The Fulani’s are one of the tribes that have preserved their tradition in terms of marriage although most marriages in Nigeria are sacred. Among the Fulanis, a lot of spirituality and traditional values are attached to marriage.
The Fulani people are one of the most widely spread tribes in the world they are predominantly found in West Africa and northern parts of central Africa. Some of these countries include Nigeria, guinea, mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroun and Senegal.
The Fulani’s speaks Hausa, French, English and Fulfulde language, they are Muslims and follow the Islamic laws like the Hausa.
The Fulani in Nigeria are mainly pastoral and move across a vast area of land and come across different culture unlike other tribes in Nigeria the traditional marriage rites among the Fulani’s is different in the sense that most men marry in their twenties while the women marry in their early or late teens, they practice a system of marriage known as endogamy whereby the marriage is kept within the ethnic group.
The Fulani are expected to marry off their first cousin before considering other wives this is done to keep the tribe stronger and also keep the wealth among their tribe and at the same time they are also permitted to marry more than one wife.https://youtu.be/e_ualqPbrdM
The Fulani people of northern Nigeria have a traditional practice called Sharo which means flogging a process whereby the potential groom is been flogged before the actual marriage in other to demonstrate that he is strong enough to be worthy of a bride, during this process the arms of the men are usually at akimbo and hold a stick while they dance to drumbeats with chants and incantations, he is to demonstrate perseverance and strength as he endures several floggings.
The ceremony is usually done in public and witnessed by many including tribes from other region and could stretch for days
To make the ceremony interesting the groom is usually accompanied by his friends and relatives who support him during flogging sometimes the wingman could assist the groom if he is unable to withstand the flogging.
