Thread by @OpuiyoMike

Traditional Marriage Rites in Okrika

The Okrika, people are from the Southern part of the country. They are one of the biggest ethnic group in Rivers state.
In Okrika land, there are mainly three stages of marriage
(1) The Iyaa,
(2) Igwa, and finally
(3) Okuru-kaka

(1) Iya
the Iya custom dates back to the pre-colonial era when husbands and sons embark on fishing expedition (which used to be the major source of income) and return home months or years after while residing at different fishing settlements deep down the sea.

Before leaving or while away, the intending groom make a little statutory deposit after seeing the parents of the groom,take her away, and come back later in the future (at this level, it is called Iguwha)to conclude the marital rites which formalizes the complete marital rites

Over the years, because it has helped in checkmating the cases of infidelity and divorces, the culture has been transmitted from one generation to another and has become the custom and tradition of the Okrika people.

Implications of the Iya Marriage

One of the major implications of the Iya marital rites, is that children given birth to by the couple that fail to perform such rites, belong to the family of the woman and this is one of the reasons why virtually every Okrika man ensures that he

performs the Iya marital rite.

In a situation where the woman has been married according to other marital rites but not the Iya, whoever performs her Iya in the future as her husband, automatically becomes the father of her children.

Hire and Purchase marriage

On the intricacies of Iya, “If you do not complete payment of the lease, the property reverts to the original owner. With all of these, you are allowed to take her but, if you do not do the second, at death of the woman, you are not allowed to bury

her as the husband. Her people would take her for burial without your permission or involvement in the funeral rites and her people would take her children, with them having no rite in their father’s place.
“They might stay with him or see him whenever they feel like as the

case might be, but they would not have rites in their father’s place especially with considerations like chieftaincy titles, family heads, lands etc and they would have little or no say when it comes to family issues.“As a man, you lose some ego because your children would

not be counted as yours in your family resulting to them being adopted by the family of your wife. In avoiding this, the groom struggle to meet up with it in making themselves and family relevant.”

To be continued....

Spiritual release

According to the practice, the rite creates that ownership mentality of the women to the man. As an owner, he has to release his property for her to stop being his property.
In the time of old (and in most cases till date), the Iya was

performed in the family shrine which is owned by every family. The ritual is witnessed by the oracle and the gods (ancestors), where the spirit, body and soul of the bride are given to the groom In case of unavoidable divorce, the parents of the wife are bound to return double

D cumulative expenses of d husband.Pending when Iya is performed on d bride,all her children(even though she might be married according to d Nigerian customary rite or before a priest) belong not to d biological father but to her brothers or her paternal family as d case might be

Okuru-kakakaka ceremony, a rite that stands the woman out from any crowd as okrika tradition demands. It commences with the groom accompanied by family members and friends of the bride’s compound Women carry requested items, household items, and traditional attires necessary to

perform this ceremony.
Following the confirmation of the required items, the marriage rite is complete when a traditional raffia mat is handed over to the couples. The raffia is what they called “Ohuru” or "Okuru" which they believe to make the marriage binding.

The marriage once bound can never be withdrawn. If the couples have problems leading to divorce, the woman still belongs to the previous man even if she marries another man. In fact, according to Okrika tradition, the woman and her possession including children still

belongs to the previous man that performed the Ohurikaka or Okuru-kaka. the woman after Ohurikaka festival does not belong to any other person. Every part of her body is for the groom and his family. It does not mean that she cannot do anything in her paternal

family but at least  ¾ of it is for the groom's family.
With the Ohurikaka in place, the marriage turns a perfect one and now gains full recognition according to the custom and tradition of the Okrika people.

To be continued.🙌