Traditonal Igbo Wedding Guide

Helo my lovelies.... It Monday and i beleive that we are all bright eyed and ready to face the week ahead.

Don't forget to set yourself at least one goal this week. Keep moving..You can do it!

So back to Today's topic. The Igbo Traditional Wedding; The Igbo Tribe is known to be one of the major tribes in Nigeria. Historically, they were from the Nri Kingdom which happens to be the oldest Kingdom in Nigeria. The Igbo land occupies most of the Southern Eastern Nigeria, and some of the major cities include: Enugu, Onisha,Owerri, Asaba, Akwa, Abakiliki, Abia, Orlu etc.

So enough of the History Lesson 😄

The Igbo Traditional Wedding is made up of different ceremonies.

1. The first one is called the 'Iku Aka' or 'Knocking on the door' where the groom and members of his family (uncles and brothers) come to tell the family of the bride of his intention to marry their daughter. The mother and father of the bride each get a keg of palmwine (ngwo) and one or more for the father's Umunna this could be brothers or cousins. When they arrive, the groom and few family members join the father of the bride in private and discuss the 'ima ego' or dowry. 

Once this is done and accepted, the bride dances out for the first time. Accompanied by her friends  in her native attire of 2 separate pieces of George wrapper (one for her waist and the other for her bust) she goes to greet her mother's people and goes back inside. Her second outfit is white blouse and George or damask or brocade which she uses to greet her father's people and she goes back inside. The third outing is usually in material similar to the grooms, this time, she is handed a cup of wine and told to find her husband and give it to him to drink. When she finds him, she kneels to give him the horn and waits for him to finish. Sometimes, the groom might lift his bride up and give the rest of the wine. This usually indicates he understands she is his help mate and is accompanied by much cheering. The couple then kneel before the parents for prayers and blessings. 

2. The second ceremony, referred to as the 'Igba Nkwu Nwanyi/izu okwu' (wine carrying ceremony) is the actual wedding. The groom is supposed to assist his in-laws-to-be with the planning of this ceremony so he can provide Assorted drinks, a cow, bags of rice and ingredients for cooking.

3.He may also be required to perform a third ceremony called 'Ndi Ochie' which is recognition of all the married women in the family. He does this by giving them a bag of salt and a crate of mineral. If the groom is from outside the village, he must give to the girls mother a list of items which are:

• 1 carton of bar soap
• 2 crates of malt
• 2 bags of salt
• Cooked rice with big pieces of meat
• Orji (kola-nut) and 'oku ose' (kola-nut paste). 

 Alternatively, the groom can just give cash for everything and his in-laws will make them available. (less stress) 😄

Information overload right...... just breathe this is a guideline and often aspects can be amended. Though the entire process could differ from family to family and village to village. 

This guide is based on the Umunze people of Orumba South LGA in Anambra state. 

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