Men who came of
age, either simply told their kinsmen of their preparedness to get married with
a proposed bride or left the option for their parents to choose for
them. Such young men who opted for it or were prompted by their
parents or kinsmen to get married will propose a lady they are interested in or
the one their parents will have proposed for them and they will have
accepted. The said lady's family are subsequently informed of the
intentions of the man and if accepted dates and timelines are decided between
the two families for the marriage.
Because of the
cost involved in doing such marriages a period of a year and above were often
given for the groom to prepare himself. Before that time the groom
will have often, during the yam festival arrange yams and meat
to be given to the would-be in-laws. He is also required to gather
friends and work on the in-laws’ farms. During this period the two families
get acquainted with each other and the groom is examined by the in-laws.
The Hunting
The groom and his
friends prior to the date will go for hunting far away from home and spend
months there hunting and smoking the meat for preservation and this kind of
hunting is called Nyagulɔ. When they will have gathered
enough game, they will return home and harvest yams. Friends and
families also donated yams and other ingredients for cooking for the
ceremony. Mainly agushi, groundnuts, salt, pepper etc. were all
gathered before the date. The marriage must usually be done before
fire guts the great mountain (Nyua kpɔɔ). People have often thought
it was any mountain at all in Banda that should not catch fire before the
marriages but it is not so. On the ridges of the Banda mountains
each section has a name like Nyanchlo, Lelaa Fanga, Nyua Kpɔɔ, Wewae Nyua,
etc. Among all, it is only the Nyua Kpɔɔ that when it catches fire
marriages cannot take place.
Day One
When the time is due and
a date was set which usually begins on Thursday. Early the Thursday
morning the bride's own family will tie a cloth around her waist and inform her
that from today this man (the grooms name) has taken you as his
wife. And from that morning the bride and other brides will go in
the outskirts of the town where they will sit in fasting until
evening. That day the groom’s family provides 12 tubers of yam and
accompanying meat to the bride's parents and a bottle of locally brewed liquor
(apeteshie) named akɔtua jan is given to the bride's father.
In the evening the
brides are taken home by their parents, and still in the fasting the parents
advise the brides and shortly after the sisters of the groom will arrive and
take the bride home as their new sister in-law. The fasting is
continued till the next morning. That marks the first night of the
marriage. To break the fasting the brides are provided with wenjɔ
nyum and fuura. Which they drink to break the fasting all
morning.
Day Two - Six
When the bride wakes up
that morning the elderly ladies inquire from the groom if the bride was indeed
a virgin or not. When it is confirmed that she was a virgin the
bride is carried by another woman shoulder high with a traditional veil
called nyankacha over her face and the 'Saa e Ndaa song is
sang amidst clapping and dancing back to the bride's house. Upon
arrival the maternal relatives of the bride bring out a calabash full of corn
and cowries which they pour on the feet of the bride to signify the
gracefulness of her feet for coming back home with glory. This
Nyankacha is sawn by the groom's friends on the same day the wife is in the
outskirts of the community fasting. Songs and celebrations are done
to show that the lady was a virgin at marriage. The chants of Amoesha, Amlɔɔgɔ
are chanted to publish the good news to all neighbors. A song like
'Ndeŋu nyaana' was sang which literally means my daughter is good.
 |
| Agushi soup with yam fufu |
The groom is now
required to provide the bride and her friends with enough yams and meat to
feast for the remaining six days. The bride and her friends are
housed in one house and the groom and his friends in another. In the
next six days the drinking and eating will continue till the last
day. And every evening the bride will be accompanied by friends to
the grooms’ room with a veil over the face amidst singing.
During this period every
morning and evening the groom and his friends will go all round the community
singing and dancing. For those days everyday all the friends and the
groom will sit at one place playing music, telling stories and sharing jokes
amidst the eating and drinking. The groom is addressed as the king
and his best man is the linguist and laws are set to govern the
house. The groom must be treated like a king and all the friends are
expected to promote decorum and offer maximum help to make the marriage
ceremony a success. There are women assigned only to preparing food
for the groom and his friends while in the brides house the friends and other
relatives prepare their foods.
Kubleke is done in the
morning and fufu in the afternoon and evening.
Day Seven
On the seventh day, the groom is dressed like a king and the bride
like a queen mother and the two flanked by their friends and families are
paraded on the high streets of the town where lovers and relatives come to give
alms to the new couples mostly in the form of cash. And that is the climax of
the whole ceremony. The woman after this day normally moves in and
stays with the husband. In some circumstances the woman still stays
with her relatives and prepares food and carries the husband's own to him every
evening and goes there only to sleep.
Marriage is one
aspect of life that God has blessed mankind with. In fact, it is one of the
most valuable gifts from our creator to mankind.
Being it so precious to
God and mankind, our fore father in their own wisdom designed these rite or
cultural practices that we should follow before acquiring this greater gift.
As a proud Nafaapo, from
Banda, lets us all acknowledge this beautiful culture and maintain it as
well. It is good you know how marriage rite is purely
performed locally before Christianity and technology fades it all
away.
Many Thanks To Mr
Noah, for sharing with us all this wonderful Bandas' culture.
Source: Mr. Asare Noah,
Banda Sabiye.
