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| African Wedding Customs | Ceremony Traditions:
Glowing festive colors, songs and dances are important elements of African wedding ceremonies. Elements of the wedding day feature a bridal procession into the church. A prayer of dedication precedes the wedding ceremony. After the couple exchange of vows, a unity candle is lit. The couple will then be pronounced man and wife, and the priest blessed them. The 12 symbols of life important in African culture may be administered as part of the wedding ceremony. These include wine, wheat, pepper, salt, a broom, honey, a spear and a copy of the Bible or the Koran. After the ceremony the parents of bride and groom take the candle and carry fire from their hearts to the home of new couple, where a new fire would be lit. In such way they want to sign the start of the newlyweds' life together.
The procession welcoming the bridegroom is followed by the ladies with candles, who pray for the ceremony. In front of the entrance of the new home, the bride and groom sit next to each other under umbrella with a veil covering both of their heads. The umbrella serves not only as shelter from rain or sun, but it symbolizes esteem and respect.
Popular Wedding Traditions
 Though different tribal communities in Africa follow their own set of wedding customs and traditions, there are some traditions that are more common than others are. Given here is a short description of some of the more popular wedding traditions as seen in the African Tribal Weddings.
One of the most common traditions of African Tribal Wedding is 'jumping the broom'. This tradition was started in southern colonies of the USA during the time of slave. In this ceremony, the broom is placed on the floor and the couple jumps over it. The gesture is said to symbolize jump from single-hood into matrimony or sweeping away the old and welcoming the new.
Another tradition has a name “Knock on the Door”. In Ghana, an Asante male interested in a woman must 'knock on the door' so his mother and maternal uncle visit the girl's family and propose marriage.
Several tribal communities of Africa follow the tradition of imparting training to young girls to become good wives. Here young girls learn the secret codes and secret languages that allow them to talk with other married women without their husbands understanding what is being said.
One more common tradition observed in African tribal societies is the tradition of polygamy. In several tribal communities of Somalia, a man is allowed to have as many as four wives if he can ensure them all.
Bright festive colors, song, dance, and music are traditional vital elements of many African wedding ceremonies. Common to all wedding ceremonies is the concept of transitioning between childhood and adulthood. In many African cultures children are encouraged to marry as young as 13 to 15 years of age, as soon as they have reached physical adulthood.
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