Nigerian Traditional Wedding Check List for Yoruba Igbo & Hausa

This Nigerian traditional wedding checklist is for Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo ethnic groups. Subsequently, we will write on the other tribes as Naijaquest.com had taken upon itself to provide all the necessary information required by Nigerians on this portal. First, what is a checklist?

A checklist is simply a to-do-list which helps in reducing failure by compensating for potential limits of human memory and attention. Now, a wedding checklist would be a wedding to-do-list. So enjoy our checklist for the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo traditional wedding.

NIGERIAN TRADITIONAL WEDDING CHECKLIST FOR HAUSA WEDDING CEREMONY

The traditional wedding of Hausa ethnic group in Nigeria had been influenced greatly but Islam and as such, Nikkhai is the first part of the Hausa traditional wedding after which the other wedding ceremony follows.

Nigerian Traditional wedding checklist for Hausa culture/tribe.

1. Mutual agreement

The first step to the traditional wedding of the Hausa ‘s mutual agreement between both the groom and bride’s family. This agreement is reached after the groom’s family tender their marriage proposal to the bride’s family and they accepted it.

After the acceptance, the groom’s family is required to give some items to the bride known as “ Kayan Zance ”. These items range from money ( kundin gaisuwa ), fabrics, perfumes, beauty products, underwear, shoes, scarves, etc.

2. Daurin Aure

” Daurin Aure ” which is the wedding Fatiha or religious ceremony is the next and the most important part of the marriage ceremony in the Hausa tribe. This is an exchange of vows by both families in the presence of a religious leader and invited guests. It is attended by mostly males. After this vow exchange, prayers are been offered to married couples.

3. Kamun Amarya

” Kamun Amarya ” is the next step and really one of the oldest, fun and most interesting part of the wedding ceremony. Kamun Amarya simply means “catch the bride”. In this event, the groom’s family comes to negotiate the bride’s release from her friends and they will be asked to pay a certain amount. This would then lead to an interesting negotiation that could take up to 30 after which jubilation and ceremony continue.

4. Wuni / Sa lalle

Wuni / Sa lalle is the wedding ceremony part that is strictly for women. Here, the bride spends her last time with her friends and family. The henna mixture would be used to draw beautiful designs on her palms, hands, and legs to make her look more beautiful and charming. The friends and family also do the same but not as attractive as hers.

5. Kai Amarya

The next step is the ” Kai Amarya ” which is taking the bride to her husband’s house after which they offer her prayers and advice. To some, this is the end of Hausa Nigerian traditional wedding but for others, there’s another one called ” Sayin baki ” this is another interesting negotiation between the bride’s and groom’s friends on how much should be paid to the bride before she speaks to her husband.

Note: For those with wealth, a dinner night is usually organised. Another important thing to note is, in the Hausa traditional marriage, the groom usually provide the house while the bride’s family furnish and fill it up for her.

NIGERIAN TRADITIONAL WEDDING CHECKLIST FOR YORUBA WEDDING CEREMONY

The Yoruba traditional wedding is an interesting one, with a lot of activities that could best be displayed as a well-written play (no offense please… I Planned to marry a Yoruba in future). You asked why I call it a play? OK, here we go. An interesting act is been put on by the ‘Alaga Ijoko’ (the sitting MC) for the bride’s family and the ‘Alaga Iduro’ (the standing MC) for the groom’s family. If they really do well, you will hope to attend every other Yoruba wedding in the neighborhood. The Steps to a Yoruba Nigerian Traditional wedding are as follows.

Nigerian Traditional wedding checklist for Yoruba culture tribe

Please note that prior to this day,

an introduction,
proposal
and acceptance had been made.

The Yoruba traditional wedding engagement list usually consists of :

42 Big Tubers of Yam, 42 Big Cola Nuts, 42 Big Bitter Cola, 42 Pieces of Dry Fish, 42 Pieces of Alligator Pepper, 2 Bottles of Honey, 2 Pairs of Shoes and Bags, 2 Scarves, 1 Wrist Watch, 1 Quran or Bible, 1 Engagement Ring, 1 Big Suitcase, 1 Traditional Aso-Oke, 1 Big Dish of ‘Aadun’, 1 Bag of salt, 1 Bag of Sugar and 1 Umbrella. {Negotiations allowed in some families}

The ceremony starts when the groom’s family come and they are introduced by their Alaga before they then proceed to kneel and greet the bride’s family.

