YORUBA TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE

  Marriage is the union of a man and a woman to become husband and wife. It is also said to be an institution and as such must be done with care and respect since our lives depends on a stable marriage.

The Yoruba I must confess have over time developed a wonderful culture of hosting and attending ceremonies where beautiful colors, joy and happiness are being displayed. And a ceremony of great magnitude like marriage is no exception. Their hospitality is flawless and attendance is almost always at its peak.

To the point now, a Yoruba man of 25-30 usually pursues his Yoruba wife of ages between 17-25. After they both express mutual love for each other * winks *, they inform their parents. Like many other traditions in Nigeria, the groom is escorted by members of his family to the brides home. Yorubas have a custom of having and showing respect to elders and it comes to play here too. The groom and his family kneel to show the brides family respect just before they enter their home. This must be quick and prompt or else he will be asked to leave or to pay a fee. Permit me to use this, “the traditional asking out” begins here with the families sitting opposite each other while the bride and the groom are close to the center. In the middle, Olopa Iduor (speaker for the grooms family) and Olopa Ijoko (speaker for the brides family). The Ilopa Iduor now presents a letter to the brides family ones everyone is seated. The receiver will be Olopa Ijoko who reads the letter aloud and the brides family responds. Dowry is then paid to the brides family. This could be goods but mostly money is paid. The reason for paying this dowry they say is to compensate the brides family for raising her and to test the grooms patience. STUNNED? Me too!. The dowry of virgins cost more as expected. Prayers follow closely after that as usual. Some Yorubas have a Yoruba priest do a thing or two to predict the compatibilty of the couple.

Foods like Oyin(honey) and Obi(kola nut) are passed round by the Olopas to symbolize long life and a blessed union. The last part after the wedding ceremony is the “Igbe Iyawo” which means to carry the bride. Celebrations begin full time when the bride has been taken to her husband. My dear readers, isn't this wonderful?  

HOW THE MONKEYS SAVED THE FISH

The rainy season that year had been the strongest ever and the river had broken its banks. There were floods everywhere and the animals were all running up into the hills. The floods came so fast that many drowned except the lucky monkeys who used their proverbial agility to climb up into the treetops. They looked down on the surface of the water where the fish were swimming and gracefully jumping out of the water as if they were the only ones enjoying the devastating flood.

One of the monkeys saw the fish and shouted to his companion: "Look down, my friend, look at those poor creatures. They are going to drown. Do you see how they struggle in the water?" "Yes," said the other monkey. "What a pity! Probably they were late in escaping to the hills because they seem to have no legs. How can we save them?" "I think we must do something. Let's go close to the edge of the flood where the water is not deep enough to cover us, and we can help them to get out."

So the monkeys did just that. They started catching the fish, but not without difficulty. One by one, they brought them out of the water and put them carefully on the dry land. After a short time there was a pile of fish lying on the grass motionless. One of the monkeys said, "Do you see? They were tired, but now they are just sleeping and resting. Had it not been for us, my friend, all these poor people without legs would have drowned."

The other monkey said: "They were trying to escape from us because they could not understand our good intentions. But when they wake up they will be very grateful because we have brought them salvation." (Traditional Tanzanian Folktale). So funny...

DO YOU THINK NIGERIA HAS LOST ITS CULTURE?

  In a country with over 250 ethnic groups, you would expect a lot but do you think NAIJA (Nigeria) has lost its culture? This lovely weekend, I took time out to find answers to this question and I got this:

Bello Wali, a student was the first person I met.

Me: Do you think Naija has lost its culture?

Bello: yes

Me: why would you say yes?

Bello: Because western culture has taken over and if I may ask you, when was the last time you wore a kaftan (a gown worn by men)?

Umar, a medical student said yes to my question. His reason was simple and a bit complicated; it is obvious he said.

Asmau said yes. When asked why, she answered “we have forgotten most part of our culture and will most likely forget the rest”. Bold answer there!

Rita's answer was simple and straight to the point, “look around you and answer the question yourself”.

As for me, I think its yes too, what do you think?