Unusual wedding ceremonies of African tribes. African wedding traditions, African weddings

Africa is an interesting and exotic continent with fifty countries that are inhabited by more than a thousand tribes, and almost every tribe has its own colorful and original culture, its own customs and traditions.

Many of them have been preserved since ancient times, although history and time have made their own adjustments and created a bizarre symbiosis of traditional African culture with the traditions brought to the continent by slave owners and conquerors.

But the wedding traditions of Africa have not changed for many hundreds of years and still carry the concept of uniting clan and tribe. The bride is chosen by the groom's parents, family problems are solved by the whole tribe, there are practically no divorces!

African girls are prepared for their future married life from an early age, and marriages themselves are concluded quite early, at the age of 13-15. African women are taught from childhood to be a good housewife, and most tribes even have a special language through which women communicate only with each other.

The elders of the tribe and parents agree on marriage due to the young age of the groom and brides.

As a rule, a wedding celebration is scheduled for some kind of holiday, and since most often several weddings happen on such a day at once, it all turns into one big celebration.

A wedding celebration lasts from one day to a week. And all this time, tam-tams, drums and other national instruments are constantly sounding to drive away evil spirits from the newlyweds and all participants in the celebration.

Most often, young people stick to traditional wedding dresses of red and golden colors - these are the colors of the kings of Africa, but today's newlyweds can choose a traditional European white wedding dress and a tuxedo. The wedding season runs from May to September. Anyone can come to the wedding and usually up to 800 guests are recruited. If the guest has a jasmine flower behind his right ear, then he is busy, and if behind the left, then he is in search of his soul mate. The newlyweds during the celebration sit on high chairs and the bride's chair is smaller than the groom's chair - this is a sign of obedience to the future husband. It is also the bride who distributes boiled eggs to all guests, and they give gold coins in return. At the wedding, the bride is supposed to wear a lot of gold things and only on one of her legs should be at least 250 gr. gold jewelry. Usually an African wedding lasts 7 days, and every day the bride changes expensive clothes made of brocade or sheathed with brocade.

In addition, in some African countries, to this day, a bride is paid a ransom, somewhere in food and livestock, and somewhere in money, and this amount can range from $ 300 to $ 1,500.

And in order for the wedding to be worthy, the groom needs to have at least $ 15,000-20,000 for wedding expenses. Wedding treats are prepared by the bride's family.

The wedding always ends with ritual dances, symbolizing the union of the souls of the bride and groom.

IN Kenya an intricate ritual pattern of red and black colors is applied to the legs and hands of the bride, which lasts a whole year, signifying the status of a married woman.

And the groom, within a month after the wedding, is obliged to walk in women's clothes in order to feel the brunt of women's household chores and become more tolerant of his wife.

IN Nigeria groom during the wedding ceremony the groom passes through the corridor of relatives with sticks in his hands, and father-in-law and mother-in-law are especially zealous in blows. It is believed that this test will help determine how much the newly-made husband is ready to bear the burden of family worries. And if the bride before the wedding or in the first few months after the wedding does not gain magnificent forms, the groom has every right to send her back to her parents - to eat off.

During a Yoruba wedding ceremony, before the veiled bride is brought out, the groom and his friends prostrate themselves before the bride's family members.

IN Yemen there is a similar custom, only there the groom is tested throughout the wedding with blows and kicks of all the guests - this is how the pride of the future husband is tamed.

IN Samoa the young spouse will also be beaten with sticks, if on the first night of the newlyweds, the young, spending the night in their parents' hut with all their relatives and even pets, wake someone up.

And in Sahara girls are prepared for marriage from the age of 12, and from this age they are intensively fattening her, because. it is believed that the fullness of the bride is not only evidence of the wealth of her family, but also the main attraction of the girl.

IN Surme six months before the wedding, the girl's lower lip is pierced and a clay disc-plate is inserted into it.

At the same time, for the correct location of the plate, it is necessary to remove the two lower teeth. At certain intervals, the discs change to heavier ones and in diameter it can reach 30 cm.

It is believed that the larger the disk, the richer the bride, i.е. it is this disk that symbolizes the level of wealth of the bride's family!

A girl can remove this disk only at night, while eating, or when there are no men nearby.

