The bride price has to be returned when couples decide to end their marriage in Igboland

Not all marriages will work out, when a couple decides to seprate, there are processes which must be completed before they can be free to move on. This is process involves returning the bride price.

When a woman decides to get a divorce from her husband for any reason whatsoever in the Igbo land of Nigeria, tradition demands that she performs some certain rites of passage known as Izuchi’ahia Nwanyi.

Before the bride price can be returnedthe kin of both parties convene at the residence of the woman’s Father

At this gathering, the woman’s family is required to entertain her husband’s people with kola, wine, and food.

The expenses of this party are to be fully paid for by the woman’s family. This is done as a form of payback to the husband and his family for all they spent during the Igbankwu.

At the end of this occasion, the woman’s Father (or whoever it was that her bride price was payed to) then returns the exact amount of money he received as his daughter’s bride price back to her husband.

This is the most important part of the ceremony. After that, the bond between husband and wife is then considered severed.

If the husband refuses to accept this refund, the case is then taken up to the council of Ndi Ichie who then presides over the matter and forces the man to do so.

In recent times, this custom is now carried out in the law court; in cases of communities with no active council of Ndi Ichie.

There is no such thing as a custody battle during or after the divorce. The children remain with their father. Unless the man didn’t pay the woman’s bride price.

This is because a woman has no right to ownership of life. Even her own life does not belong to her. She either belongs to her father or her husband.