Marriage is a lawful union between a man and a woman after customary rites to become husband and wife and bear children. It can also be defined as a lawful and acceptable union to form a family. Nigeria has four (4) different kinds of marriage practices. The way one practices it depends on one’s religious beliefs. It does not violate the country’s law as it is within the civic rights of her citizens.
Four Major Practices
The first one is customary marriage. This practice entails the man and woman being joined together as husband and wife by the native laws and customs. It involves paying a bride’s price and other things the bride’s family requires before the marriage. The bride’s price depends on the ethnic group you marry from. In some cases, the bride’s family frowns against the bride’s price as they see it as selling off their daughter, while some see it as a way of telling the groom’s family how precious their daughter is. Depending on the spectrum you find yourself in, this is one of the features of a customary marriage. Also, you may be required to bring yam, oil, wine, a bag full of clothes, sugarcane, etc.
Another practice is Christian marriage. In this practice, a priest joins the man and woman as husband and wife in a church. The church of the bride’s family is used to perform the holy solemnization. It is common for the man to wear a suit and the woman to wear a white gown dress as a symbol of chastity. The man brings a ring and holy bible to the church, which the priest/pastor uses to perform the union. Prayers are made on the altar as a way of proclaiming blessing on the new family for a blissful home.
Islamic marriage is also a marriage practice in Nigeria. The man and woman are joined together as husband and wife by the Imam in the mosque. This is called Nikah in the Quran, which means a contract of marriage.
The fourth one is marriage by ordinance. In this case, the court performs the union rites in accordance with the country’s law. The first step is for the man or woman to go to the court to register. After you’ve completed the notice of intention to be married form, the registrar will record it in the marriage notice book. Subsequently, a copy of the notice will be affixed to the registry’s notice board for 21 days. This process is outlined in Section 10 of the Marriage Act. After the notice date has expired, you can now be joined together and celebrate in the court.
