Marriage is an important culture in Yorubaland and the main reason for this is that Yoruba people love children very much. They attach great importance to having children after the wedding and consider a childless marriage to be a sterile union. The peculiarities of a typical Yorubaman are so different from those of the people in the western world and that is why according to the case study, the trend has changed significantly due to civilization and some aspects have not changed but some have still completely persisted of this act. without any apology. Below are some steps you should follow in a typical Yoruba environment.
Perspective
It is divided into two parts. In ancient times, it was parents who cared for their sons’ wives. As soon as a father who has a son sees that his son is about five years old, he starts looking for a family from where he can get a good daughter who will be his son’s wife and before he has one Starting a family from which he sees a girl who can be his wife and son, he will announce his intention to the said parents and start behaving like a father-in-law towards the girl’s parents and family. Sometimes, even at the stage of pregnancy, some parents demand that the woman they love give birth to the pregnancy they are carrying, and are ready to give the child to their son in marriage if it turns out to be a girl. Once both sides of the family reach an agreement, the boy’s family will begin offering services such as free agricultural work to the girl’s family. The second part occurs when a young man of marriageable age sees a woman he likes. He does not speak to this woman directly, but uses another person as an intermediary between him and the woman he loves. This matchmaker does all the necessary secret work for this young man by introducing him to the woman in style (in the absence of the man) and assessing some good qualities about him in order to create interest in this man in the woman’s heart. Once this mediator has brought a woman and a man together and they have already fallen in love, the same mediator will still conduct tests on both sides of the family to find out if there is a problem in both families. If they don’t find one, they can move on to the next step:
Interviewing by the Parents
The parents will ask the young man and the lady if they really meant what they said, and if they tell them that they meant what they said, the parents will their conduct their own investigation where they essentially consult some deities such as “ifa” and “orunmila” to know whether their children’s marriage will be happy or not. If the deities agree to their union, they can now proceed to the next step, which is: Grant Approval After completing this series of investigations, the mediator will now bring the groom and his bride together in a grand ceremony where the young he will become publicly declare that he desires this particular woman, and she too will agree to marry this young man. The young man is asked to pay a consent fee, which is determined by the lady. After payment, the next step is:
Loan
Although the lady’s parents are fully aware of what is happening, it is still necessary for the young man’s family to come and get a loan designated by the older person (not necessarily the one). fulfills obligation (parent of the lady) in the lady’s family. The young man’s father soon arrived to inform the lady’s father, and he in turn informed the elders of the family.This ceremony is always performed at the beginning of the family and the young man’s family usually serves kola nuts, palm wine and vodka. Next: Engagement Ceremony There is always a big party before the wedding ceremony. The following items are usually brought to the bride’s house:
• Dowry
• Yam
• Palm wine
• Salt
• Fish
• Honey
• Brown sugar
• Chili peppers (to name a few)
These materials vary depending on the need The geographical location varies, but an engagement ceremony is always a large ceremony in which participants wear the same fabric, invite the group’s artists to play music, and provide excess food for the participants. Husbands who live with their boyfriends usually bear the heavy responsibility of bowing to the elders of the wife’s family and having to pay various fees from different factions of the wife’s family. After the engagement ceremony, you need to prepare for the wedding ceremony.
Preparation
Before the big day, the Yoruba people in ancient times went to the herbalist or Ifa priest to find out when the date of the wedding ceremony should be set so that everything went well. The second aspect of the preparations is that the future husband allocates money to purchase everything needed for the wedding ceremony, from clothes to shoes to a bag and other necessary things.
Wedding Ceremony
A wedding ceremony is always an impressive celebration, depending on the wealth of one or both families. There is always plenty of food accompanied by palm wine, music is always plentiful and an amusement park will fill the atmosphere in both the youth and women’s homes. In the evening, the lady’s mother calls her daughter and explains to her how she should live in her husband’s house before the eldest person in the family calls her to pray for her before giving her gifts for the trip. Then his family members will greet him with singing and dancing on the way to his new home. As soon as people from the lady’s family approach the future husband’s house, he must leave the house as it is taboo for a newly married woman to meet her husband at home.In some areas, a living creature must be killed and the blood of such an animal must be sprinkled on the woman’s leg before she enters her husband’s house, and immediately after entering her husband’s house, she is carried by the eldest person of his husband. . to be worshiped by that person On the wedding night, or in some places on the third day of marriage, the man must have sexual intercourse with his wife to find out whether she is still a virgin or not. If it turns out that the lady is not a virgin, the young man can reject her and send her back to her parents in disgrace or decide all the matters that concern her, but it is they who will follow the lady to her husband’s house . and inform the lady’s parents at home. In ancient times, all women who married had to be virgins. The man’s family will now bring/send a half-full vase of palm wine with charcoal and an empty matchbox to the woman’s parents to mark that they have given them a second-hand daughter to marry. If a woman comes from a well-educated family, the whole family may grieve because it is very shameful. However, should it happen that the woman retains her virginity, those who followed her to her husband’s house will still know the result and announce the good news to the parents of the lady who stayed at home. After marriage, a woman should next come into the world and give birth after nine months because the Yoruba people believe so much in the importance of having children.
