Bride Price: It’s no secret that Nigerians are massive on weddings. It means all the pieces to the Nigerian individuals whatever the ethnic group, tribe or faith.
The place it will get excessive is within the bride price which is alien to the Western world.
Briefly, weddings might appear to be enjoyable however these bride costs are usually not, notably if you end up selecting from a Nigerian household that’s enormously entitled.
Curiously, getting married in Nigeria, amongst Nigerians will all the time be a topical difficulty for a lot of causes.
The place of affection and that of cash, which has been one of many main explanation why sure ethnic teams and tribes are seen as grasping in terms of weddings.
Throughout Nigeria, the bride worth is a sure amount of cash paid by a groom to the household of his to-be bride in change for his or her consent and blessings.
Relying on a number of elements, bride costs in Nigeria can vary from N15 ($0.041) to a ridiculous quantity as 1,000,000 Naira ($275,000) or extra.
The follow in itself is rooted in custom and compulsorily comes into play throughout conventional weddings and different conventional rites which may comply with.
One other attention-grabbing worthy of be aware is that bride costs come in several types. Whereas it’s majorly financial, sure Nigerian tribes demand lands, different properties or different types of funds as bride worth.
The cost of bride worth within the Nigerian setting is so necessary man is known as a thief ought to he dwell with a girl he by no means paid her bride worth like couples would whereas such girls are seen or perceived as not having any sense of self-worth.
It’s why we thought to spotlight the tribes, ethnic teams and areas in Nigeria with cut-throat bride price, together with wedding ceremony lists and gadgets.
Notice that the essence of this put up is to not run down any tribe, or ethnic group. Let’s get to it, lets?
These ten ethnic teams/tribes have probably the most outrageous, costly bride costs in Nigeria, as of 2020:
10. Annang (Akwa Ibom)
The Annang ethnic group is without doubt one of the ethnic teams within the Niger-Delta, particularly in Akwa Ibom State.
The ethnic group can also be the second-largest within the state, after the Ibibio ethnic group.
Their lands cowl Eight of the 31 native authorities areas of Akwa Ibom, specifically: Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara, Oruk Anam, Ukanafun in Akwa Ibom State, and a part of Obi Ngwa.
An Annang Bride worth checklist from an Annang household to their supposed son-in-law.
Any groom who intends taking a bride from the Annang ethnic individuals have to be prepared to fulfill and fulfill the normal marriage rites that are certainly costly no due to the a great deal of stuff and charges that the groom is predicted to purchase and pay for.
9. Ogoja (Cross River)
The Ogoja individuals might be present in at present’s Cross River State, notably in a neighborhood authorities named after them – Ogoja native authorities.
The foremost communities in Ogoja are Ekpogrinya, Nwang, Esham, Nnang, Egbong, Ewinimba and Banasara.
Marrying from among the many Ogoja individuals is not any baby’s play as it’s required to meet, purchase and tick the various gadgets on the marriage checklist earlier than the lady is lastly handed to the groom and his household.
Whereas Ogoja reportedly has a customary follow of returning the bride worth in itself to the groom after the ceremony, the lengthy checklist of things required for the rites stays with the bride’s household as theirs.
8. Nkpa (Abia State)
The Nkpa individuals of Abia State have one of the vital costly bride costs in Nigeria. The Nkpa individuals might be present in Bende native authorities of Abia State.
What makes the Nkpa conventional marriage rites, together with the bride worth and wedding ceremony checklist costly is that the system has been rigged to favour intra-marriages and made tough for a groom who’s a foreigner to the Nkpa individuals.
It’s stated that an out of doors groom who intends getting married to an Nkpa girl have to be ready to arrange an acceptable conventional wedding ceremony that won’t solely accommodate the household of the bride however her complete Nkpa group! The Nkpa checklist not solely calls for a person buys sure gadgets for the bride’s dad and mom, but in addition for the kinsmen generally known as Umu nna in Igbo and their daughters (Umu Ada).
Nobody can say for certain why the Nkpa individuals ‘discourage’ outsiders from taking brides amongst them by closely tasking the groom, maybe it’s as a result of they like their girls to stay inside them slightly than take males out of their tribe.
7. Efik (Cross River)
Assume Efik, assume Calabar, the south-south ethnic, positioned in Cross River, make up a larger variety of the Calabar individuals.
The Efik individuals converse ‘Efik’ as their language, with their signature soup which is the ‘Edikang Ikong’.
Not solely is the normal marriage of the Efik individuals costly, a possible groom is predicted to throw a carnival-like occasion for the normal marriage, extra importantly, if his bride is from an influential household.
An Efik bride is estimated in Euro and never within the Nigerian foreign money which is the official foreign money of the Nigerian individuals.
The explanation for that is tied to the large affect of colonial actions on the Efiks.
6. Ikwerre (Rivers)
Ikwerre is without doubt one of the sub-Igbo teams within the oil-rich Niger Delta area of Nigeria.
