Marriage and Kola Nuts

The marriage process among Muslims in the Gambia is a relatively simple affair. If a man is interested in wedding a woman, after informing his parents, then male representatives (uncles, brothers, close relatives) of the groom are then sent to the woman's house. They present some Kola nuts & express the groom's interest. If the woman's representatives agree then they set a date for the wedding & announce this to all relatives. Usually, such weddings are held at a Mosque of Jaka but could just as well be held in the woman's home.

Usually, only men are allowed at the Mosque or Jaka ceremony, and the bride and groom are very often barred from attending the gathering! At the ceremony more Kola nuts are handed over as well as some token dowry money maybe between £50 to £100 though this could be higher as it is set by the bride's family. It should be noted that a wedding can take place even if the groom and bride are outside the country and living on different continents. Furthermore, there is virtually no engagement period as it is simply announced a week or less before the wedding date, though arrangements would have taken place one or two weeks prior.

If a Christian woman and a Muslim man are to wed then it could be possible to have a ceremony in the Mosque and a civil ceremony in Banjul at the registry office. Should the marriage turn to talk of divorce then it is up to the man to write to his wife's parents and say in the letter that he is divorcing his wife explaining the reasons why. There then follows a period of talks when a family delegation from the man's family would try to talk to the husband asking him to reconsider his decision. This is something that has to be done under Muslim tradition.