How Hausa marriage ceremonies are taken out of homes

During such occasions in Kano, one can see women trooping to the house of the bride to assist and rejoice with them. On the day of yini because of the nature of houses within the metropolis which are so tiny with little space, most of the women coming for the yini sit in front of […]

During such occasions in Kano, one can see women trooping to the house of the bride to assist and rejoice with them. On the day of yini because of the nature of houses within the metropolis which are so tiny with little space, most of the women coming for the yini sit in front of the houses eating or alternatively, they go into the neighborhood with their food to eat or pray there.   Conducting these ceremonies at home accords every woman the opportunity to participate regardless of her economic or educational status. There is no free mixing of the opposite sex then because it is purely a women affair.

With the passage of time, other activities are being introduced, mostly by the educated class and because of the nature of these modern celebrations; it is conducted in hotels and halls outside the home. These ceremonies include dinner, luncheon, mothers’ night and lots more that are sprouting every now and then. The new activities come with a lot of things that are alien to the norms and values of the Hausas.

Investigations by Sunday Trust revealed that apart from the innovative feast organized in big hotels and halls, even the Kamu and yini which is more of a tradition is fast leaving the homes to the hotels. Now, many parents would prefer to rent a big hall for the Kamu and yini.

These parents normally justify their actions by saying there is no adequate space in the house and that sometimes, celebrants turn the house upside down, leaving the work for the owners of the houses. Others said they prefer taking the celebrations out because of the activities of thieves who normally take advantage of the rowdy situation to steal peoples’ valuables.

Ruqayyah Aliyu, a housewife, said lack of space is responsible for shifting marriage activities to hotels and halls. “If you are talking of houses within the metropolis, they are normally built with little or no space. To conduct marriage ceremonies in such houses will be quite inconveniencing,” she said.

She added, “sometimes it is not about lack of space but just to go with what is in vogue. You know people now prefer doing things outside so that many people will have access to the event.”

On her part, Malama Huda Muhammad said she prefers renting a hall for the event because of the way the events always make the house totally disorganized. She said it takes days to get the house organized. “It is indeed an eye sore in this house after every marriage ceremony. I can’t continue like that. It is better and easier for me to rent a hall somewhere so that everything will be done at the hall.”

She further explained that sometimes, hosting such events in houses is giving the bad people the chance to steal, “Because of the rowdy nature of marriage ceremonies, unscrupulous people will always seize the opportunity to steal peoples’ valuables including the bride’s attires and other accessories as it happened sometimes.

Another thing discovered by Sunday Trust is the fact that transferring the marriage festivities to hotels and halls is depriving the less privileged the chance to attend and where this group of people decide to attend, they end up being segregated.

A woman who craved for anonymity, said because of her economic status, she hardly goes to such places, “I don’t attend such marriages because by mere taking it to these big hotels is an indication that the common man is not invited. I hate discrimination in my life and I will not allow somebody to annoy me in a period of marriage when everyone is supposed to be happy.”

While some families are opting for the hotels during marriages because of the above mentioned reasons, there is yet another class who are doing it to display their economic status. The kind of hotel or hall that is rented, the decoration and the type of foods that are served there tell more about the economic status of the organizers.

Much as this new trend is fast gaining acceptance among the public, there is yet a group that is not comfortable with it. This group sees the trend as a threat to the survival of the culture and traditions of the Hausa/Fulani.

Mama Asabe of Sani Mai Nagge quarters in Gwale local government area of Kano State, said the transfer of marriage ceremonies to hotels and other occasions is unacceptable to the old generation. She said apart from barring the poor from attending, the action can further destroy their culture, “The trend is unfortunate. With our hands, we are destroying our culture and replacing it with an alien culture, a culture that is in conflict with our own culture and our religion.”

She blamed some parents for allowing such things to be happening during the marriage of their wards. “I always blame the father because as the head of the house, he is supposed to control the affairs of his children and even his wives so that they don’t do things that may destroy our culture and religion.