Video: See Drunk Guest Dancing Topless at a Wedding Reception in Lagos

Funny and crazy things happen every day; I was invited by a friend to a wedding ceremony yesterday, the reception took place at Masalachi bus-stop close to pen cinema Agege, Lagos State Nigeria. All was going on well until a drunk guest created a huge scene that made everyone laughed, he attracted onlookers who can’t help but laugh at his displays. See video after cut

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Nollywood Star: Tonto Dikeh in Traditional Attire During Her Bride Price Payment Ceremony

NIGERIAN movie star and sexy diva, Tonto Dikeh yesterday had her bride price payment and reception ceremony, which took place in her home town in Rumuokwuta Port Harcourt southern Nigeria. She is now officially married to her best friend and lover Oladunni Churchill AKA Mr “X”. She was ecstatic and she looked elegant in her beautiful traditional wedding attire. We can’t wait to witness her traditional and white wedding ceremonies. See more pictures.

Traditional Wedding Made in Idoma-Land, Central Nigeria, Benue State

In most cultures in Nigeria, traditional marriagesare usually an arrangement between two families, some times this arrangement may not be the wishes of the two individuals involve. Education and civilisation is changing that norm gradually. Furthermore, in many Nigerian cultures, it is the man that pays the dowry or bride-price, invariably making him head of the family.

Idoma wedding traditions

The Idoma people live in central Nigeria, Benue State. They are mainly farmers; it has subgroups like Adors, Otupas, Ogbanibos, Apas, Ofokanus and Owukpas. Marriage tradition in Idoma land is considered a lifelong state, although divorce is possible on the grounds of adultery or other concrete reasons.

When an Idoma man is at least twenty-five years old and has the financial and physical capacity to maintain a wife and children, he looks for and finds a woman of his choice, who must be least eighteen years old. He reports his findings to his family, which then chooses a go-between, a person who is familiar with the girl's family. The go-between investigates the family of the prospective bride to ascertain that the family has no history of mental disease, epilepsy, stealing traits etc. If the result of this investigation is positive, the prospective groom's family visits the woman's family with gifts of kola nut and hot drinks. After the first visit, another visit is scheduled for the woman to meet her future husband, after which a final visit is scheduled for the future groom and his family to pay the bride-price and offer other gifts. If the woman refuses to marry the man after these gifts have been provided, the groom's family keeps them (Omokhodion 1998).

The Bride price

The bride-price comes in many folds, the groom must pay a dowry first to the bride's mother and then another dowry to the father; this involves a significant amount of bargaining. Also every member of the bride's mother's family must be given money, with the groom's family determining the amount. The bride's age group and her more distant relatives also get some money; the amount paid varies according to bride’s level of education and productivity. Then the groom's family gives the bride a rooster and some money. If she accepts these gifts and gives them to her mother, she indicates her acceptance of the groom, but if she refuses, she signifies her refusal. If she accepts him, she is showered with gifts and money, and the two families eat and drink together. 

Before the bride is finally handed over to her husband, however, her age group will pose as a mock barrier to those who want to take her and extort money from the anxious groom's family. The bride's mother buys her cooking utensils and food because she is not expected to go to the market for the first five market days after her marriage. At the end of the eating and drinking, the wife is finally handed over to her husband's family. (Omokhodion 1998)

Virginity is highly valued in most cultures in Nigeria, it a thing of pride and joy to girls family. Eventually, if a bride is found not to be a virgin, she is taken to the husband's family' ancestral shrine for cleansing. After this the Ijeis put on her to invoke fertility on her. This marks the beginning of married life among the Idoma tribe.

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Bling! Bling!! Know How You Can Accurately Measure Your Ring Size

Do you even know that ring has sizes? Guy let say you want to get an engagement ring for your proposal or shopping for your wedding ring. If you are about to do these and you are clueless about ring sizes or you are just curious and want to know your size (for references), then the following steps and guidelines will help you to determine your ring size in a flash.

Follow these steps to help you determine your ring size. These are easy steps that you can do on your own.

Items Needed

Ruler, String of rope

1. Cut a thin strip of rope

2. Wrap the rope around your finger. Make sure the rope is below the joint of your finger and close to your knuckle.

3. Mark the spot where the rope meets and measure the distance with your ruler.

4. Compare your result on the ring chart to determine your ring size.

Tips for Using a Ring Chart

·         Measure the finger in the middle of the day and at normal temperature.