The existence of this tradition is explained by 2 legends:

1. It is believed that evil spirits enter the body through the mouth, and the disk protects the girl from this.

2. Once upon a time, such an ornament saved a girl from slave traders.

Well, in fact, it is unlikely that anyone outside of Surma will like such a beauty, even as a hired worker.

And this is what the groom looks like.

The simplest wedding ceremony is on Trombian Island, located in New Guinea: If you want to get married - eat with your future spouse from the same plate in front of other members of the tribe. After this ceremony, the couple is considered married.

Did you know that in Africa it is customary to beat the groom before the wedding with sticks, in India you can marry a tree, and in America, in order to gain access to the bride, you need to perform feats?

The wedding traditions of different peoples of our world are so diverse and amazing that sometimes it's hard to believe in them. However, they exist and are an integral part of people's lives in different parts of the world.

Many wedding traditions of ancient times have already become a thing of the past. So, earlier in some European countries it was customary for guests to wear the same clothes for a wedding as the bride and groom wear. It was believed that evil spirits would not be able to find the newlyweds in the crowd and cast spells on them.

In Sweden girls didn't get married until they got pregnant. So they proved that they can have children.

In Spain, the newlyweds were treated quite cruelly: before their wedding night, they were chased, caught, tied up and stabbed with sharp sticks, and sometimes forced to plow the land.

In Russia, weddings are the most joyful event, but a very troublesome task. But thanks to the internet, it's getting easier and easier.

Finnish brides had to collect a dowry for themselves in a rather unusual way: they went from house to house and asked for something to be given to them. Those who did not give anything could take revenge: throw an old shoe into a cauldron with porridge.

In Albania, during the first three days after the wedding, the young wife had to remain chaste so that evil spirits would be convinced of her virtue.

The hospitable Armenians were ready to accept as a guest any passer-by who heard the music and saw the holiday.

The Bedouins served a whole fried camel on the wedding table, inside of which there was a fried ram stuffed with boiled chickens, while the chickens were stuffed with fish, and the fish with eggs.

Among the American Indians, young men who were about to get married had to first perform a feat, and then come with gifts to the bride's house and please their parents, who by no means always treated them kindly.

The men among the Australian Aborigines were less civilized. They literally arranged a hunt for brides. For several days, the groom watched the chosen one, and then sneaked up on her, hit her on the head with a club and took the unconscious girl to his tribe.

It is worth noting that modern wedding traditions are characterized by no less ingenuity and originality. In Europe, seemingly close and familiar to us, there are traditions that are significantly different from ours.

In Bulgaria, to propose to a girl, a young man simply throws an apple at her.

In Germany, on the eve of the wedding, they always beat the dishes in front of the entrance to the house of the bride, who, in gratitude, invites "hooligans" to visit. It is believed that broken dishes will bring her good luck. The groom, on the other hand, must demonstrate his accuracy: having proposed to the girl, he goes to sweep the steps of the city hall. The task of the bride is to check the quality of cleaning. After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds are given a log and a saw. They need to cut the log into two parts, which symbolizes the beginning of living together and running a common household.

In Scotland, immediately after the wedding ceremony, the groom puts a checkered handkerchief on the bride's shoulders and pins it with silver pins. The color of the scarf matches the colors of the groom's family.

In England, to prove her endurance, the bride must lift the heavy lid of a church chest.

Greece is famous for its dances: at the wedding ceremony, a money dance is performed, during which guests attach banknotes to the newlyweds' outfits. And in order to determine who will be the head of the family, on the wedding day, the bride tries to step on the groom's foot. The groom needs to be extremely dexterous so as not to become henpecked. Another interesting Greek tradition: before the wedding night, small children jump on the bed of the newlyweds. It is believed that this will ensure the well-being of the family.

Perhaps the most surprising, and sometimes even shocking, are the wedding traditions of African peoples.

Each groom in the Ibo tribe passes through the ranks of the bride's relatives, who beat him with all their might with sticks. If a young man passes the test, then he is ready for family life.

In Kenya, a husband wears women's clothes on his honeymoon to get a feel for what it's like to be a woman. The wife is put on the hands of a red-black ornament, which symbolizes the change in her marital status.

