Wedding news
LawMarriage registrations get new venuesDowry and giftsIndia's dowry curse: Outlawed practice remains deeply entrenched - ReportersDressHBCU mascots get married during homecomingCustomsWhy Brides Are Refusing to Buy Traditional Wedding Dresses for $5,000RitesGrooms redefine wedding wardrobes with comfort, tradition, and reusability in mindLawColumn: Va. conservatives should vote for marriage equality amendmentDowry and giftsDLSA Secretary calls for wider student awareness on Dowry Prohibition ActMass weddingsWhy South Africans won't stop spending on celebrationsDowry and giftsNow Solar Panels given as dowry in PakistanRitesFrom bridesโ€™ hands to a Starbucks cup: Meet Manii Basran, the mehendi artist who turned her art into a viLawMarriage registrations get new venuesDowry and giftsIndia's dowry curse: Outlawed practice remains deeply entrenched - ReportersDressHBCU mascots get married during homecomingCustomsWhy Brides Are Refusing to Buy Traditional Wedding Dresses for $5,000RitesGrooms redefine wedding wardrobes with comfort, tradition, and reusability in mindLawColumn: Va. conservatives should vote for marriage equality amendmentDowry and giftsDLSA Secretary calls for wider student awareness on Dowry Prohibition ActMass weddingsWhy South Africans won't stop spending on celebrationsDowry and giftsNow Solar Panels given as dowry in PakistanRitesFrom bridesโ€™ hands to a Starbucks cup: Meet Manii Basran, the mehendi artist who turned her art into a vi
EveryShaadi

Wedding traditions of Sub-Saharan Africa

Lobola and the knocking on the door, kente and the wedding cloth, Gerewol and the Ethiopian zemed. 68 traditions on EveryShaadi so far.

Countries

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด Angola 1๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Benin 5๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ Botswana 0๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ Burkina Faso 1๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ Burundi 2๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Cameroon 3๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cape Verde 0๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ Central African Republic 1๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ Chad 1๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Comoros 0๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Democratic Republic of the Congo 1๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Djibouti 0๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ถ Equatorial Guinea 0๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท Eritrea 2๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Eswatini 2๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Ethiopia 10๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Gabon 0๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Gambia 4๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ Ghana 8๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ Guinea 1๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ผ Guinea-Bissau 0๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Ivory Coast 0๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya 8๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ Lesotho 1๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท Liberia 1๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Madagascar 0๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ Malawi 0๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Mali 6๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ Mauritius 1๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Mozambique 0๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Namibia 1๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช Niger 8๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria 25๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Republic of the Congo 1๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ Rwanda 4๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡น Sรฃo Tomรฉ and Prรญncipe 0๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ Senegal 3๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ Seychelles 1๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra Leone 1๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ด Somalia 1๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa 16๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Sudan 2๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania 2๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ Togo 5๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda 16๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Zambia 4๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Zimbabwe 2

Cities and towns

Lagos 4Addis Ababa 2Cape Town 2

On the calendar

Shubh Vivah muhuratThe Nigerian December wedding seasonGhana, from Easter to DecemberSouth Africa, the spring and summer seasonEthiopia, the season after the rainsThe Coptic and Ethiopian Great LentRamadanGerewol (Wodaabe Courtship Festival)Umhlanga (Reed Dance)Marriage Equality, South Africa (1 December 2006)
KindRiteVowBetrothalGift customAttireAdornmentPerformanceFeast customBlessingPlayFamily roleSettingModern
StageFinding a matchEngagement and betrothalThe weeks beforeThe eveProcession and arrivalThe ceremonyThe wedding feastReception, dance and giftsAfter the wedding
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Addis Ababa, EthiopiaWedding customs in Ethiopia A collection of diverse marriage rites across Ethiopian tribes and the Orthodox Christian community.Rite ยท Finding a match ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ NigeriaYoruba traditional weddingIgbeyawo The multi-day Yoruba marriage ceremony featuring traditional attire, family introductions, and the Eru Iyawo gift list.Attire ยท Engagement and betrothal ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Sudan and 1 moreGhost marriage in South Sudan A union where a living brother stands in for a deceased groom to secure lineage and wealth.Betrothal ยท Engagement and betrothal ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ NigeriaFattening room A traditional Nigerian retreat where Efik women are secluded to learn skills and gain weight before marriage.Betrothal ยท Engagement and betrothal ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa and 1 moreLobololobola (Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Ndebele), mahadi (Sesotho), mahari (Swahili), magadi (Sepedi), bogadi (Setswana), lovola (Xi The livestock or cash payment from a groom's family to a bride's family that formalizes a customary marriage in SouthernGift custom ยท Finding a match ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช KenyaKoito A Kalenjin dowry negotiation ritual that marks the formal agreement between families.Gift custom ยท Engagement and betrothal ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ NigeriaMoney marriage A practice in southern Nigeria where a girl is given in marriage to settle her family's debts.Gift custom ยท Finding a match ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ NigeriaIgbo traditional marriageIgba Nkwu The multi-stage Igbo marriage process that formalizes a union through family negotiations and the wine-carrying ceremonyRite ยท Finding a match ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria and 1 moreHausa traditional marriage The Islamic marriage rites of the Hausa people in Northern Nigeria and Niger.Rite ยท Finding a match ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya and 1 moreAyie The Luo bride price ceremony where the mother accepts payment and agrees to the marriage.Gift custom ยท Engagement and betrothal ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria and 1 moreSurrogate marriage A woman marries another woman to bear children for her lineage when she cannot have them herself.Betrothal ยท Finding a match ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ GhanaPolygamy in Ghana A practice where a man has multiple wives, recognized under customary law but illegal under civil statutes.Family role ยท Engagement and betrothal ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ Mauritius and 1 moreGeet-Gawai๐‘‚๐‘‚ฒ๐‘‚ž ๐‘‚๐‘‚ซ๐‘‚ฐ๐‘‚† (Bhojpuri) A pre-wedding ritual of Bhojpuri-speaking people in Mauritius featuring songs and dance.Performance ยท Engagement and betrothal ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ UgandaGaze A traditional dance of the Lugbara people in Northern Uganda performed at weddings and festivalsPerformance ยท Engagement and betrothal ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ UgandaNaleyo A courtship dance of the Karamojong people where men and women jump facing each other to find partners.Performance ยท Engagement and betrothal ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ UgandaOkeme A lively Lango folk dance performed at weddings to bring the community together.Performance ยท Engagement and betrothal

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryShaadi

Every week: one wedding tradition from somewhere new, the wedding days coming up around the world, and one idea explained.