·         Consider knuckle sizes.

·         Use a 100 percent scale when printing the chart.

·         Always round up to a larger size if necessary.

·         Try several types of sizers if possible.
 
I hope this is helpful. You can send us your comments and observation, like us on Facebook and google +

Almighty Formula to Get That Dream Body and Astonishing Look For Your Wedding

Effective Weight loss for Brides Before The Wedding

As a bride, getting engaged and preparing for wedding in Nigeria is supposed to be one of the happiest moments in your life, but in reality, getting married is often stressful, especially when it comes to your appearance. Forget choosing the reception venue, Asoebi and preparing your guest list. For most women, the number one thing that comes into their mind after engagement is their weight, how to loose more of it – even if they are a healthy size.

I have seen some bride-to-be using extreme tactics, like skipping meals and taking unprescribed diet pills, having liposuction etc, just to look fabulous on her wedding day. These could be harmful one way or the other to your health. Instead, a healthy diet is something to consider. You will not only give your body the nourishment it needs to keep going on the big day, but a painful free experience. So let’s look at some key areas to help make all the difference.

What you eat plays a huge part in how you look. Some experts says about 80% is down to what you eat and just 20% is the exercise you do. Getting into that desired shape you must watch what you eat.

1. A good start is by reducing sugar intake. Food items with high sugar content such as cereals and sauces should be avoided, start paying attention to the labels and see for yourself. Processed food is definitely something else you should reduce or try and cut out completely.

2. Drink a lot of water. Your body needs to be hydrated in order to function properly. Water can also help you improve your skin complexion, make you appear less bloated and aid in digestion. 
3. You should also avoid indulging in late night snacks. Make sure that you stop your intake of food and drinks at least a few hours before you plan to go to bed. This will allow your body to burn off some of the calories, so they cannot remain in your system after you go to sleep, this help to prevent abdominal protrusion

4. Another factor you will have to consider is alcohol. Your consumption of alcohol is prerequisite to gaining undesirable weight.  I know we all like to have a relaxing glass of wine (or three) after work but if you’ve done a deal with your dressmaker and want to stick to the plan then I suggest you lay off the glasses.  Did you know each glass of wine contains around 185 calories.  That’s the equivalent of a slice of chocolate cake and imagine how many calories you will ingest when you take more glasses.

So now you know a word is enough for the wise

image source: trendsurvivor

The Unique Culture of Ebira/Igbira People Traditional Marriage Right in Nigeria

Ebira wedding

The Ebira people are outspoken and very hard working. Farming and cloth-weaving are occupations the Ebiras are known for. The Ebira (igbira) people speak Egbira, a Nupoid language belonging to the larger Niger-Congo language phylum. Egbira is spoken by about 2 million people in Nigeria especially in Kogi State.

Many Ebira people are from Kogi State, but some can be found in Kwara State, Nasarawa State, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Edo State. Okene is said to be the administrative centre of the Ebira-speaking people in Kogi state.
Ebira (Igbira) people uphold their traditions. Unique features of their culture can be appreciated most in the event of traditional marriages.

Ebira traditional marriage custom

In Ebira tradition, a man can not walk to the parents of the lady he wants to marry to disclose his intentions; his parents or elders mostly the women do this by going to the lady’s parents to introduce themselves and also to inform them of their reason for coming to the house.

When a man sees a lady he want to marry, he discusses his intentions with her, if she likes him and also interested, she tells him to bring his people to express his intentions to her parents.

After this is done, the parents of the lady then carry out their private investigation on the upbringing, background, family history and so on, of the intending groom, this is done to know if there is madness, terminal diseases or criminality in the man’s family. No parents want to give their daughter’s hand in marriage to a family with a tainted reputation in the society.
After all investigations and no fault found, an approval is given to the man to visit the bride-to- be from time to time to get to know themselves properly.

