The Bride Price

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Recommended: The uniqueness of Nigerian culture

Throughout the world, there are numerous cultures that practice various customs and traditions. These cultures have often set up guidelines for the people of the society to follow and adhere to. Some societies practice their customs and traditions in a more lenient manner. On the other hand, some societies are very strict with their practices and strive to maintain and preserve their culture by teaching the customs to the people and practicing them frequently. Such is the case in the Nigerian society. The Nigerian people follow specific rules and customs in regards to marriage practices, social status, and superstitions. The marriage custom is one specific aspect of their culture that is strictly enforced for all men and women of the society. The man’s family is supposed to pay the family of the bride a certain amount of money to marry the girl. This custom, along with many others, is demonstrated in the novel, The Bride Price, by Buchi Emecheta, when the main character, a young girl named Aku-nna, falls in love with a man named Chike, who comes from a family in which the people were once slaves. Throughout the novel, the customs of Nigerian society are explored while Aku-nna and Chike try or overcome their families’ adversities.

Aku-nna and her brother Nna-nndo live in Lagos with their father at the start of the novel. The two siblings have grown up in Nigeria learning the customs and practicing them at a young age. Aku-nna, being the only female in the home takes on the responsibilities of the family much like all the other women in Nigerian society. The women acknowledge the fact that it is their responsibility to do so and comply without arguments. When Aku-nna’s father told her to make dinner, she does so willingly in orde...

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...ous” (100). Not only do these superstitions play a role in the Nigerians’ daily lives, but some superstitions relate to the bride price custom as well. It was said, “if the bride price was not paid, she would never survive the birth of her first child” (168).

Okonkwo would still not accept the bride price, no matter how much money was offered because “he still refused to consent to give his daughter to a slave” (162). When Aku-nna gets pregnant soon after, the Nigerian superstition is up held and she dies while giving birth to her child. Through Aku-nna’s upbringing, relationships, and experiences, the reader is able to gain an understanding of the customs and traditions followed in Nigerian society. The Bride Price by Buchi Emecheta is good demonstration of the many aspects of Nigerian culture such as marriage practices, social status, and superstitions.

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