1. Formal Proposal and Acceptance

This formal proposal is done as follows. The groom’s family presents a proposal letter to the bride’s family and the youngest member of the bride’s family read it out. After which an acceptance letter is been issued to them in return.

2. Meet The Groom

The groom alongside his friends comes towards his in-laws dancing. He then prostrates twice with his friends then his friends retire and he prostrates for the third time in which both families stretch out their arms and pray for the groom. The groom alongside his friends again prostrates once again with his friends for his family before proceeding to his seat, ending his own.

3. Meet The Bride

Here, The bride covered in veil makes her own appearance alongside her friends too who dance her in. The bride then kneels in front of her parents for their prayers and blessings. She then does the same with her future husbands’ parents after which she is unveiled and joins her future husband. To some, the brides put the groom’s ” fila ” on his head, signifying her acceptance of his proposal.

4. Bring Please

Here, her Alaga instructs her to pick a gift from the items brought by her in-laws and present it to her husband. The bride is expected to either pick the Quran or Bible, depending on her religion and present it as it contains the wedding ring. The groom then put the ring in her hand and she joyfully shows it to the crowd.

5. Presentation of Bride Price

Envelopes containing money are been presented by the groom’s family to the bride’s family. This envelope contains money for the bride’s family members too.

6. Cutting The Cake and Party

The Akara Oyinbo, wedding cake is then cut, prayers offered and the party begins.

NIGERIAN TRADITIONAL WEDDING FOR IGBO WEDDING CHECKLIST

The Igbo traditional wedding is a bit expensive compared to the Hausa and the Yoruba traditional wedding already discussed above but trust me… It an experience you would love with the colourful nature of the day and interesting activities.

Nigerian Traditional wedding checklist for Igbo culture tribe

The wedding is neither 2 steps nor 3, depending on the area.

1. Iku Aka

This in Igbo means ” knocking on the door “. Here, the groom alongside his uncles and brothers comes for introduction in which they present 1 keg of palm wine each for the father and mother of the bride and another one or more for her father’s Umunna i.e brothers and uncles.

2. Igba Nkwu Nwanyi / izu okwu

Igba Nkwu Nwanyi / Izu Okwu is Known as the ” wine carrying ceremony “, This is the actual wedding ceremony. The groom is expected by the culture to assist his bride’s family with the planning so, he presents to them a cow, bags of rice, drinks and food ingredients.

At this event, the groom’s family arrives and he alongside few members of his family meets the bride’s father to discuss the dowry price known as “ima ego”. After a conclusion had been reached, the bride comes out for the first time with her friends dancing in a native attire of 2 separate pieces of George wrapper. one for her waist and the other for her bust. She then goes to greet her mother’s people and goes back inside.

She then comes out for the second time wearing a white blouse and George or damask or brocade and greets her father’s people before retiring back again. Her third appearance usually matches that of the groom. She is handed a cup of wine and asked to identify and give it to her husband. She would then go round, passing young men who would be begging for the cup of wine (of course, she knows who her husband to be is and they are just pulling her legs) and hand it over to the husband while kneeling in his front. He then drinks it and in some cases, lift her up and feed her from the cup of wine which is then accompanied by cheering.

The 2 then goes to where the parents are sitting and kneels. The parents then pray for them and offer their blessing after which party starts.

Igbo Traditional Wedding Engagement List :

The engagement list of the Igbos includes 16 gallons of Ngwo, 4 gallons of Nkwu, 4 crates of Mineral, 4 crates of beer, 2 bottles of Snuff, 4 packets of Cigarette, 2 leaves of Tobacco, 2 lumps of Potash (Akanwu) and Bales of cloth for her father, mother, siblings, aunties, uncles, etc. This list, however, varies from family to family and among villages. In the case where the groom is not from the village, he will give the bride’s mother 1 carton of bar soap, 2 crates of malt, 2 bags of salt, N2000 cash, Cooked rice with big pieces of meat, Orji (kola-nut) and ‘oku ose’ (kola-nut paste). In some cases, the bride instead of bringing all these just pay for them.

3. Ndi Ochie

This ceremony is simply recognizing all the married women of the family by giving them a bag of salt and a crate of mineral.

That’s all folks, hope we touched all the key areas on Nigerian Traditional Wedding for Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo tribe. If you think we have missed any part, kindly drop it in the comment box and don’t hesitate to like us on facebook.com/9jaquest or follow us on twitter.com/naijaquest.

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Tags: Nigerian Traditional Wedding Check List Nigeria, Igbo Traditional Wedding, Hausa Traditional Wedding, Yoruba Traditional Wedding