To get married, Nigerian girls get fat. To do this, each of them spends a year in a special house, not moving at all, and at this time, relatives bring her high-calorie food. After the wedding, the bride and groom jump over the broom, which symbolizes the beginning of their family life.

In Nepal, the future mothers of the bride and groom agree on the wedding. Why future? Yes, because their children at the time of the engagement are still at the embryonic stage of development. If children of the same sex are born, the contract is considered invalid.
One of the peoples of Nepal has a custom to marry a girl for a bel-fruit - the fruit of a forest apple tree, which symbolizes the god Vishnu.

You can sympathize with the men of Rwanda. Indeed, after the wedding, for several weeks, the wives beat and scratch them at night, and in the morning they go to their parents to rest. It is believed that this ritual helps women get rid of internal aggression forever.

In some African tribes, the groom "wins" the bride, roaring like a lion: the louder and more terrible the roar, the more worthy the contender for the lady's hand and heart is considered. For others, it is customary to test the groom for strength in a different way: having assessed the physical data of the future son-in-law, the father of the bride orders him to satisfy her mother a certain number of times. Whoever copes with the task becomes a respected person in the tribe.

The traditions of the island peoples are no less interesting. In some Pacific islands, the wedding ceremony is reduced to a joint meal from the same plate in front of witnesses. By the way, the girl is the first to declare love there. To do this, she gives the mother or sister of the chosen one a piece of rope. In New Guinea, the groom gives the bride 20 shells, 20 bird-of-paradise skins, and 20 pigs, which are sacred animals, for the wedding. The bride's veil is a pig's stomach turned inside out.

In Chechnya, during the celebration, the bride stands in the corner all the time, hiding her face. To congratulate her, the guests ask her for water. When the bride brings the cup, they drink the water and throw money into the cup.

Funny wedding traditions exist in India. You can marry a tree there. What for? The answer is simple: until the elder brother gets married, the younger one cannot marry. To give the younger this opportunity, the older brother symbolically takes a tree as his wife. After the ceremony, the tree is cut down, which symbolizes the death of the "wife".

In the state of Punjab, trees are married for a slightly different reason. The fact is that the third time to marry there is prohibited by law, the fourth time - please. An excellent solution to the problem is marriage with a tree. After the tree is cut down, leaving the husband a widower, he can safely marry a fourth time.

The countries of the Far East keep and honor their traditions, and wedding traditions are no exception. In one of the tribes in the mountains of China, a wife can kill her husband if something does not suit her in their relationship.

In Laos, the groom is required to carry the bride in his arms to the house where they will live. It is believed that an evil spirit is waiting for them on the way to quarrel. You can prevent this only by taking the bride in your arms.

In Vietnam, the parents of the bride and groom celebrate their children's weddings separately, so guests have a difficult choice of who to go to.

Japanese newlyweds are required to drink nine sips of sake, the first of which signifies that the bride and groom have truly become husband and wife.

In Tibet, women can have two husbands, and in Indonesia, a wife has the right to expel her husband 3 months after the wedding if life with him does not suit her. Husbands in Indonesia are called "comers", as they stay with their wives only at night, and go to their parents in the morning.

As you can see, the wedding traditions of different nations are very different from each other, but they are all connected by a common goal: to provide the newlyweds with a prosperous, rich life. Over time, the existing rites will sink into oblivion, and they will be replaced by new ones, but their meaning is unlikely to ever change. After all, marriage is forever, and you need to do everything possible to make it happy ...

Wedding rites in Africa are drastically different depending on which tribe is being considered.

There are about 5000 tribes in Africa.

However, many of them are similar, and in total there are 1000 tribes that differ significantly in their traditions and customs, and this also applies to weddings.

