10 Nigerian Traditions You Probably Didn’t Know About

People everywhere have their different ways of life.

These traditions are considered normal and acceptable for inhabitants and people from these areas and have serious implications if broken. They vary from one tribe to the other and here are some traditions you probably didn’t know about.

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1. Magun

Thunderbolt means “magun” or “edun ara” in the Yoruba culture of the Western region of Nigeria. It means “do not climb” in English Language or “iwo ko gbodo gun” in the Yoruba Language.

2. Osu

The Osu caste system is an ancient practice in Igboland that discourages social interaction and marriage with a group of persons called Osus or outcasts. These people are dedicated to the deities of Igboland and are considered as inferior beings and are usually separated from the other free borns.

 

3. Pounding Yam

Unlike other cultures where the woman is expected to perform all culinary chores, the Idoma men are not always exempted. They are expected to pound yam for their women and it serves as a masculine chore when considered from hygienic, social and cultural viewpoints.

 

4. Widowhood

In Igboland and a couple of other Nigerian cultures, a widow is subjected to humiliation to prove she has no hand in her husband’s death. The widow is forced to drink the water used in washing her husband’s corpse. After this, her hair is shaved and in some extremities, she is made to sleep with the corpse.

 

5.  Sharo Ceremony

In the Fulani speaking sides of the country, there is a ceremony called Sharo where a man is flogged publicly to prove his worth as a good potential husband. He does this in front of his family and the entire village and he has a wingman who partakes in some of the whipping.

 

6. Marriage

In most cultures, people are not expected to get married until their elder ones decide to. In some cultures, if a man comes for the younger bride, he gets the elder one as well if he’s up to the task.

 

7. The Fattening Room

The fattening room is an ancient practice in Calabar which is gradually going extinct. The fattening room is a place young women are prepared for womanhood. In ancient times, fat was viewed as a sign of prosperity, fertility and beauty. Young girls are usually taken to the fattening room during puberty.

 

8. Wrestling

In some parts of Igboland, wrestling can get a man his bride. In cases where a young woman has many suitors, a wrestling match is arranged where all the suitors battle it out and whoever emerges victorious marries the woman.

 

9. Falling off back

It is an abomination in Yorubaland for a baby to fall from its mother’s back. It is believed that a male child that falls from its mother’s back will always lose his wife at adulthood, and a female will always have a lover die atop her when she grows up. And where a baby eventually falls from its mother’s back, the mother is expected to carry out some rituals to prevent evil from happening to the child when it grows.

 

10. Suicide and Drowning

In Yoruba land, suicide and drowning are serious offences and people who commit either one of them would not be buried at home. For suicide, the person is taken to the evil forest to bury and for drowning, he or she is buried near the river.