WHEN MY FRIEND HAD HER INTRODUCTION

The Bride and i.

For those who don't know, an Introduction is an integral part of the Marriage Process amongst the Yoruba people in Nigeria. The Introduction is when the parents of the couples Meet formally with their relatives in tow ,accompanied by selected friends, some do not even invite friends as it is mostly a family affair.

The families meet, the Groom to be makes his intention known,then a date is fixed for the wedding proper.Also the Groom's family do not come empty handed as a sign of courtesy, they come bearing gifts.

So this past weekend, it was my friend's introduction(I have known Tope for over a decade,jolly good friends you may say).The introduction ceremony held at her uncle's place at Ikorodu Town.What that means is that I had to leave home early with my daughter ,younger sister Ronke and my sweet friend Seun.However,seun had already called a driver to pick her as she would be coming from Lekki a farther distance than mine.

                               THE JOURNEY TO IKORODU
We got to Ikorodu so fast it was unbelievable, note that  I always dread going to that part of Lagos,i have blogged about it in the past. This is because The place is synonymous with traffic. Anyway it was different this time around,the roads are wearing a new look, kudos to the Fashola Government on that one. We located the venue on time, got an ample space for packing and proceeded to the house.

 The bride to be was happy to see us,we were all giddy with excitement. Went upstairs and saw some of our mutual friends who arrived there before us. My daughter had already started mingling with other kids around.
By 11.00am,the bride was already seated to have her make up done by Segilola Ajisoge, a friend also.
During that time we were all busy taking pictures and gisting. I decided to start my own makeup too before the bride is done with hers,  so as  not to miss any photo op.

                                        THE INTRODUCTION CEREMONY
When we started hearing drum beats downstairs, we knew the groom's family had arrived . They were ushered in with enough fanfare.The Groom's family didn't come empty handed,  they came bearing gifts as expected of them. By that time, Tope was through with her make up, she looked stunning in her Monotone Green ensemble,with Silver accessories tto match. We   took turns to take pictures with her.It was more like a photo session. Satisfied with the pictures, we followed her downstairs to the living room, till she was called.

Make up session

 It was the time for the Bride  to meet her  husband and her husband's family, we her friends danced with her outside to the designated place,the shy bride also managed a few steps as she claims she is not such a good dancer(true by the way!)She was all smiles throughout. After the dance session, the Bride knelt in front of her parents and they prayed for her, the same process was repeated with her in-laws, then she finally knelt in front of her Husband to be as a sign of respect. The Alaga Iduro (Compere) anchored the whole ceremony.The introduction was just like a traditional Engagement party. There was enough food to go round ,We ate and  drank to our hearts content.

lovely

The D.j was fantastic, belting out nice and danceable tunes,we had a nice time generally.This introduction gives us an insight into how exciting her wedding would be and I am definitely looking forward to it,what with my little darling daughter being among the little Brides.I am so excited.

Of course everything good had to come to an end and in Lagos you had to factor in the traffic any time you go out, so without any prodding, I signaled to my sister that it was time for  us to leave Ikorodu back to our base. Luckily for us,the journey was even smoother than we expected.