Wedding customs throughout Africa

However, there are common features of wedding ceremonies that are characteristic of all African tribes:

• the need to pay a ransom to the bride's family. Before the wedding, the groom undertakes to provide for his woman, so he must demonstrate his solvency and ability to obtain and create material wealth. So, things, bedding, furniture, animals can serve as a ransom. Everything that is possible. In some cases, the ransom is so large that it takes years to pay. However, Africans have a different understanding of this custom: here they do not literally buy a girl, but with the help of a ransom they express gratitude to her family for being able to raise a good and well-mannered mistress;
• every wedding ceremony in Africa is dancing. They even support this tradition, although their celebration is relatively calm. Dances are organized simply until you drop. The main task of the bride is to dance for a sufficient amount of time to show her femininity and ability to have fun. For African tribes, this is very important, and literally everyone dances - women, men, young and old;
• circumcision is a pre-wedding ceremony if the girl has not passed it before. In Africa, it is believed that if a girl was not circumcised in childhood, she is dirty and walking, which means that no one will marry her. However, this is not the case everywhere. In many tribes, the bridegroom is first found for the lady, and then they are circumcised. This procedure is not always successful. Sometimes girls die from blood loss, and get infected
• wedding ceremony infections. Modern specialists have carried out a lot of work on communicating with Africans, but they categorically refuse to understand the futility of this disastrous procedure;
• in the process of conducting the wedding ceremony, the bride's father gives her hand-sewn sandals made of cow skin, and the groom - made of lion skin;
• in many tribes, this is the procedure for introducing the bride to her new home: when she goes with the groom to his home, they are met there by relatives and friends of the bride, who spit in a couple. As they say, for good luck;
• until the bride enters the house and confirms that she agrees to marriage, there is a chance to abandon the whole idea.

Zulu Wedding Customs

This tribe loves to celebrate weddings with beer. There are no celebrations here without this drink, especially weddings.

The Zulus pour beer into glasses and place it on the floor. This is a sign for relatives and friends to come to the wedding. Everyone who wants to come. Then the celebration begins.

The Zulu celebration itself is somewhat violent. It does not do without sacrifice - either a goat or a cow is sacrificed. This is a kind of rite of passage for the groom, which shows the bride his skills.

African wedding ceremonies are somewhat unusual, for example, among the Zulus, these are curses. All participants in the celebration gather together, beat drums and insult each other with swear words.

Previously, the tribe pursued another strange tradition: you could only marry a girl from an enemy clan.

Wedding customs of the Swazi tribe

There is a fun custom here, which is more like a game. The groom's friends are trying to break through to the bride in order to kidnap her.

And everything would be fine, but instead of a ransom, you need to overcome ... her girlfriends! And to do this, as it turned out, is not at all easy.

Wedding customs of the Yuruba tribe

Everything is more peaceful and civilized here. One amazing custom is robes, which must match between two categories of people.

The groom and guests, including relatives, on his side dress in one dress, and the bride's guests in another.

The ancient ones thus suggest that during the wedding two different families are reunited.

Also, the bride and groom of the tribe must eat dried fish, pepper and honey, which should indicate different feelings that are present in the life of any family.

It is assumed that with the use of these products, the spouses are preparing for the difficulties that lie in wait for them.

Wedding customs of the Bororo tribe

Unlike other tribes, Bororos do not sacrifice a cow, but a bull. At the same time, the bull is simply cut at the wedding, its genitals are removed and given to be eaten by the groom, and the bride gets other parts of the bull's body.

At the same time, the groom wants male strength, and the bride - fertility.

An interesting game, which is considered a custom among the tribe, is the preparation of clothes with the same style, design and color for all the bridesmaids.

This is done to make it harder to recognize the bride.

Africa is the most amazing and exotic continent of our Earth. This mainland is inhabited by more than a thousand tribes, with a bright and colorful culture and traditions, with a symbiosis of various religions: Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and ancient African. In general, various parts of Africa have their own traditions, which differ from others in the degree of influence of religion, ethnic characteristics of the peoples inhabiting the territory, and so on. In other words, everywhere in Africa there is something specific, peculiar only to this area, but at the same time there are common similar traditions.

African wedding traditions

African women are taught from an early age for the upcoming family life, they are taught to be successful mistresses of the hearth. Most tribes have special conventional codes and languages, thanks to which married women communicate with each other, without the intervention of their husbands.

In Africa, marriages are concluded at a fairly early age, when boys and girls reach puberty, at about 13-15 years old. Due to the small age of the newlyweds, elders, elders and parents often agree on this.
In Africa, it is customary to schedule a wedding celebration on any day of the holiday. As a result, often several weddings are celebrated in one day and all this merges into a big celebration.

It lasts from one to several days.