Though they’re thought-about as a department of the principle Igbo group, some Ikwerre individuals, over time, have denied being Igbos and have even claimed their language ‘Ikwerre’ is a separate language from the Igbo language.
The Ikwerres have slightly terrifying bride costs and marriage lists which are generated by the bride’s household.
So costly is the bride price and marriage checklist that it could run into N1,000,000 (a million Naira) or extra so as to be united to his bride.
Based on the Ikwerre individuals, their daughters are groomed with excessive dedication and care that any man deserving of them should pay handsomely to marry them.
5. Bororo (Adamawa)
The Bororo tribe of Adamawa State, make up the Fulbe those who account for 60% of the inhabitants of the Adamawa individuals.
Primarily nomadic, the Bororo individuals do not likely have as many calls for as with most on this group however that’s not to say their conventional marriage rites are usually not costly.
In marrying a Bororo lady, the potential groom is requested by the bride’s household to supply 10-15 dwell cows. This in itself is means over N1 million and never in any means the bride worth.
In dutifully paying the bride worth of a Bororo lady, sure elements are taken under consideration by the bride’s household and considered one of them is the depth and wealth of the potential groom.
This enables the bride’s household to correctly dimension the groom and know the best way to appropriately ‘invoice’ him.
4. Mbaise (Imo)
Mbaise has all the time been on the coronary heart of the costly bride worth checklist saga and thought to be one of the vital infamous individuals recognized for ‘milking’ grooms within the title of conventional marriages.
Selecting an Mbaise bride is little doubt costly. One main determinant about bride costs and marriage lists in Mbaise depends upon sure elements such because the bride’s degree of training, her course of examine in a tertiary establishment amongst a bunch of many different issues.
A Hearsay mills recommend an unwritten rule of the Mbaise individuals is that ladies/brides are seen as property to their males and their household.
Sometimes, Mbaise bride costs might be pegged at over N100,000 whereas marriage lists can run into N800,000, placing the complete to be over a N1 million.
Though there have been claims that sure Mbaise households ‘are usually not grasping’ and will accept much less however the normal notion stays that Mbaise bride costs and marriage lists are very costly for a groom and his household.
3. Ibibio (Akwa Ibom)
The Ibibios, just like the Annangs are sister tribes within the oil-rich South-South, Akwa Ibom.
The Ibibio makes up a bigger share of the Akwa Ibom individuals with outstanding options similar to gentle pores and skin, quick stature (ibio, which means quick) and gap-tooth, in some instances.
Getting married to an Akwa Ibom bride is just not solely costly however tasking as the necessities might be overwhelming.
Marrying the primary daughter of an Ibibio household, generally known as ‘Adiaha’ is just not solely daunting and demanding, financially, it requires a number of conventional rites, similar to bearing a sacrifice and a ritual ceremony and requires the groom to purchase a cow (we will focus on this in a later put up).
Though conventional marriages within the Niger Delta are considerably comparable in nature to different elements of the South-South, the efficiency of the normal marriage rites in Ibibio land in respect of first daughter (Adiaha) and the particular rites (Awa Oduongo) have to be solemnly executed for the lady to be thought-about as having been correctly married by the person.
2. Kalabari (Rivers)
The Kalabari persons are part of the bigger Ijaw nation and occupy 33 cities and communities on 23 islands within the coastal a part of Rivers State.
The foremost cities are Buguma (or Bukuma), Abonnema and Bakana. They’re additionally stated to have been the primary group of individuals to work together with the Europeans, Indians and so many international teams that berthed in Nigeria, and this may be seen in the best way the society is organized into Homes or Group of Homes together with the European and Asian methodology of the 14th and 15th centuries.
One factor worthy of be aware is that the Kalabari individuals have one of the vital unbelievable bride costs and marriage lists in Nigeria. Sometimes, a possible groom is subjected to a number of financial funds, together with “shopping for the bride’s mouth”. In the long run, many of the funds and the eventual bride worth run into over N1 million.
1. Okrika (Rivers)
The Okrika individuals, simply because the Kalabaris are a bigger a part of the Ijaw nation and they’re additionally positioned in Rivers State.
Okrika is taken into account a clan as with different clans that make up the Ijaw ethnic group and the Okrika clan consists of 9 cities, specifically: Okrika, Ogoloma, Ibaka, Ogbogbo, Ogu, Abuloma, Isaka, Bolo, and Ele, with their predominant occupation as fishing and farming.
As with different elements of Nigeria, the bride worth tradition is equally necessary among the many Okrika individuals and considerably taken to a distinct degree.
For a groom prepared to take an Okrika girl as a bride, you’re prone to spend nothing lower than N400,000 on the daddy alone and about N250,000 – N300,000 on the mom, taking the quantity to be spent on the bride’s dad and mom to about N700,000.
Notice that this doesn’t embody different members of the family such because the youths, single women (bride’s age group), grandfather and uncles in addition to the mom’s individuals.
Sometimes, an Okrika bride worth and marriage checklist would price nothing lower than N1.5 million.