Marriage and Family
Almost all marriages in Eritrea are arranged by families. Tigrinya's parents recommend marriage partners to form family alliances. The couple involved usually decides to marry, though some rural couples may not know each other before they marry. The bride is typically ten years younger than the groom; in the city, she will have completed secondary school before marrying.
The wedding celebration necessitates at least a week of food preparation and a month of brewing Suwa, a beer, and miyess, a honey mead. Following the morning ceremony, the bride's female relatives prepare food for a banquet. Following the receipt and display of the gifts, the couple enters the banquet to share a meal with their guests. Some couples in cities also cut a tiered wedding cake. The couple stays at home for two or three weeks, with meals provided by relatives. A couple usually lives with the husband's parents for at least two years after marriage before establishing their own home.
Wedding ceremonies in Islam include the bride arriving on a camel and a feast in which guests sit on mats and eat from bowls. Muslim men may have up to four wives if they can provide equally for each. Polygamy is becoming less common as a result of the financial burden of caring for multiple wives.
The family is more important than any of its individual members, who will forego personal desires for the sake of the group or future generations. A typical family has four or more children, and it is common for grandparents to live in the same house. The elderly are cared for by their adult children, who value their wisdom. Typically, village men are farmers. Women work on the farm and take care of the household. Some urban women work outside the home and hire housekeepers.
Village homes, usually made of stone, have thatched or metal roofs and concrete or dirt floors. City dwellings, made of stone or brick, have metal roofs, tiled floors, water, and electricity. Nomadic and seminomadic peoples (the Afar, Hedareb, Rashaida, and Tigre) have different lifestyles from the settled population. Accordingly, their homes are portable or built with whatever materials they find when they settle temporarily. Regardless of the style, houses are kept clean and neat.