Wedding in Africa this is first of all bright and colorful performance with dances in traditional African style, accompanied by the playing of drums and other guitar-like instruments.

African weddings

At the same time, the modern African wedding has clearly been influenced by European wedding traditions. It is for this reason that, along with ethnic red and gold wedding dresses and headdresses reminiscent of a turban for the bride and a hat for the groom, modern couples can choose a white European-style wedding dress and a tuxedo.

A wedding celebration cannot be imagined without flowers. Since they are used to decorate both the place of celebration and the outfits of the young.

In Africa, divorce is extremely rare, since the affairs of the family concern members of the entire tribe and therefore are decided by everyone together. In addition, family values ​​are kept very carefully and cultivated from a very young age.

Various African states have their own funny and interesting customs that are unique to a particular region.

For example, in Kenya, a rather complex ritual pattern of red and black color is applied to the bride's limbs. These drawings last for a whole year and speak of the new position of a married woman. In addition, a Kenyan groom is required to dress up in women's clothes for a whole month in order to feel the burden of women's household chores.

And Nigerians generally drive away with sticks in the hands of the groom during the wedding celebration. At the same time, the groom runs away through a living corridor, which is formed by the bride's relatives with sticks in their hands. Only after the ordeal by beating with sticks, in which the father-in-law and mother-in-law do their best, does it become clear how ready the groom is for his family responsibilities. For reference, in Yemen, during the wedding ceremony, the groom is also kicked and beaten by the guests to tame his pride. And in Samoa, the first wedding night of the young generally takes place in the small hut of the parents, in which, along with the young, relatives, as well as domestic animals, huddle. And if suddenly the newlyweds wake up one of the sleeping ones, then the groom is stoned.

The African continent is inhabited by a large number of tribes. Each has its own traditions, customs and rituals, but there are some similarities in the celebration of the wedding celebration. Not a single African wedding is complete without dancing; everyone dances here, regardless of gender and age. At this bright, colorful holiday, only invited guests are present, often relatives from the bride or groom. The duration of the holiday depends on the tribe in which it is celebrated. Usually walk for at least a week.

Since the age of newlyweds in Africa rarely exceeds 15 years, their parents agree on the upcoming wedding. The boy's parents choose a bride for their son, using the services of a matchmaker. A woman, visiting all kinds of holidays, looks closely at the young ladies, then draws up a list of suitable candidates and shows it to her betrothed and his parents.

African girls are being prepared for marriage from childhood. They are instilled with the importance of the family, taught various tricks of housekeeping and everyday life. Entering into marriage, the young lady is well aware of how serious the continuation of the family and the upbringing of children are.

Redemption and marriage

On the day of the celebration, the newlywed pays a ransom to the girl's parents. And it is not at all necessary that he will pay for his future wife with money. These are pets, household items, kitchen utensils or other things useful in the household. In Africa, ransom is not buying a wife, but gratitude to parents for raising such a good daughter. On the other hand, the ransom symbolizes the guy's wealth, his ability to provide for his future family.

Depending on the customs of a particular tribe, a sacrifice ceremony is performed during the wedding (a goat, a bull is chosen as a victim). In some tribes, in order for the family to be strong, the bride and groom are offered to eat certain foods. The newlyweds on this day put on elegant clothes (usually red), the girl puts on a lot of gold jewelry. The newlywed gives boiled eggs to the guests, the sounds of tam-tams drive away evil spirits from the young family and their loved ones.

The first wedding night of the peoples of Africa.

Often the wedding night takes place in the presence of a relative from the bride. The girl's aunt settles under the bed and during the intimacy of the newlyweds gives them valuable advice and tells them how to behave. In the morning, such a “helper” shows everyone a sheet with traces of blood, indicating that the girl was a virgin before marriage.

There is an African custom when, after spending the night, the groom puts a lit candle on the window. So symbolically, he informs his fellow villagers that the bride was innocent, and intimacy between them has already taken place. In certain tribes, the first night of the bride and groom comes on the eve of the wedding. The girl suddenly comes to the groom's house, accompanied by her relatives. She stays with the groom, and the wedding ceremony is held in the morning.

African traditions of celebrating a wedding still exist today, although more and more young people prefer to celebrate in a modern European style.