Africa’s rich tribal traditions offer some of the best family-inspired wedding traditions. In Africa, family and especially elders play a huge part in a couple’s lives. Even elders who have passed are still remembered in wedding celebrations.
There are many African wedding traditions. However Tambiko and Kola nuts are two traditions that can be used in any wedding celebration. Tambiko is a special prayer and blessing, while Kola nuts are a symbol of endurance of love.
Tambiko is an African wedding tradition that involves a libation ceremony. Alcohol or holy water is poured onto the ground. The libation is poured in the cardinal directions and prayers are recited to the ancestral spirits. During the prayer they also recognize those who recently passed.
Traditionally one of the eldest family members says the prayer. Today the bride and groom tend to have their clergy recite the prayer during the wedding ceremony. This ceremonial prayer gives the groom and bride an opportunity to honor the elders in their family.
Tambiko (Libation prayer)
An African proverb tells us that people who lack the knowledge of their past are like a tree without roots. So, in the spirit of remembrance, we pour this libation. We pour to honor the past, so that we may learn from it. We pour to honor the importance of family. We raise our cup to God to show our reverence for the original source of our lives. We use cool water as a symbol of the continuity of life, to purify and to nourish our souls. We pour to celebrate the coming together of these two families. It is said that through others, we are somebody. Through this marriage, we broaden our family circle, remember our heritage and recall those who gave us life. We call upon our ancestors—our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers, our fathers, grandfathers and our great-grandfathers, uncles, aunts and cousins – the foundations of our families, immortalized in our thoughts. We call upon our elders, whose wisdom we seek in all endeavors. Our friends, whom we are blessed to have in our lives, our parents who guided us along the road to adulthood. We call upon family who have passed over and could not be here to day. We ask that they be with us in our thoughts. We call upon the Bride and Groom, that they may always find prosperity in love and devotion. We ask that this couple be blessed by children, because children give glory to a home. Place your minds with those who could not be here today. Family, friends and ancestors who have passed on, are ill, or simply could not find their way here. Place your thoughts with this person or persons so that they may bear witness to this union in spirit. Therefore we cast our libation to the North, to the South, to the East and to the West. We wish everyone to leave more blessed than when they came. Amen.
Prayer taken from the Celebrant Foundation and Institute.
Kola Nuts
In Africa, the kola nut is a symbol of healing and is used for medicinal purposes. During the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom exchange kola nuts with family members and each other before they exchange their vows. This is a symbolic way of saying that they will always heal their differences and their love is greater than any hard times they might endure.
Both of these African traditions show how important family is. Most weddings are concerned only with the bride and groom. So, it is nice to stop and honor your elders and those who passed during one the most cherished days of your lives. When planning your wedding keep these family oriented traditions in mind.
This wedding tradition was brought to you by Wedding and Party Network, your resource for wedding planning.
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