Get premium membership and access revision papers with marking schemes, video lessons and live classes.

Processing. Please wait.

Preparation for marriage Traditional African Practice and methods or procedures used in finding partners for marriage

Answer Text:
Preparation for marriage Traditional African Practice:
Preparation for marriage in traditional African communities involves several processes such as choosing a marriage partner, betrothal and courtship, and the wedding ceremony.
Choosing a marriage partner:
There are different customs, methods and procedures used in finding partners for marriage in traditional African communities.
i. Arrangement by parents
In some communities, the choice is made by the parents and this may be done even before the children are born.
ii. Choice by partners
In this case, a boy meets an attractive girl at a social function and indicates to her that he would like to marry her.
iii. Choice through an intermediary .The intermediary is usually a close and trustworthy relative who finds out all about the girl and her family and reports back to the boy’s parents.
Other ways of choosing marriage partners in some communities include the following:
-A senior or first wife of the polygamist may choose a wife for her husband. This practice takes place mostly
in situations where the senior wife is barren.
-Levirate marriage (widow inheritance) is another common marriage practice in traditional African communities.
-In some traditional African communities, girls are given out to chiefs and kings as gifts by their subjects.
-There are cases where a debtor gives his wife to a creditor in order to repay a debt.