African Marriage Traditions and Customs

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5 Weird Wedding Traditions in Africa
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5 Weird Wedding Traditions in Africa

• In some areas, there are marriage customs that
  are brought to a level that can be considered
  crazy.
• Beliefs, culture and history have produced very
  different types of traditions when it comes to
  marriage.
• For example, in Mauritania brides are often
  forced to eat to be fatter on their wedding day
  because a fat wife signifies prosperity in a
  marriage.

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1. A servant hides under a bed

• In Swahili culture, a bride who marries because
  of an arranged marriage has a marriage mentor
  (somo) during their first night.
• The marriage mentor will be under the bed,
  while the newlyweds will perfect their marriage.
• This is done to ensure that the bride is doing
  their first night well and the mentor is the
  witness.

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2. High leg kicks to prove virginity

• At the Zulu wedding, at the height of the wedding
  ceremony, the bride performed a dance that at a
  certain point, they kicked her legs up high to
  show her mother that she was still a virgin.

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3. Smeared with cow fat

• In Namibia, the wedding ceremony is usually
  followed by a visit to the brides fathers
  house.
• There, he was told by the family about his
  responsibilities as a wife.
• After that, he was anointed with butter fat from
  a cow, symbolizing that he was part of a new
  family and had been accepted into it.

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4. Emergency situation

• In Shona culture, the wedding night tradition
  begins even before the wedding.
• The bride decides when the wedding ceremony will
  be and she will dress in white from head to toe
  to the house of her future husband.

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5. Blood on the sheets

• In Tunisia, some old traditions regarding the
  first night of marriage are still practiced, such
  as a new pangantin displaying blood on their
  sheets to prove that the bride remains a virgin
  until marriage.
• In some areas, there are marriage customs that
  are brought to a level that can be considered
  crazy.
• Beliefs, culture and history have produced very
  different types of traditions when it comes to
  marriage.
• For example, in Mauritania pegantians are often
  forced to eat to get fatter on their wedding day
  because a fat wife signifies prosperity in a
  marriage.
• The following are some strange traditions in
  several regions of Africa

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1. A servant hides under a bed

• In Swahili culture, a bride who marries because
  of an arranged marriage has a marriage mentor
  (somo) during their first night.
• The marriage mentor will be under the bed,
  while the newlyweds will perfect their marriage.
• This is done to ensure that the bride is doing
  their first night well and the mentor is the
  witness.

9
2. High leg kicks to prove virginity

• At the Zulu wedding, at the height of the wedding
  ceremony, the bride performed a dance that at a
  certain point, they kicked her legs up high to
  show her mother that she was still a virgin.

10
3. Smeared with cow fat

• In Namibia, the wedding ceremony is usually
  followed by a visit to the brides fathers
  house.
• There, he was told by the family about his
  responsibilities as a wife.
• After that, he was anointed with butter fat from
  a cow, symbolizing that he was part of a new
  family and had been accepted into it.

11
4. Emergency situation

• In Shona culture, the wedding night tradition
  begins even before the wedding.
• The bride decides when the wedding ceremony will
  be and she will dress in white from head to toe
  to the house of her future husband.

12
5. Blood on the sheets

• In Tunisia, some old traditions regarding the
  first night of marriage are still practiced, such
  as a new pangantin displaying blood on their
  sheets to prove that the bride remains a virgin
  until marriage.
• So These are the african marriage traditions and
  customs