SteemAlive Presents: ProWritersHub (W4) - How Traditional Marriage is performed in my Hometown, City or Community

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Tradition could be said to be laid down customs and cultures that are passed from one generation to another while marriage is the coming together of man and woman as husband and wife.
Therefore, traditional marriage simply means the act of welding two individuals together according to the custom of the land.

Just as tradition differs from one place to another, so does the marriages proceedings vary in different lands. There are basically two types of marriages which are the;

• White wedding
• Traditional marriage
  So I'll be narrating in details how traditional marriages are held in my hometown.

Things required from the husband-to-be

The actual marriage proceedings start with the groom's family having to visit the bride's. It is known as Introduction. The groom's family introduces themselves and explain the motives behind their visit and he is given a long list to provide the items on it which includes items for the mother, father, first son, youth, clan, village head etc.

Father's items;
Golden staff
Black English shoe
English suit
Hat
2 fat goat
5 tubers of yam
Dry gin
Packof underwears
And the list continues.......

Mother's items
Wax wrapper
Cover shoe
Head gear
Kitchen utensils
A stick of dried fish
And the list continues.....

The first son also gets his share by making his own demands like a staff, shoe, hat etc. The groom also provide items like cow, tubers of yam, gin etc to the clan head, youths, village women etc.

How the marriage is performed

After the provision of items on the list, a date is fixed for the marriage ceremony. On the D-Day, different meals are cooked, traditional music are played, and everywhere is decorated traditionally with woven baskets, beads, shells, carvings etc.

The marriage begins with;

1. The arrival of guest

2. Words of welcome by the MC/chairman

3. Arrival of groom: in my hometown, the groom is the first to be brought before the public, he dances to his seat awaiting the bride, the groom is made to pass through some tests to know if he's qualified to marry the bride or not

4. Arrival of bride: an old woman who is assumed to be the mother of the bride is given a transport fare to bring the bride to her husband. She assembles all the maidens together and they lead a dance procession with the bride hidden in their midst

5. Introduction; After the bride meets her groom, she publicly introduces him to her parents with bottles of wine of which the union is sealed with blessings

6. Handing over: after everything, the family head officially hand over the bride to the groom's family and exchange some words together to promote peace and unity

The types of food served

Before the guest arrives , varieties of traditional dishes are displayed on a decorated table and the groom's family are made to taste the different meals. This shows that the bride is a good cook and capable of preparing all types of traditional meals for her husband. Examples of such dishes are:

Afang soup
Editan soup
Ekpan iwa
Ekpang-nkukwo
Ekoki
Afia efere (white soup)
Efere ndek iyak (Fisherman soup)
Roasted corn and pear
Palmwine
Efere etidot
Auto mboro
Ubobok ukom(porridge yam)
Edesi isip(coconut rice)
And the list continues......

Type of music played

Traditional marriages in my hometown are graced with lovely native music that has meaning to it's listeners. Its beatings and rhythm suits perfectly the occasion for which it is played for, only traditional music sang in our native language is what graces the occasion

Types of cloth worn by the couple

The couple dresses in a a traditional attire, the couples could be easily differentiated among the crowd just by their dresscode, adornments etc.

The husband wears a white native regalia with a wrapper on his waist, he uses part of the wrapper to adorn his neck in form of a tie, he wears a beaded cover shoe and cap with a staff to match

**The wife also dresses in a matching outfits with the husband, her dresscode takes the form of a blouse accompanied with a wrapper, she adorns herself with beads and bracelets. Her shoe, gele, purse and handfan takes the same color.

Note; the introductory image shows a couple in the exact traditional marriage attire*

Marriage is a good thing, it does not matter which type or form it takes. After all, it is the right thing to do and is highly acceptable in the society, it shows respect for both families. As for me, I'll keep attending marriage ceremonies, I can't miss out on those delicious meals, @emmanu is coming with me

Cc
@ijelady
@marajah