend on the community, region and religion of the bride and the groom, as well as their preferences. India celebrates about 10 million weddings per year, of which about 80% are Hindu weddings.

Marriage in Pakistan pertains to wedding traditions established and adhered by Pakistani men and women. Despite their local and regional variations, marriages in Pakistan generally follow Islamic marital jurisprudence. Marriages are not only seen as a union between a husband and a wife, but also an alliance between their respective families. These traditions extend to other countries around in the world where Overseas Pakistani communities exist.

A Brunei Malay wedding has many types of ceremonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoroastrian wedding</span> Zoroastrian matrimony rituals

A Zoroastrian wedding is a religious ceremony in Zoroastrianism in which two individuals, a man and a woman, are united. In Zoroastrianism, marriage within the community is encouraged, and is greatly favored in religious texts. The following information will detail ceremony procedures and traditional processes for a Zoroastrian wedding.

Igbo culture are the customs, practices and traditions of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. It consists of ancient practices as well as new concepts added into the Igbo culture either by cultural evolution or by outside influence. These customs and traditions include the Igbo people's visual art, music and dance forms, as well as their attire, cuisine and language dialects. Because of their various subgroups, the variety of their culture is heightened further.

Distinctive cultural norms prevail in Yorubaland and among the Yoruba people.

In the United States and Canada, weddings follow traditions often based on religion, culture, and social norms. Most wedding traditions in the United States and Canada were assimilated from other, generally European, countries. Marriages in the U.S. and Canada are typically arranged by the participants and ceremonies may either be religious or civil.

Traditional marriage customs in the Philippines and Filipino wedding practices pertain to the characteristics of marriage and wedding traditions established and adhered by them Filipino men and women in the Philippines after a period of adoption courtship and engagement. These traditions extend to other countries around the world where Filipino communities exist. Kasalan is the Filipino word for "wedding", while its root word – kasal – means "marriage". The present-day character of marriages and weddings in the Philippines were primarily influenced by the permutation of Christian, both Catholic and Protestant, Hindu, Islam, Chinese, Spanish, and American models.

Muslim marriage and Islamic wedding customs are traditions and practices that relate to wedding ceremonies and marriage rituals prevailing within the Muslim world. Although Islamic marriage customs and relations vary depending on country of origin and government regulations, both Muslim men and women from around the world are guided by Islamic laws and practices specified in the Quran. Islamic marital jurisprudence allows Muslim men to be married to multiple women.

Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaker may be used to find a spouse for a young person.

Bride price, bride-dowry, bride-wealth, bride service or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dowry is equivalent to dowry paid to the groom in some cultures, or used by the bride to help establish the new household, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. Some cultures may practice both simultaneously. Many cultures practiced bride dowry prior to existing records.

Odo Ere, popularly called Ere Gajo, is the headquarters of Yagba West Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. The town is located in the old Kabba Province about 140 kilometres southeast of Ilorin. The people of Odo Ere share a common ancestry with the Yoruba people in South-West Nigeria and they are often referred to as Okun Yoruba people. The town is situated on a well-watered savannah plain consisting of dotted hills, forest and grassland. The topography earned the town the sobriquet: Ere Ọmọ Onilẹ Dun Rin, meaning "Odo Ere town with a beautiful flat terrain that enhances ease of movement".

Marriage in Sudan is a fundamental social institution governed by Islamic law and Sudanese culture. Three types of marriages are recognized: traditional, civil, and religious. Arranged marriages are common, with parents typically arranging unions. Child marriage is an issue, with some exceptions to the legal age.

The marriage in pre-Columbian America was a social institution present in most cultures and civilizations inhabiting the American continent prior to 1492. The perceptions and conceptions at a social level varied, with wedding ceremonies often carrying a predominant religious and spiritual significance. Some unions were even regarded as sacred and could be either monogamous or polygamous. These relationships mainly operated within a predominantly patriarchal system and were typically associated within the same caste, when such a social organization system existed.

