10 Tribes With Cheapest Bride Prices in Nigeria

Marriage is regarded as a gathering of families mainly to join two people of opposite sex together in matrimony. Before every marriage can occur, families of the bride and groom come together to know themselves and learn about the kind of family their children are being married to. Upon the conclusion of the introduction ceremony, the groom’s family would present gifts items and a pre agreed sum of money to the bride’s family. 

Bride price is a sum of money levied by the bride’s family on the bride to be paid by the groom’s family in order to ratify a marriage. It symbolizes a material pledge that the bride will be treated well by her husband’s family. It also signifies a form of compensation and appreciation to the bride’s family for taking care of her since the time of her birth. The return of a bride price by the bride’s family renders the marriage void in most cultures in Nigeria. 

The practice of paying bride price is done in all parts of the globe. In the Nigerian culture, the worth of a woman is determined by the amount of bride price paid by the groom. This brought about the act of demanding huge sum of money by the bride’s family. Some greedy families also see it as an avenue to make money. This has led to the emergence of topics for debate and research by men of marriageable age. 

In a descending order, here are the 10 tribes with the cheapest bride prices in Nigeria:

10. Tiv

The Tiv people live on both sides of river Benue. They are also found in neighbouring states like Plateau, Nassarawa and Taraba. In order to solve the issue of high bride price and encourage marriage among young men in the ethnic group,the Traditional Council of the tiv area made a rule that total expenses incurred in marriage including bride price should never exceed N100,000 and it would involve only the elders of the families concerned. 

9. Onitsha

Onitsha is a small kingdom in the eastern part of Nigeria. It is also a commercial hub. The people are regarded as Igbos because they speak Igbo. But, their values are different from the Igbo culture especially in the aspect of bride price and marriage. Unlike the Igbo tribe known for demanding huge sum of money as bride Price, the onitsha people have proved to be different and do not believe in inconvenienting a groom all in the name of marriage and ensure a groom doesn’t spend up to a hundred thousand naira in purchasing gift items and payment of bride price. 

8. Isoko

The Isoko tribe is located in current day Delta in Nigeria. Some are also found inhabiting in Bayelsa state, both in southern Nigeria. Their bride price can also be is measured based on where the groom comes from. It is low for indigenes and ranges between N1,000 to N5,000. But, for non-indigenes it is placed at exactly N10,000. 

7. Kagoro

The Kagoro tribe is an ethnic group found in Kaduna state. They are not very known because of their low population. The bride price in this part of the country is not mandatory. Giving bride price depends on the choice of the bride’s father. 

6. Hausa

The Hausa tribe are predominantly located in the northern part of the country. They are mainly Muslims, and their marriage ceremony is based on Islamic beliefs. The bride price demanded in the Hausa tribe starts with a minimum price of the quarter kilogram of a bar of gold to the highest amount the groom can afford because they believe the smaller the bride price the bigger the blessings associated with the marriage. This practice enables the groom to spend less on the bride price and gives him the chance of focusing on other necessary things. 

5. Fulani

The Fulani tribe is closely related with the Hausa tribe. They are also Muslims and follows Islamic laws. They associate a lot of spirituality with marriage and cattle is mostly considered a means of exchange. Unlike the normal practice of giving bride price to the bride’s family by the groom in other culture, the bride’s father gives out herds of cattle to the groom. This is mostly because the groom is usually very young and might not have a source of livelihood. 

4. Esan

The Esan people are descendants of Bini migrants who ran away from the Old Bini empire during a war between the 12th and 14th century. The advent of civilization has weakened the Edo traditional marriage system, although the cheap bride is still upheld. The groom is expected to pay N1,500 as bride price,but has the duty of giving other members of the bride’s family any amount of money he desires to appreciate them for taking good care of his wife. 

3. Itsekiri

Itsekiri is a tribe that believes in good will and has a rich cultural heritage. Even with the advent of civilization, the Itsekiri culture is still preserved till date. That is why the bride price paid by the groom’s family is a bottle of gin and 12 shillings. These 12 shillings is approximated as N120 in civilized times. They believe collecting the paltry sum signifies that the bride was not sold. 

2. Urhobo

Urhobo people are located in southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger Delta. It is a major ethnic group in Delta state. Their population consists of the aboriginal people. Their marriage ceremony consists of unique cultures and traditions that have been passed from generation. During the ceremony, the groom is required to pay N120 to the bride’s father who will then return N20 to the groom. 

1. Yoruba

Located in the southwestern part of the country, the Yoruba culture is known for receiving little or no bride price. In the engagement list presented to the groom’s family, the bride price is usually listed there as N5,000. But, during the ceremony, it is the practice of the bride’s father to refuse the money while saying their daughter is not for sale and her worth is above the value of money.