Marrying in Africa

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:55:45 EST

Wow, it has been a huddle getting someone to marry, fine, in African perspective marriage depends on culture and tribe. Bride price too depends on that, but on the other hand whether you're rich or poor you have to abide by the norms.

In some cultures when a white man marries a black lady or vice versa, they view that as wealth to the family, yet not knowing that when a man and a woman comes together they need to work hard to get to their objectives.

There are always two types of marriages traditional and church, before the traditional marriage is done, church marriage cannot take place. In some cases, a Moslem community both marriages can take place in the same day that was viewed in Nakaseke in Uganda where both marriages took place in the same day.

With bride price for example the Kumam culture in Eastern Uganda that is Kaberamaido and Soroti, where the Kuman culture occupy, whether a man is poor or rich he has to pay mostly inform of cattle and money.

Thereafter, the church wedding follows if need be. Bride price is not fixed because it depends on the girl's family's demands. The more the wife to be is educated the greater the demand. In some understanding instances, the couple can share the responsibility to pay the price but without the knowledge of the parents from both sides so that the bride price appears to have been paid by the groom.

There used to be traditional norms in marriage where parents were the ones to look for wife to be for their son. Today, parents are not so much involved in the search, where as they need to ascertain the credibility of both wife and husband to be.

Traditional marriage in Africa is so much valued, since relatives and friends get to know their in-laws and abide by the norms.

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Marrying in Africa