ILLUSTRATION OF SELECTED TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE SCENES IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA.

Hello Steemians, today I'll be reviewing about the illustration of selected traditional marriage scenes in my state, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

First and foremost, there is what we call Unó MKpo which means to “to give something” is the day that the items given to the prospective groom is delivered. This act is very important as traditionally, it solidifies the prospective groom’s commitment to his request for marriage and it serves as a form of compensation to the family of the prospective bride for taking away a member of their family

This is the most important stage as it is the traditional marriage ceremony. Upon arrival, the women and children of the village fence the entrance with wedges and make their requests to the groom, and it is the duty of the groom and his family to meet their request on the spot.

Local Delicacies Prepared By The Bride's Family (Udia Ebenge).
The ceremony kicks off with an opulent display of food – Edi kang ikong, Atama,Edi tan, Ekpan nku kwo and music. The aim is to assure the groom and his entourage that the prospective bride had impressive cooking skills and would not slack in feeding her husband.

After enjoying the meals, the groom and his family is ushered into the main venue and the bride who is garbed in full traditional attire, dances in with maidens on her trail.

Presentation of the fake bride is one of the things they do to spice up the wedding.

Bride receiving parental blessings.

Groom receiving parental blessings.

Blessing of the couple..

The last part of the marriage is the nuptial dance which marks the end of the ceremony and regarded as the first official activity the couple engages in as a couple. The bride is expected to follow the husband home after this, but in recent times, the couple usually proceeds to perform the church wedding before the marriage is consummated.

All images gotten from Linksign studio.

Thank you..