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Both the followers of Christianity and Islam follow the African norms for Nigeria weddings. The old practices and rituals are changing with times and becoming similar to the western style of wedding. Western style of wedding has become the trend of Nigeria. Wedding in Nigeria takes place through two stages, introduction and lastly the engagement.
The introduction ceremony is done before the wedding day, where the family of the couples are introduced to each other. Generally groom's family members comprising of married women visit the bride's house, with a letter asking for the bride's hand in the marriage. The ceremony takes place with traditional dances. The groom's family pays money to the would be bride's family for accepting the letter and the guests are fed with home cooked delicacies. Besides the two families, Olopa Iduro or the “standing policemen” are the main participants of the introduction ceremony. If the groom's family are late in arriving then they have to pay a fine or the bride's family may ask them to leave. On entering the bride's family, the women members of the groom's family kneel while the male members bow down in front of the bride's family. Second is the engagement ceremony where the groom's family goes to enquire about the final answer of the bride's family. On final consent, the groom's family presents the bride with the gifts consisting of traditional dress, shoes and jeweleries. In some cases they also pay dowry to the bride's father and some spiritual words are exchanged from Bible or Quran accordingly.
After the pre-wedding rituals, the couple are married. The bride waits with her face covered until she is called for the dinner. She comes out with her face covered and bows in front of her and the groom's parents so that they may bless her. After that she sits for her meal. The bride gets her surname changed to that of her husband and goes to stay with him. According to the rituals, the bride should reach first, refresh herself and wait for her groom.
The Nigeria wedding ritual ends with a reception, which includes traditional dishes and music. The couple wears traditional clothes and finally they start their new life. The Nigeria wedding is representative of the Nigeria culture.
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