References

↑ Worldometers.info. (2019). Population of Africa). Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/
↑ World Book, Inc.,. (2018). The World Book encyclopedia
↑ Riggs, T. (2006). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices: Religions and denominations. P. 1.
↑ Editor, Eivans's. "9 Interesting Nigerian Wedding Traditions you probably didn't know". Eivan's Photo Inc. | Wedding Photography & Video | Affordable Wedding Photo Video. Retrieved 2024-04-22.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
↑ "Traditional marriage in Igboland: The original cultural way". senseinthat.ng. 2020-11-05. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
1 2 Solanke, S., Ayodabo, S. (2017). Contemporary Marriage Processes in Nigeria: Willing Love, Perilous Business, Post-Marriage Problems. Modern Research Studies: An International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 4. 339-361
↑ Posel, D., & Rudwick, S. (2014). Marriage and Bridewealth (Ilobolo) in Contemporary Zulu Society. African Studies Review, 57, pp 51-72 doi:10.1017/asr.2014.47
↑ "Unveiling The Unspoken Realities Of Nigerian Weddings". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2023-12-12. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
1 2 Jean-Baptiste, R., & Burrill, E. (2019). LOVE, MARRIAGE, AND FAMILIES IN AFRICA. In Achebe N. & Robertson C. (Eds.), Holding the World Together: African Women in Changing Perspective (pp. 275-293). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.
↑ Ogbu, J. (1978). African Bridewealth and Women's Status. American Ethnologist, 5(2), 241-262.
1 2 3 Ogoma, D. (2014). Reflection on an African Traditional Marriage System. Journal of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, 4(1), 94-104.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Omari, T. (1960). Changing Attitudes of Students in West African Society toward Marriage and Family Relationships. The British Journal of Sociology, 11(3), 197-210. doi:10.2307/586746
1 2 Mitchell, P. (1954). The Survey of African Marriage and Family Life. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 24(2), 149-156.

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[1] Worldometers.info. (2019). Population of Africa). Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/

[2] World Book, Inc.,. (2018). The World Book encyclopedia

[3] Riggs, T. (2006). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices: Religions and denominations. P. 1.

[4] Editor, Eivans's. "9 Interesting Nigerian Wedding Traditions you probably didn't know". Eivan's Photo Inc. | Wedding Photography & Video | Affordable Wedding Photo Video. Retrieved 2024-04-22.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

[5] "Traditional marriage in Igboland: The original cultural way". senseinthat.ng. 2020-11-05. Retrieved 2020-11-26.

[nigeria-6] 1 2 Solanke, S., Ayodabo, S. (2017). Contemporary Marriage Processes in Nigeria: Willing Love, Perilous Business, Post-Marriage Problems. Modern Research Studies: An International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 4. 339-361

[7] Posel, D., & Rudwick, S. (2014). Marriage and Bridewealth (Ilobolo) in Contemporary Zulu Society. African Studies Review, 57, pp 51-72 doi:10.1017/asr.2014.47

[8] "Unveiling The Unspoken Realities Of Nigerian Weddings". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2023-12-12. Retrieved 2024-04-22.

[Rachel-9] 1 2 Jean-Baptiste, R., & Burrill, E. (2019). LOVE, MARRIAGE, AND FAMILIES IN AFRICA. In Achebe N. & Robertson C. (Eds.), Holding the World Together: African Women in Changing Perspective (pp. 275-293). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.

[10] Ogbu, J. (1978). African Bridewealth and Women's Status. American Ethnologist, 5(2), 241-262.

[OgomaD-11] 1 2 3 Ogoma, D. (2014). Reflection on an African Traditional Marriage System. Journal of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, 4(1), 94-104.

[Omari-12] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Omari, T. (1960). Changing Attitudes of Students in West African Society toward Marriage and Family Relationships. The British Journal of Sociology, 11(3), 197-210. doi:10.2307/586746

[phillip-13] 1 2 Mitchell, P. (1954). The Survey of African Marriage and Family Life. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 24(2), 149-156.

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