I'm a bit confused about Nigerian marriages - how many types are there? Are they all seen as equally committed/legally binding? Is a traditional marriage a legal marriage? Can you get divorced from a traditional marriage?

depends on wat u want i tink,

Well the truth is that some people do only the traditional marriage, and consider themselves married. Some end at that while some do the white wedding afterwards. It all depends on belief and religion

in my opinion, each is as important as the other

But before the traditional marriage, there is something called the bride-price ceremony where the family of the girl mentions a price which the guy's family has to pay on the head of the girl. these days it could just be N1, the amount of money no longer matters, its just a formality

During the traditional marriage, the groom's family comes with kegs of palm-wine, which is used during the ceremony

Now the reason why I'm, going into details is that you asked about divorce , so when the guy or lady decides they don't want to continue with the marriage, to break it traditionally, the girl's family has to return the bride-price and kegs of palm wine they received from the family-in-law

with that done, the marriage is traditionally annulled

wow you are already thinking about divorce 

_{with all the weird stuff you read in here about nigeria,nigerian men and relationship, how do you cope@english}

did u get a marriage license? if you did then you need divorce from any kind of wedding

Another question somehow connected:

I know that traditional wedding takes place at the girl's house and the girl's father will bless the couple (at least at the Igbo weddings I know it's like that), but what if the girl isn't Nigerian and doesn't live there, but the couple still wants to do it? I mean, is it not a big deal if they switch all that to the groom's house? Then what about the traditional dance of the women (bride, mother, sisters etc) if none of them (maybe except the bride) knows that? Is it such a big deal or it could be overcome without much fuss?

@ white'nkem: it depends on the family.

i wouldn't think of it as a big deal if it couldn't be done @ the girl's house.
they can hold it anywhere

it's not the girl's fault she isn't nigerian, soi should think they either forget about the traditional wedding, or hold it @ the guy's place.
u don't have to dance. if u must dance, then, do ur best.

You do not even have to be there.
Many people that cannot travel out just send money home and let the family do if for them . In absence of the bride and groom

mamaput:

You do not even have to be there.
Many people that cannot travel out just send money home and let the family do if for them . In absence of the bride and groom

No no no, I'd love to do that first of all and second, I know it'd mean a lot for my husband!

This goes for people mostly that are illegal abroad and cannot Travel out.
Or for some that are not yet ready to travel home for one reason or the other.
Like if a baby is on the way and they want to be married b4 the baby comes.

lol no I'm not thinking of marriage or divorce.

I've just found the different types of marriages confusing and I wondered if they all have equal legal status. So for example, if you have a traditional marriage and want to end it, do you have to get a legal divorce etc.

Did I understand some of these posts right? that you can get a traditional marriage without even being there??!!! How can this be legal?

@whitenkem
You are not even married yet and you are talking about divorce? That's western world for ya, she is already thinking " If that negro don't worth a s#it, i'm kicking his @$$ to the curb".

In this country called Seychelles if u date a girl for more than two tears u are automatically married to her by their law.

Wishe they practice that over here.

Sweet T:

@whitenkem
You are not even married yet and you are talking about divorce? That's western world for ya, she is already thinking " If that negro don't worth a s#it, i'm kicking his @$$ to the curb".

Abeg, it was English1 who asked about divorce, not me oooo! So read more carefully!!!

Traditional marrage in Nigeria is as legal as any other form of marrage in Nigeria, But only in Nigeria. It is not recognized in Europe for example. I cannot say for any other country.
To get divorced is also according to what demands are made by the Families involved(i think)depending on the reasons but normally the bride prise is returned. (if the man is to blame i think)

traditional weddings in Nigeria seem to be more legally binding than any else.at least as nigerians see it.that is why the igbos for instance,and yorubas too,almost always do the traditionals before the white weddings.

if you do traditional alone you are just fooling yourself

My aunt's best friend got "trraditionally married" to a guy, figured well we're "married" now, so they slept together, she was "blessed" with a pregnancy and now the dude has gone and more than likley has gone off to officially marry someone else.

any marriage that's not recognized everywhere else you go is garbage.

All marriages r really neccessary and all important no probs ma people. sign of madness no lele

there is traditional marriage infact it's now call customary marriage anyway this is more regarded than white wedding though there is a certificate when it's white wedding. so long as u r within the shore of naija the certificate is just a paper unless u want to be like andrew!!!

who's andrew

ThiefOfHearts:

if you do traditional alone you are just fooling yourself

My aunt's best friend got "trraditionally married" to a guy, figured well we're "married" now, so they slept together, she was "blessed" with a pregnancy and now the dude has gone and more than likley has gone off to officially marry someone else.

any marriage that's not recognized everywhere else you go is garbage.

That's really bad O, well this traditional issue depends on sha!

Church weddings are not recognized in Germany.
Infact you cannot get a church wedding without the court wedding or at least an appointment for the court wedding

mamaput:

Church weddings are not recognized in Germany.
Infact you cannot get a church wedding without the court wedding or at least an appointment for the court wedding

Same thing in Romania.

in iboland in naija, if u like, u can go to supreme court or vatican city to wed; its assumed u are not married untill u come to do customary or traditional marriage at home. u guys may not be there personally, your concent is the major thing that matters.

MUST WE MARRY?
whats this whole holla ballo abt marriage sef?

Nuzo, away with that tradition of not recognizing you if you do not perform the ritual in the traditional manner. How can the leaders of the land, reject one's marital status because it was not conducted in the traditional manner? The Church's ruling overrules their decision, because it was performed in God's House, not in a land, that would pay obeisance to ancestral spirits, thus putting the couple in bondage.

The most important is the Traditional

and the Court wedding. It is only the

court certificate that you actually with

your Legal documents.

Well these days, people do the traditional weddings a few days before the church wedding or court wedding, mostly in the South-West.

Some folks might even have the church wedding on a week day (e.g. Thursday), in order to make it a low-key affair. But the traditional wedding which would have been done prior to this, may have been a large affair. It gives people from both sides of the family, the opportunity to make all the formal introductions.

How does a woman legally change her name if she was married traditionally? Does she not have to provide legal documents in order to change her name? How does that work?

These women sef. if u women had a chance u'd turn traditional marriage into some paper signing event. the word u need to take note of is TRADITIONAL. no signatories, no court of law blah blah blah etc. just tradition. palm wine, kola nut, traditional dance, blessing and prayers by both parents or representative of any of the parents.

@Topic,

Nigerian marriages have all kinds of marriage set ups based on religion and culture. Monogmous, polygamous, common law, traditional, registry or "white" churchy weddings.

You can get divorced from a "Traditional" marriage. When a lady returns the bride price or dowry to the family of the man. . . the divorce from a traditional marriage is final. Sometimes people just split without any formalities. When you a man and a woman have been separated for many years. . .no need to ask about divorce. . .it is so implied!


Anything goes with Nigerian marriages!

uNigerians have redefined marriage, so no comment