Urhobo people
The Urhobo people are an ethnic group in southern Nigeria in Delta State. They are the major ethnic group in Delta State. The Urhobo people speak the Urhobo language.
Notable people
Peter Palmer Ekeh, Nigerian sociologist and university teacher
Peter Etebo, Nigerian football player
Kefee, gospel singer and composer
Tanure Ojaide, poet and writer
Bruce Onobrakpeya, visual artist, sculptor and painter
Tracy Chapele, Nigerian journalist
Location
Professor Peter Palmer Ekeh, Founder of Urhobo Historical Society wrote in his book: Studies in Urhobo Culture, that "Urhobo is [...] in the Atlantic forest belt that stretches from Senegal in West Africa to Angola in central Africa. Historically, this region was the most pristine in all of Africa. Until the Portuguese burst into its territories in the late fifteenth century, its forest peoples cultivated their own forms of civilization, untouched by outside influences. This forest belt of western Africa was reached neither by ancient Christian influences, which had a large foothold in North Africa, nor by Islamic forces that came as far south as Hausaland by the eleventh century. While East Africa and even Central Africa were touched by Asian and Arab influences from across the Indian Ocean, as the amalgam of Swahili bears out, no similar trans-Atlantic influences breached the forest belt until the Portuguese arrival in the late fifteenth century".
Marriage
Before marriage in Urhobo culture is said to properly contracted, prayers must be offered to the ancestors (Erivwin) and God (Oghene). The bride's father offers a prayer and blessing in the native dialect for the couple.
At this point, the bride sits on the husband's lap. The blessed drink is handed to the husband who drinks first; he then hands it to his wife to drink. The wife would drink and pass it back to her husband to finish, as a sign of respect. Then only are they declared husband and wife.
Related page
Urhobo language
References
Ethnic groups in Nigeria
Delta State