A date is later picked for the formal introduction of both families and this is called “Ise Ewere” which means the secret is now in the open. During the celebration, there is usually the presentation of gift items made by the family of the groom to the family of the bride.
The gift items usually include; tubers of yam, dried fish or bush meat, 10 liters of palm oil, a bag of salt, assorted wines and kola nut. The groom may also decide to present two wrappers to his would-be bride but this is optional. On the day of introduction, it is not necessary that the man attends the occasion as his family members do the necessary things on his behalf. The bride’s family in turn, entertains the groom’s family with food and drinks. The families interact with one another and formally introduce every member of both families.

The tubers of yam and other items brought are distributed to neighbours and members of the extended family no matter how small. This is done to ask for their prayers for a happy marriage as well as to ensure the acknowledgement of the community that the lady now has someone she intends to get married to. After this is done, the date for the traditional marriage is then fixed.

The bride price is also agreed upon by the parents of the bride and it depends to a large extent, on the financial strength of the man. Apart from the bride price, there are other things like “ozemeiyi” meaning “I am attracted to her” which a certain amount of money is attached to, and “otanuvogei” that is “joining hands together” which has it own amount attached. There is also “idoza” meaning “farming price” paid to the bride’s family because Ebira people are predominantly farmers. In the olden days when young man had to farm, the groom and his friends choose a day to farm for the bride’s parent but these days because most young men don’t farm any longer, they pay money instead.

On the day of the traditional marriage, women in the man’s family are seen singing and dancing carrying tubers of yams on their heads to the lady’s house. The singing and dancing continues at their arrival at the lady’s house where the ceremony kicks off. Other items to be taken are cans of palm oil, groundnut oil, dried fish, some clothing materials in some boxes etc.

The ceremony is mark with colourful display of dances by maiden groups mostly the bride’s friends and by women groups. The parents of the couple offer prayers to bless their marriage and if a clergy man is present he prays for them and hand over a certificate to them to acknowledge their marriage.
The lady is thereafter, escorted by her friends and other women to her husband’s house with her belongings.

List of items needed for the traditional marriage

101 tubers of yam
Drinks
Kola nut
Dowry
Dried fish or bush meat

Liters of palm oil
Bag of salt
Palm oil
Groundnut oil
Clothing materials in some boxes
Jewelries and Adornment for the lady

Cash for the clan members and family elders

So, my dear bachelors, what are you waiting for?

The Connotation and Evolution of Wearing White Wedding Gowns

White wedding dress is obviously the most popular bridal outfit today. If I may ask why is it so? From feed back I got on my questionnaires I posted online, 90% says that white wedding dress stands for purity, therefore the bride is believed to be pure and piety. If that is the case most brides today shouldn’t wear white for their wedding – many of them are morally tainted to wear white for their wedding. Contrary to what most people believe, white wedding dress does not depict virginity or purity but wealth.

Today weddings symbolize love and commitment between the bride and the groom till death do part, these wasn’t the case back then, at the Middle Ages weddings were more like a business deal in which two families joined forces for a beneficial arrangement or alliance. Many weddings were more a matter of politics than love, particularly among the nobility and the higher social classes. Therefore, brides are expected to dress in a manner that speaks well of her family, they represent the family during the ceremony. Brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors like white. White dresses were exclusively for the rich and wealthy because of maintenance. 

In the middle Ages, brides rarely shop for dress specifically for their wedding day. The bride would typically wear her finest dress to the ceremony, even if it was a dark color. In fact, many brides wore black during this time. Only a few colors were avoided, such as green, which was then considered unlucky. Blue was a popular choice as it represented purity, faithfulness and a connection to the Virgin Mary, plus the dark color easily hid stains and imperfections and could be worn again.

How wearing of white wedding gowns started

The origin of white wedding dress can be trace back to Queen Victoria of England; she was the first to wear a white dress for her wedding when she got married her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840. White was not chosen for a wedding dress but blue and other colours, she broke these traditions by wearing a white dress on her wearing day. She was also the first royal bride to have bridesmaids carry her train. Surprisingly, she didn’t wear it to symbolize purity or virginity. She just wore it because, she liked white. 

Decade after the wedding, Godey’s Lady’s Book, with the sentimental statement “ It is an emblem of the purity and innocence of girlhood, and the unsullied heart she now yields to the chosen one,” declared that white was the most fitting color for a bride. This was what inspired the connotations of virginity and purity attached to white wedding dress as we all know today.

Hope you find this educative as much as I do

imageby: cherrymary