Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Africa has a population of over 1.4 billion people spread throughout 54 countries. [1] The large size and extreme diversity of the continent leads to enormous diversity among the marriage ceremonies and traditions that take place. Marriage ceremonies throughout Africa vary greatly depending on the faith of the individuals.
A wedding is often followed or accompanied by a wedding reception, which in some areas may be known as the 'Wedding Breakfast', at which an elaborate wedding cake is served. Western traditions include toasting the couple, the newlyweds having the first dance , and cutting the cake.
Note: separate in the marriage column refers to the practice of husbands and wives living in separate locations, often informally called walking marriages. See the articles for the specific cultures that practice this for further description.
Women may leave their husbands early in their marriage, before the birth of their first child. [citation needed] After a couple has had children together, divorce is a rare and serious matter, and it requires the participation of the whole village. [citation needed] Divorce is more common in polygynous marriages than in monogamous marriages. In ...
In parts of Africa, a traditional marriage ceremony depends on payment of a bride price to be valid. In Sub-Saharan Africa, bride price must be paid first in order for the couple to get permission to marry in church or in other civil ceremonies, or the marriage is not considered valid by the bride's family.
Lobolo or lobola in Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Silozi, and northern and southern Ndebele (mahadi in Sesotho, mahari in Swahili, magadi in Sepedi, bogadi Setswana, lovola in Xitsonga, mamalo in Tshivenda, and roora in ChiShona), sometimes referred to as "bride wealth" [1] [2] [3] or "bride price" is a property in livestock or kind, which a prospective husband, or head of his family, undertakes to give ...
On the marriage day, the tradition is the "marriage-by-capture" ceremony in which the bride is forcibly removed from her hut and presented to her groom. [8] During the ceremony, the bride has her head covered and is carried and then laid down in the hut while the groom is led to the hut and sits beside the door.
In this culture the wedding age for girls begins at 18 and for boys it starts at 20. Initially, if the groom and bride's father make an agreement for the wedding, the groom will send elders to the bride's family to ask her feelings. Most of the time the girl will tell her mother. If the response is "no" the answer will be sent with the messenger.