African Wedding Traditions

Africa is a home for diverse culture and customs. Marriages are very special occasions in Africa and are marked with elaborate ceremony and occasion. Young African girls are taught from very early age the necessity of having a family and the duties of a married woman. African Weddings are meant to be very colorful and lively.

One important tradition of African Wedding is to understand the importance of 'Family'. Here marriage unifies two families or two tribes into one particular family unit. Different parts of Africa follow different traditions. Some unique traditions of African Wedding can be seen in Ankole Wedding tradition, Pygmie wedding tradition, Nile Wedding tradition, Congo wedding tradition, and Zambian wedding traditions.

In Sudan and other parts of river Nile it is a ritual for a groom to pay his bride's family a herd of cattle or sheep for the loss of their daughter's labor in support of their family. In Somalia the girl gets engaged to a boy at a very early age and usually any man can marry up to four times if he is financially secure.

Bright festive color, songs, dance, music are common in any African wedding. Traditionally it is believed in Africa that a girl should be married off at a very early age as soon as she attains physical adulthood.

In Egypt young girls are married off at an early age. Wedding ceremonies Are organized in front of a witness and brideprice is settled down. When everything is agreed upon the first chapter of Koran is read out.

On the day the wedding has been fixed for, the groom usually goes with some friends to the bride's home and pay some of the brideprice they have agreed on. The real wedding takes place in front of two witnesses who must be Muslims. The groom accepts the bride and promise to take care of her give her protection. A couple of days after the ceremony the groom welcome his bride to his home and all their friends and relatives are invited too to come and congratulate and bestow them with their blessings.

The old tribal traditions are fading and the tribes are more likely to live after the Western rules of society and are influenced by western culture and wedding style.

Now generally Africans follow western style wedding ceremonies and organize for a reception party where all family members and friends dance, sing, enjoy and makes merry.

Travour.com describes and provides information on the wedding traditions of America and around the world.

Here are some Wedding Traditions performed around the world