African Wedding Ceremony

There are several ways that an African wedding takes place. The ceremonies and rituals that are part of the wedding celebration are unique as they differ greatly from one place of Africa to another. The wedding ceremonies are usually lavish affairs that continue for days. Music and dance are an integral part of the African wedding ceremony.

Different Types of African Wedding Ceremony

In Africa there are several regions that are marked by their own traditions and customs. And thus there exists a clear difference in the nature of the ceremony that takes place during a wedding.

• In Egypt which is in North Africa and predominantly Muslim in religious faith on the wedding day the groom visits the home of the bride with his friends and pays a certain price for the bride – the amount is already pre-fixed. He is then allowed to the ceremony of the exchange of vows in front of two Muslim witnesses as he promises to be a loving husband and take care of his bride. The other part of the wedding ceremony takes place after two days when he takes his bride to his home and is welcomed and blessed by all on the occasion.
• The pygmies have yet another system of wedding ceremony in Africa. In their ceremony it usually concludes with a few visits of the groom’s family to the house of the bride’s family. The son-in-law may bring a few gifts to his in-laws and be free to take his bride with him and start living with him and his clan. He is also allowed to take in more than one wife if he can afford to maintain them. However he has to fulfill the task of finding a suitable bride for his wife’s brother or any other cousin who needs to be married.
• The Massai people in Africa have a unique way of getting their daughters married. They marry their young daughter with someone she doesn’t know and is much older to her. The belongings of the girl is packed up and she is decked in fine jewelry after which her father spits on her head and breasts as she sets off with her man to his home on foot. She is not supposed to look back even once for fear of ill luck.
• In Namibia among the Himba people the wedding ceremony takes place by kidnapping the bride before the ceremony. She is thereby dressed up in a leather headgear. After this the rituals follow after which she is brought to the groom’s house where she is smeared with butter of cow milk. This is a way of showing that she has been accepted in the family.
• In South Africa the wedding ceremony includes a huge procession to the church where a priest conducts the exchange of vows. There is a candle lighting service following this. The 12 symbols of life that are extremely important according to African tradition are usually administered to the couple in course of the wedding.