The African way of giving wedding gifts is considered a sign of prosperity and happiness the couple will have in their lives together. This tradition has been nurtured and encouraged by the older members of a family to ensure that the couple’s home is filled with love and prosperity. The traditional gifts are usually made up of household items, clothes, food stuffs, gold, land etc.
In Africa alone, we have over three thousand tribes and each of them have their peculiar customs. Here are five African gifting traditions from different parts of the continent.
Nigeria
In an evolving society like Nigeria the wedding gifts are no longer confined to the traditional gifts like the cattle and vegetables. This means the wedding gift ideas in Nigeria have migrated to a different level altogether today. Unlike many other societies, the most gifts come from the groom and his family during a Nigerian wedding. Usually such gifts come before the actual wedding event. Also, one of the latest trends in Nigeria is gifting cooking accessories to wedding couples. Such items could be blenders, mixers, pressure cookers, and a host of other items. These items are very useful for new families and are neither overly elaborate nor very small. Today it is not uncommon to find wedding couples, their families, and guests coming up with gift items such as gold and silver jewelry, exotic and trendy dresses, or electronic gift items like cell phones and if the couple are from a rich home, they could get cars as well.
Ghana
In a traditional Ghanian wedding, gifts are presented to the bride and her family, including a wedding registry that serves the purpose of a dowry, listing things she needs to begin her new life with. This is a pretty elaborate list and includes gifts for the parents and siblings, but primarily comprises personal effects, household items, and other presents for the bride. These gifts are typically presented at the wedding ceremony in a decorative display.
Egypt
Egyptian culture rules dictate that the man brings his family and two gifts to the woman’s family during the engagement Party. The gifts include the dowry (or mahr) to be paid to the girl’s family and the shabka (a gift for the bride-to-be, made of gold and precious stones). The engagement party is highlighted by the man giving his intended bride the agreed-upon shabka.
For wedding guests, gifts are not given at the wedding party, but usually given to the newlyweds either before or after the ceremony. They can include anything for their new house like a vase or china fruit plate, maybe something as simple as chocolates.
South Africa
The Zulu traditional wedding takes place after the white wedding. During this, the groom and his family bring gifts to the bride’s mother and other close family members. Unlike in many other bridal traditions where the bride and her family are the main recipients from the groom’s side, the Zulus in South Africa do it differently. The bride also shows her appreciation to the groom’s family by presenting groceries and other household items after the wedding ceremony.
Rwanda
In Rwanda, during the traditional wedding ceremony, cows are given to the bride’s family while the bride’s family in return give gourds of milk to the groom’s family.Also, local beer is regarded as a very thoughtful gift. It is given by the groom’s family to the bride’s family and could also be given as a wedding gift to the couple by a guest.
In conclusion, African culture is all about giving only the best gifts, during and after a wedding ceremony. It helps to understand the different elements of a traditional african wedding as you can use this knowledge to give quality gifts. As with all traditions, the practice of giving gifts plays a vital role during a wedding.
If you were to curate a gift for a newly wed couple, what gift would you bring?
