Nexus between Christianity and Igbo tradition in marriage rites in Igboland, Nigeria
Marriage is not just a union between a man and a woman, but a tie between two families, and sometimes communities. Marriage is a legal union that is established through the fulfillment of certain requirements. Marriage and requirements for contracting marriage between two parties varies in differ...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113077/1/113077.pdf |
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| Summary: | Marriage is not just a union between a man and a woman, but a tie between two families,
and sometimes communities. Marriage is a legal union that is established through the
fulfillment of certain requirements. Marriage and requirements for contracting marriage
between two parties varies in different societies and cultures. This varies from
community to community and even from country to country. In some communities, it is
simple while in some others, it is complex. Generally speaking, in Igboland marriage is
usually done traditionally and based on Christian marriage rites. However, some
individuals choose to do both traditional marriage and Christian Marriage, or either of
them, depending on which is more important to them. This has led to controversies in
the entire Igboland as to which is more important, while some agree that the Igbo
traditional marriage is more important, some believe that the Christian marriage is more
important. Thus, this study focused on exploring the nexus between Christian marriage
rites and Igbo traditional marriage rites, with a specific focus on Imo State. The aim of
this is to understand the similarities that exist between the two, in the view of making
contributions to the scholarship which proposes the merging of the two by identifying
key similarities between Christian Marriage and Traditional Marriage.
To achieve the objective of this study, a qualitative approach was used, and through
semi-structured interviews and observation, data was collected from married people in
Imo State. Symbolic Interactionist Theory was used to analyze the concept of marriage.
The findings of the study showed that in Imo state, both Igbo traditional marriage and
Christian Marriage are significant, however, the most critical aspect of both Christian
Religion Marriage and Igbo Traditional Marriage is the payment of bride price, which is
regarded as the main symbol of the establishment of a Marriage union between a man
and a woman. Regardless of the preference of the families, either Christian Marriage or
Traditional Marriage, the bride price must be paid before the man and woman can be
regarded as married. Also, the majority of the respondents see Igbo-traditional marriage
ceremony as an indigenous cultural heritage. On the other hand, the respondents noted
that Christian Marriage was introduced by Western missionaries during the colonial
period. It is hoped that the findings of this study will contribute to the literature of
Marriage practice in Imo, and towards the Standardization of Marriage rites in Imo State
with the view of harmonizing the religious and traditional aspects of marriage in Imo
State. |
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