Did you read the topic and you’re appalled? Don’t be, monetising a wedding has been saving the Yoruba’s since the 1900s. Yes you read right. There is hardly one Yoruba wedding that is not monetised in some way. While Yoruba’s don’t come to mind when talking about money (maybe stinginess, but. Certainly not resourcefulness) the Yoruba people can still be credited with the ingenious way they make money from every ceremony.
You see, a wedding is the bride’s family responsibility by culture. It is expected that the bride and her family will make arrangements for the location and feeding of their guests (since they are the one receiving visitors. That is (the husband and his family). While a marriage list is given to the father of the groom or the eldest male in the groom’s family, it is expected that such list is not expensive for two reasons, to encourage the man interested in their daughter and to imply that their daughter is not for sale. Knowing this, the bride’s family by default bears the most financial burden of the wedding.
In recent times, traditional Yoruba marriages are held outside the home of the bride, so hall cost, cost of decoration, food and drinks falls under the purview of the bride’s family. Remember these are not the only costs to hosting a wedding but they form a substantial amount. The groom’s parents on the other hand are expected to “marry a wife for their son” so it is their responsibility to provide all items on the list, including bridal outfit for the ceremony. A good aso oke too don’t come cheap. With all this costs piling against others, economic circumstance of each family may sometimes determine how far they exploit the wedding ceremony as an excuse to raise money.
Okay, let’s look at some avenues a Yoruba will raise money to fund their wedding:
ASO EBI (PARTY UNIFORM)
The most common of them all is the Aso-ebi , the literal meaning of this is “family clothing” it’s supposed to distinguish the family of the bride and groom. When someone wears this clothe it’s in solidarity with the family. It means you have chosen to identify as a family member.
So how will money be made. In an ideal situation a family meeting is held on both sides to discuss an impending marriage. Sometimes this meetings will include the extended family other times the meeting is held within the nuclear family only. A budget is set, the family considers how much they can afford. But for the remaining expenses is where aso ebi money has a role to play. When aso ebi is sold it’s with a goal in mind, to make money to subsidise wedding cost. The profit margin will then depend on how much subsidy the family seeks to achieve. This is why sometimes you buy an Aso-ebi that cost three to four times more than its market price.
For these families, deposits are made to vendors (cow seller, event place, decorator, cake etc) and balances are settled as money from Aso-ebi come in. Little by little with every cloth sold and as the wedding day approaches bills are being settled in preparation forINVITATION
Don’t delude yourself into thinking Aso-ebi sales is a joke. No o, it’s serious business and the work that goes into selling an Aso-ebi is like running a startup. Funding For Aso-ebi is mainly about ones risk appetite. For some they would bank roll a large number of Aso-ebi from a manufacturing company in China or from an importer. Other people may just buy a sample and go to the market each time some one pays.
While the proceeds from general Aso-ebi belongs to the parents of the couple, that of grooms men and brides maid goes to the couple. At the end, the cost is subsidised for the primary celebrants.
SOCIETAL INVITATION
See ehn, Yoruba weddings are not crowded for nothing. It’s a strategy. Being a member of a group or society is to have their financial backing when an event like a wedding is around the corner. This is why, a member who was behind on dues will consider paying up the dues as part of his/her child’s wedding preparation. Most of these groups have monetary donations for events like this, but you will have to invite them to benefit from the pay out. So the more societies you belong to, the more money you raise. However, this also means increasing the number of Aso-ebi you’d sell as well as the number of people you will feed.
SPECIAL INVITATION
Let’s tell ourselves the truth, if you get a “special” invitation, one that asks you to join the couple’s parents on the “high table” or the one that says you’re “father of the day” “chairman” of the occasion or whatever the title maybe all comes with financial responsibilities and this is why such invitations are only given to people whom the couple or their parents perceive to have disposable income (not for hustlers) this person can even be exempt from buying Aso-ebi or be given for “free” because such a person is expected to give a substantial amount of money.
This category of people are the fortunate ones and special attention is given to their needs on the wedding day. They will eat and drink to their fill and even take home meals if they so wish.
DANCE FLOOR
How many times have you attended a Yoruba wedding and wondered why father and mother of the couple take the dance floor separately? Each person takes turn, when the MC announces it’s now time for the bride’s mother to dance. How many times have you looked around betting on yourself that you saw the bride’s father somewhere that the man was at his own daughter’s ceremony only to later hear him being called to the dance floor by same MC while his wife excuses herself. This drama is even more pronounced in a polygamous home where more than one woman may take turns at the dance floor and all are introduced as “mother of the bride/groom”
You think it’s funny abi, no it’s business. If you have refused to be lured by the Aso-ebi, nor were you given special invitation and you have some people you want to show off to, THIS IS YOUR TIME. On the dance floor is also where you cement your familiarity with the couple or the parents. You let everyone know they have you in their corner. But as there are different categories of guests so are there different categories invited to the dance floor.
Each group is called one after the other to join in dancing, not just to dance of course but to “spray” money on the celebrant. At this time also the live band leader often moves close to benefit from the money being sprayed by singing praises of the person he sees is spending the most or the highest denomination. Don’t forget this may or may not be a prearranged payment plan for the musician. If the live band is a family member then it’s mostly likely his payment plan is what he can get from the dance floor.
Eventually, party is done. Everybody goes to their homes. It’s likely there are still outstanding balances for MC, live band, caterers, drinks or even extra chairs for guests. These payments are often paid out of dance floor money immediately the event is over or even while on going on the D day. But as most Yoruba’s, if you do your maths right both couple and their parents would have had the wedding of their dreams and still made something off the party. This profit is counted at home with a smile on each person’s face. But if not properly done, the family may find themselves in a lot of debt. Debt that if not properly managed can break the marriage but like every business venture a typical Yoruba wedding can make or break the celebrant.
All Images are from google
Wealthresource 