This tribe in Nigeria Offers You the Option of an Open Marriage or to be Permanently Married Even in Death.

Do you want to be casually or seriously married? For the Okrika people it is either an open marriage or soul tie there is no in between. In the heart of Rivers State, Nigeria, the Okrika people celebrate love through two fascinating customary marriages: Iya and Igwa.

The Iya: An everlasting marriage

“Till death do us part” is a phrase used in marriages worldwide implying that with the demise of one of the couple, the other partner is free to remarry if he/she feels the need to, but with the Iya marital rite involving the “Ohurikaka” practice of the Okrika people, the “Till death do us part” cliché does not hold water. Iya is the most sacred form of Okrika union. Here, the bride's soul is believed to join the groom's family through ancestral ties.  Theirs is a bond not just for life, but beyond. An Iya ceremony isn't just about exchanging vows.  An oracle and the ancestors themselves bless the union, solidifying the complete merging of the bride's spirit, body, and soul with the groom's family.

Until the Iya ceremony, children born to the couple belong to the bride's brother's lineage, not the husband's. This emphasizes the importance of the Iya ceremony in formally integrating the bride and her children into the husband's family tree. The depth of Iya is evident in its lasting impact.  Even if the husband passes away, the wife remains spiritually married to his family.  Special rituals might be required for her "release" from this bond, highlighting the enduring nature of the connection.

Over the years, because it has helped in checkmating the cases of infidelity and divorces, the culture has been transmitted from one generation to another and has become the custom and tradition of the Okrika people. However if divorce is unavoidable because of infidelity, the woman still belongs to the previous man (Iya marriage) even if she marries another man. In fact, according to Okrika tradition, the woman and her possession including children still belongs to the previous man who performed the Iya marriage rites. In a situation where the woman has been married according to other marital rites but not the Iya, whoever performs her Iya in the future as her husband, automatically becomes the father of her children. A woman who married under the Ya system can still be married under Igwa. If the woman has not been previously married to any man under the Iya system, children from the Igwa marriage belong either to the lawful husband of the wife's mother or to her brothers.

Igwa: A Celebration of Love and Consent

Igwa, is the simpler yet equally beautiful customary marriage.  Imagine a joyous celebration focused on the agreement between the families.  No bride price is paid to the brides family and the bride is allowed to have partners outside marriage and can even marry multiple men. Igwa is based on friendship status with social backing, instead of being a promiscuous or back-door affair.

Children born under Igwa belong to the wife’s family lineage from the very beginning. Igwa marital rites are not expensive and therefore is more convenient for low income earners but all men both rich and poor are first advised to initiate the Igwa marriage with their beau, this is usually to test the fertility of the woman.

The Igwa marriage allows multiple partners and sexual freedom for both man and woman. A woman can marry as many men as she can, and cut them off one after the other, in other to increase the number of persons within the immediate family for economic reasons. The Igwa marriage is likened to a hire purchase, if you do not complete payment of the lease, the property reverts to the original owner. At death of the woman married under Igwa , the husband is not allowed to bury her. Her people would take her for burial without his permission or involvement in the funeral rites and her people would take her children, with them.

Both forms of marriage are still practiced in Okrika today. It is a thing of pride to women to be married as an Iya wife.

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