BRIDE PRICE PAYMENT: OPTIONAL OR COMPULSORY TRADITION
1 Umbrella
2 bags of rice
1 carton of Stella pomade
1 suitcase filled with clothes (box of wrappers)
2 bottles of hot drinks (schnapps)
1 crate of malt drinks
1 plate of kolanuts
1 bag of salt
25 liters of palm oil for the bride’s mother
1 jar of palm wine
1 carton of wine for sundry use (the groom should hold this)
3 crates of malt for women of the lineage
6 carton of beer for men of the lineage (broken down into:
2 cartons of small Guinness stout;
2 cartons of Star beer;
2 cartons of Gulder beer)
28 tubers of yam arrange in groups of seven
14 tubers of yam for the eldest man in the lineage
N1,500 cash for the dowry (depending on tradition)
N5,000 cash for the bride’s mother
N3,000 cash for the bride’s father
N9,000 cash for the men in bride’s lineage
N6,000 cash for the women bride’s lineage
N5,000 cash for the youths in bride's compound
Bride price forms an important part of our African tradition. In some cultures, a woman is said to be unmarried until the man pays her bride price even though they are both living together already. In fact, the woman is not allowed to bury her father when he dies until the man pays her bride price. It is believed that the duty and responsibility of catering for a female child lies with the father and therefore, if a man wants to marry a woman, he has to respect her father by paying her bride price.
If a husband fails to pay the bride price in respect of his wife in full or to make other payments when they are due, the family of the wife may recall her and keep her until the husband fulfils his obligation. In some areas the family has an alternative remedy of instituting legal proceedings against the husband to recover the payment.
Some persons are of the opinion that the practice of parents donating items of household property to the bride should be stopped as this is one of the practices that give encouragement to high bride price. For example, consider the case of a man who pays Nl00,000.00 to his inlaws and they give him their daughter. On the day of wedding, the parents who received the money make gifts to their daughter which include cookers, sewing machines, bicycle, kitchen equipment, beds, animals and sometimes cash gifts. In the end, the parents spend more than the N100,000 they received. They spend a lot of money buying items of household property as gifts to their daughters. Parents who do not do this are ridiculed. This practice is considered to be obnoxious as it forces parents to demand high bride price in order to meet up with the costs of the gifts. In your opinion, what is the future of bride price payment?
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