One of the most expensive and elaborate ceremony in Nigeria is the Igbo traditional wedding ceremony. The Igbo people are one of the biggest ethnic groups in Nigeria. The people are majorly found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States of Nigeria. Weddings in these areas are probably one of the most exciting of all ethnic groups.
THE COURSE OF IGBO WEDDING
One of the things to do before the wedding is for the bride to be well-fed. She is been given all sorts of food to be healthy after which the date of the wedding is fixed. Bride price is another important thing in this wedding. Exorbitant prices are usually paid until now when the people says their brides are not for sale but money are still been paid for this course.
MARITAL RITES
The Igbo ceremony is based on the marriage deal which starts with the groom asking for the bride’s hand in marriage. There are three phases of the traditional Igbo wedding, which also includes proposing to her whole family and making them accept you into their circle.
At the beginning of the wedding, the bride and groom would stand in front of relatives, wearing only their underwear. The leader of a family or tribe ties them together with a veil. This symbolizes that the bride and groom are united until death does them apart.
Another important phase of the ceremony which involves the two families i.e. bride and groom’s family is the ‘’wine-carrying’’. Here, the bride usually has to find her groom among the guests and expresses her gratitude by giving him a cup of wine. When the groom drinks the wine, the ceremony will go on and people celebrate together. It is quite tricky to find the groom in the crowd because of likeness in clothing of the guests. The guests often distract the bride on purpose to make her job complicated.
DRESSING
The people at Igbo wedding usually dress in the same clothing literally the same fabrics and color. The bride and groom wedding attire are always magnificent and beautiful. The bride usually wears a bright-colored outfit with accessories, mostly with corals, and a headgear. As for the groom, he wears a special cap (red-chief-cap), an embroidered shirt, and jewelry made of coral to match the bride.
Igbo traditional wedding is an important part of the African culture. The lifestyle of the people is well portrayed in this ceremony.
