• Hausa Edition
  • Podcast
  • Conferences
  • LeVogue Magazine
  • Business News
  • Print Advert Rates
  • Online Advert Rates
  • Contact Us
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Leadership Newspapers
Read in Hausa
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Football
  • Others
    • LeVogue Magazine
    • Conferences
    • National Economy
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Football
  • Others
    • LeVogue Magazine
    • Conferences
    • National Economy
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Leadership Newspapers
No Result
View All Result

The Gbagyi/ Gbari Cultural Wedding

by Adejumoke Adeeso and Agency Report
1 year ago
in Fashion
Share on WhatsAppShare on FacebookShare on XTelegram

Marriage is a sacred obligation in every culture of the world. Details ranging from courtship, payment of dowry, marital rituals and other celebrations vary across creeds, spiritual dispositions and traditional obligations. Amongst the Gbagyi speaking people of Nigeria, the  ethnic group found predominantly in Central Nigeria, marriage and the process thereof is the same safe for slight discrepancies attributed to dialectical differences.

Advertisement

In a typical Gbagyi culture marriage is a thorough but exciting endeavour. Initiation into the marital life for a male gbagyiza begins between the age of fifteen to eighteen as boys within this age bracket are considered capable of producing offspring. For the female gbagyi child, betrothalment could be considered for her between the early age of eight and ten. This is due to the expectation that the girl will be ripe for marriage by the time the dowry payment is completed and a marriage date fixed.

Courtship

This is where the fun is or the pain for some people. Gbagyi people attach unqualified importance and strictness to courtship such that it lasts for a period of seven years.

There are two approaches to courtship among the Gbagyi people. The first but rare method of courtship is totally in the interest of the groom’s parents. This is when the parents of a boy directs the boy’s attention towards a particular girl or accost the family of the said girl on his behalf. This is usually the case when parents of the groom desire their son to marry from a particular family, for private or popular reasons.

RELATED

Glamour At The Tips Of Your Pencil: The Art Of Eyeliner

Glamour At The Tips Of Your Pencil: The Art Of Eyeliner

3 days ago
Trending Now: Lemon Prints, Polka Dots, Pretty Pink & Patchwork

Trending Now: Lemon Prints, Polka Dots, Pretty Pink & Patchwork

3 days ago

The second approach lets the groom to hunt for a wife by himself. He reports to his parents whenever he finds a girl of his liking. Then the next phase is initiated.

At this stage the groom’s parents send a delegation to the bride’s parents. The bride’s parents in turn request some time to confer with the girl. A date is fixed when the groom’s delegation returns with two sets of plates. These sets of plates are then accepted by the bride’s parent to signify acceptance of their proposition. The delegation is then referred to a member of the bride’s family who is to serve as intermediary known as migbiyi. The migbiyi deals with everything from here.

The next phase in the courtship is the payment of dowry. The groom is hereby required to do some farm work for the bride’s parents for a period of seven years. This farm work includes making of yam heaps, weeding of ridges and harvesting of farm produce. Usually the groom is assisted by his friends, and the farming continues, two or three times in a year, for seven consecutive years. To test the groom’s ability to feed the bride he’s asked to bring an equivalent of 50kg of guinea corn of his own harvest. This is called wyiga. The groom begins with one wyiga and continues to add one until the seventh year when he presents seven wyiga shortly before picking a date for the marriage.

The Wedding Rites

The wedding begins with the sacrifice of chickens or goats asking for the blessings of the gods upon the couple. The bride is thereafter released to the groom’s family and friends. It is customary to prepare a meal with eleven chickens, ten of which goes to the bride’s parents and the last to the migbiyi. The bride is accompanied to the groom’s house by five or more maids. That day, at the groom’s house, celebrations ensued from sunset till dawn. The next morning, an elderly woman will call out several names carefully chosen for the bride. When the bride hears one which suits her, she rushes out of her hut and is taken to the bathroom where the same elderly woman strips her half naked and inspects her body features and as such determines her chastity. This is called the bridal bath. Again, the villagers party till the break of dawn. On the second morning, the maids who accompanied the bride go into the bush to fetch firewood for the bride. Then they fetch water for all the old people in the village. After this, other marriage festivities which include singing and dancing competitions, wrestling matches et al continue for seven days. On the seventh day, the accompanying maids return to their village leaving only one behind who is called mula cheknu to help the bride with domestic chores. Everybody disperse and the couple begins their matrimonial journey.


We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →

Join Our WhatsApp Channel



SendShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Jersey: That Casual Outfit That’ll Make You Look Sporty, Chic Same Time

Next Post

Recreational Activities Galore: Fun For Everyone

Adejumoke Adeeso and Agency Report

Adejumoke Adeeso and Agency Report

You May Like

Glamour At The Tips Of Your Pencil: The Art Of Eyeliner
Fashion

Glamour At The Tips Of Your Pencil: The Art Of Eyeliner

2025/05/10
Trending Now: Lemon Prints, Polka Dots, Pretty Pink & Patchwork
Fashion

Trending Now: Lemon Prints, Polka Dots, Pretty Pink & Patchwork

2025/05/10
Classic Vs Trendy: Where Elegance Meets Evolution
Fashion

Classic Vs Trendy: Where Elegance Meets Evolution

2025/05/10
Return Of Oversized Luxury Bags: Bold, Big, Unstoppable
Fashion

Return Of Oversized Luxury Bags: Bold, Big, Unstoppable

2025/05/04
7 Effortless Style Hacks For A Sleeker Silhouette
Fashion

7 Effortless Style Hacks For A Sleeker Silhouette

2025/05/04
Native  And Vogue: Where Tradition Meets Innovation
Fashion

Native And Vogue: Where Tradition Meets Innovation

2025/04/19
Leadership Conference advertisement

Leadership Conference advertisement

LATEST

SCOAN Sets For South Africa Revival Crusade

FG Confirms Full Repayment of $3.4bn COVID-19 IMF Loan

Niger Gov Sets Up Committee Over Boundary Disputes

Police Injure 7 Sea Pirates In Gun Duel

NYC Names Ex-female Presidential Candidate Nigerian Youths’ Grand Mentor

Governor Sule’s Loyalty To Tinubu Remains Unwavering –Aide

Divine Gold Co-operative Society, TWDO Empower Women Farmers In FCT

Hajj: 560 Pilgrims Airlifted From Ilorin Airport

FCT Open Grazing: We Have To Tread Cautiously – Wike

‘Leicester City Can’t Keep Hold Of Ndidi’

© 2025 Leadership Media Group - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Football
  • Others
    • LeVogue Magazine
    • Conferences
    • National Economy
  • Contact Us

© 2025 Leadership Media Group - All Rights Reserved.