Wedding

50 Super Itsekiri Traditional Wedding Attire

Itsekiri Traditional Wedding Attire is very colourful and fascinating like other tribes in Nigeria. But unlike the country’s other tribes, the Itsekiri women have cheap bride prices. The Itsekiris do not collect more than 12 shillings or N24.00 from the groom and his family as the bride price. Want to learn more about this tribe, read on!

About The Itsekiri People

The Itsekiri people also known as Isekiri, iJekri, Itsekri, Ishekiri, or Itsekhiri are one of the sub ethnic groups in the Niger Delta area of Delta State. They live in major areas of Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South West local government Areas of Delta State, Nigeria. Itsekiri communities can also be found in parts of Edo and Ondo states. Also, small districts of the Itsekiris are located in Lagos, Benin City, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

The Itsekiri Kingdom is traditionally referred to as ‘Iwerre’, ‘Ira Iwere’ or the Kingdom of Warri. Before Nigeria was colonised, the Itsekiris were noted to be the first people to engage in foreign trades with the Portuguese.

The language of the Itsekiris is like a mix of the Yoruba and the Igala language in South Western and Central Nigeria respectively. Despite their mixed lingual origins with the Yoruba and Igala ethnic groups, modern-day Itsekiris are of mixed ethnic origins constituted of subgroups of the South-Eastern and South-South Yorubaland. These sub-groups are Ijebu, Akure, Ikale, Ilaje, Ondo and Owo.

Apart from their mixed language, they also have other cultures which are claimed to be borrowed from the Benin, Ijebu and Ile-Ife people. The Itsekiris are known to be close relatives of the Yoruba, Edo, Okpe, and Urhobo people.

Traditional Itsekiri Wedding Attire

For the traditional wedding ceremonies, the Itsekiri men wear Kemeje which is a long-sleeved shirt, with a George Wrapper which they tie around their waist. To accessorize their outfit, they wear traditional caps with feathers tucked into them, neck beads, and bangles.

The women wear stylish blouses and also tie a George wrapper around their waist. Colourful head gears known as Nes or Gele and coral beads form women’s fashionn accessories. These oufit pairing for both the bride and groom are alike for nearly all traditional wedding ceremonies in Niger Delta