Africa is rich in tradition and culture, so much so that in every aspect of its existence, there is a touch of customs and traditions. From the birth of a newborn child to adulthood, marriage, and death, certain practices govern everything.
From the bride-fattening culture of the Calabar people of Nigeria to the spitting culture among the Masai people, many interesting traditions will always be difficult for outsiders to understand.
Here are some amazing Wedding Traditions across African Tribes
1. Bride Kidnapping
In the traditional Ngas community of Nigeria, it is a common practice whereby a suitor, with the help of his friends, can kidnap a maiden and once he succeeds and she agrees to remain with him, she becomes his wife. What follows is a visitation to the family of the maiden by his family to begin the marriage process and make it official.
This is also practiced among the Himba tribe of Namibia and the Frafra tribe of Ghana. Among these tribes, once a man identifies a woman he wants to have as his wife, his family would kidnap her to his home where she would be guarded until all other marriage activities are done.
2. Spitting on the bride
Probably the most unique wedding tradition in Africa is the spitting on the bride by the Maasai people of Kenya. This ritual like most others, happens on the day of the wedding when before the bride’s father hands over his daughter to her new home, he spits on her head and breast. As disgusting as other cultures around the world might see it, it is one of the most important blessings a Maasai bride can get from her father before she gets married.
But it doesn’t stop with the spitting ritual. The bride also gets insults thrown at her by the groom’s family as she dances away from her family. The significance behind this is that it serves to prevent bad luck from following her to her new home.
3. Four elements tasting
You’ve likely heard the saying that marriage is not a bed of roses. It comes with its trials and tribulations, that only the resilient can survive. The Yoruba ethnic group (present in countries like Nigeria, Niger, and Benin) have a wedding tradition called the tasting of the four elements.
During that ceremony, the bride and groom get a literal taste of flavors that represent the distinct stages in a Cayenne. This is an indication that life will also bring its spice and passion to married life. The last is honey, which signifies the sweetness of marriage. After tasting each element, it is believed that they would be able to go through all the phases of life.
4. The bride and groom must not smile
Although this tradition is now fading away very fast, there was a time when some tribes in Congo had it as a tradition that the bride and groom must not smile during their wedding ceremony. These people believe that marriage is a very serious business, and so no matter what happens, the couple is supposed to maintain the seriousness. If they smile, it means they do not consider it serious enough.
5. Kola nut offerings
Among many cultures in West Africa, traditional marriages are not complete without the offering of kola nuts to elders and visitors. In places like Nigeria and Gambia, the kola nut is presented among many cultures by the family of the groom to show interest in the bride. There are times when the family of the bride will also hand over kola nuts as a welcoming sign to the groom and his family.
The significance of the kola nut is that it brings health, life, and unity. When marriage decisions are finally taken, the kola nut is broken to show that a decision has been reached.
Kola nuts play an important part in many West African wedding traditions. The caffeine-packed nut grows on a big tree, in tropical forests in West Africa. It is often used for medicinal purposes. The kola nut is also a symbol of healing, respect, hospitality, and unity.
6 Presentation of wine
Among different cultures in West Africa such as the Burkina Faso and Nigeria’s Igbos, the presentation of wine is a very important event during a wedding ceremony. The bride is given palm wine and is expected to look for the groom who may be sitting in the crowd to present the wine to him.
This ritual is very important as it signifies that she has accepted him. If she decides to hand over the wine to another man, it means she has rejected the groom and prefers the one she has presented the wine to. There are stories where brides hand over the wine to other suitors and not the groom.
7. Two kids must be delivered before marriage is completed
Among the Nuer people of South Sudan, the marriage rites remain incomplete even after the groom’s family visits the family of the bride and makes payments of between 20 to 40 cows as dowry. After this is done, the bride will be expected to deliver two children for the groom and when the third comes, the marital rites will now be completed and she will become a complete wife.
If she is unable to fulfill this obligation, the man is within his right to send her back to her people, hold on to the child she has for him, if she has any, and request that his cows be returned to him.
8. The bride weeping ceremony
The best day for most women is when they get married. Even if that is the case for the Bakiga bride in Uganda, she is not allowed to show it. She is expected to weep and fight back on the day of her wedding when she is to be taken to her husband’s house.
When she is finally seized, her hair is shaved by her family members, and she is then taken to her husband’s house by her brother, where she continues to weep while the groom and his family party. From time to time, the groom is expected to tap his new wife on her shaved head with a twig as a sign that he is her new lord.
9. Cooking for the in-laws
On the seventh day after the main wedding event, a bride is expected, among the Mossi (or Moagha) people, to cook a traditional dish for her in-laws. The dish of tasty maize paste called tô, a sauce of okra, and a soup, serves to recognize her as a bride in the house. While she prepares the dish in her husband’s family house, a sheep will be killed in her father’s house, and the meat will be brought to be used for the soup.
After the two families eat the meal, the bones from the meat would be taken by the family of the bride as they depart. These bones must be buried on the way home, as returning with any can bring bad luck to the new couple.
10. The Fattening Room
One of the most interesting wedding traditions in Africa is the bride fattening among the people of Cross River in Nigeria, particularly the Calabar people. They believe that the perfect bride is the one who has so much weight to be considered fat. The weightier a bride is, the more beautiful she is. She is also thought to bring wealth and fertility.
Because of this, these people have a fattening room where, in preparation for a wedding, a bride is locked and fed by her friends and family members to ensure that she gains as much weight as possible. It is at the end of all these that the marriage ceremony is carried out.
