Woman-to-Woman Marriage in African Tradition
A Casestudy of Igbo land
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The answer to this question is yes. It is traditionally permitted in Igbo land for a woman to pay dowry on the head of her fellow woman and calls her, her wife. But this same tradition forbids a man to get married to his fellow man.
Igbo tribes are groups of people with unique cultures and traditions. In Igbo land, men are the head. Women are subject to men. They are seen but not heard in some important issues.
No matter how exposed a woman is, there are things that woman is not permitted to do in Igbo culture. Read them here.
Some of those things are laid down in the Igbo tradition and passed from one generation to another. Although, there are little differences in some Igbo areas.
In Igbo culture, men are permitted to do anything except one thing. Men are not permitted to marry their fellow men but women can. A woman can be legally married to her fellow woman and calls her, her ‘husband’.
Men can do anything without being queried but not this one. Our grandmothers were taught that their husbands can cheat and go scotfree. But when a married woman dares it, she will be penalized and returned to her parents.
Why are men not permitted to Marry their fellow Men in Igbo Culture?
The answer to this question is very simple. It demands common sense to give the correct answer to it.
A man cannot get married to a fellow man in Igbo culture because every man in Igbo land is an ObiObi stands for a head or a captain.
Once a man is born, he is already an independent lineage. He is required or expected to replicate his lineage.
So, a captain or an independent Obi cannot be moved and be subjected to a different Obi. Two captains cannot be on the same ship.
Again, many Igbo cultures do not give out a child who is born out of wedlock to the biological father. It is required of a man to pay a brideprice of a woman before he can claim offsprings that come out of the union.
Therefore, since men do not have the ability to conceive children, it is of no use getting married to them…
