Documenting the Intricacies of Tradition: An Ethnographic Study of the Bura Cultural Marriage Ceremony in Borno State, Nigeria
Abstract
This paper focuses exclusively on the objective of gathering and thematically analyzing information on the traditional marriage ceremony of the Bura people of northeastern Nigeria. The Bura, a major ethnic group in Southern Borno, possess a rich cultural heritage increasingly threatened by modernization, generational disconnect, and the inherent limitations of oral transmission. Utilizing a qualitative ethnographic design, data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 purposively selected cultural custodians in Biu Local Government Area. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts and field notes revealed a complex, seven-stage marital process, intricately woven with symbolic rituals, material exchanges, and deeply embedded socio-cultural values. The findings provide a detailed ethnographic account of the ceremony, from pre-birth betrothal to post-marital customs, and establish a crucial foundational dataset for subsequent cultural preservation initiatives. This study underscores the urgent need for detailed documentation of indigenous knowledge systems and argues for the value of ethnographic methods in capturing the nuanced layers of intangible cultural heritage before it is lost.
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