YORUBA WEDDING YORUBA WEDDING

Ceremony agenda

These lists often differ by family. Years ago, the items on the list were not wrapped for easy identification by the family, but they are now neatly wrapped by professionals for beautification. The ceremony is usually colorful with different attires by families of the bride and groom (Aso Ebi). The bride and groom wear the same attire and the ceremony marks the end of courtship. It is the event where the bride’s family officially hands over their daughter to the groom and his family. All aspects of the ceremony are accompanied by dancing, music, talking drums and jokes.

ELEGANT ENTRANCE OF THE GROOM’S FAMILY:

The family of the bride welcomes the family of the groom. The coordinators (Alaga Iduro and Alaga Ijoko) on each side of the family direct and oversee the ceremony. The groom’s family might be required to pay some money before entering before the bride’s family. The parents of the groom are always in the front and other family members dance behind them.

PROPOSAL AND ACCEPTANCE:

The official proposal letter from the groom family is read to the hearing of every member of the bride’s family and the bride’s family reads the acceptance letter in response.

THE GROOM MILITARY AND ELEGANT ENTRANCE:

The groom dances in with his friends. They all prostrate before the bride’s family and cannot get up until commanded to get up This part of the ceremony is full of fun. The groom might be instructed to perform some physical exercises, just to make sure he is fit for marriage. After this, both families pray for the groom

ENTRANCE OF THE BRIDE: The bride dances in with friends with her face covered with a veil. She dances to her family for prayers and then to the groom’s family. Her veil is lifted by the groom and the ceremony begins. Some families have glazed this part of the ceremony with fun of the bride having the groom’s hat, dancing around and then placing the hat on the groom’s head while kneeling to show respect.

PRAYERS / THE BRIDE PRICE:

Some parts of the Yoruba culture uses the stuff brought by the groom’s family to pray, while some instruct the bride to pick the most valuable out of all the gifts. The brides pick the bible or the Quran depending on the religion. The bride price is accepted from the groom’s family. This is usually a substantial amount of money. Nowadays, the bride price is returned to the groom’s family to show that they are not selling their daughter.

Cutting

OF THE CAKE / PARTY:

The wedding cake is cut with dances, accompanied with merriment, food, drinks, and pleasantries.