Bride Price is a sum of money or quantity of goods given to a bride’s family by that of the groom in some tribal societies.
Below is the List Of Bride Price Materials In Ghana
- The Akan Traditional Marriage List. (Items Needed)
- Types of Marriages in Ghana.
Akans and the Ghanaians at large typically take traditional marriage rites to a different level with the seriousness and enthusiasm they show. As a result, marriage rite forms part of our heritage.
Like ordinary Ghanaian traditional marriage, a boy who seeks the Ghanaian engagement list from a bride’s family is considered as one who is actually ready to marry. Likewise, all other African marriages take traditional marriage seriously.
For that matter, if this kind of marriage rite is not performed in the Akan, the marriage is not fully considered as a marriage. A man who wants to marry is expected to pass through several processes among which is the provision of the items in the engagement list which is presented to him.
In this article, we take you through some of the items in the engagement list given by the Akans as well as the different types of marriage in Ghana. Marriage is considered a vital and relevant occasion in the Akan tradition.
Ghanaians do not just see it as an event between a man and woman but they see it as a vital and relevant occasion meant to bring two families of the intended couple together.
Akan traditional list
Below are the things needed for traditional marriage
After everything has been agreed upon, necessary customary rites in the Akan’s way have to be done. The man is asked to bring the items on the traditional list to the bride, they include the following;
The dowry/bride price
Head drink, usually a whiskey or wine
A new suitcase containing some shoes, the lady wears.
Headpieces and some other gifts that the bride would need.
The father of the bride gets a bottle of whiskey and some money
The mother of the bride also gets some money and a pair of sandals
A minimum of 6 pieces of wax clothes were bought for the bride. The clothes are expected to be in traditional wax print.
Some money would be made available for the bride to start a business with
An engagement rings
An engagement Bible
Some money for the bride’s brothers. However, if she does not have any brother, then it will be given to her male cousins
Cooking utensils that the bride would need for her home
Exotic jewelry for the bride
Enough food and drinks for the guests who would be present at the occasion.