Creepiest African Traditions That Can Only Be Described As WTF

#1 Communal Consummation

A couple will consummate their marriage either alone, or possibly with other newly-married couples in a shared wedding chamber. The new husband and wife will stay together with all the couples for five days, and it is on the last day that the newlyweds are shown off to the village. Having worn a veil at the ceremony, the bride’s veil is lifted by her new husband for all to see. The bedsheets from their first night as a married couple is also presented to the village to prove that the bride was a virgin before the wedding.

#2 A “Helper” Hiding Under the Bed

In Swahili culture, arranged marriages are the norm. the bride would be given a so-called marriage mentor. This woman, perhaps an older female relative who has already taken part in training the bride on how to be a good wife, will sleep under the matrimonial bed while the newlyweds consummate their marriage. Then, later, this marriage mentor can confirm that the consummation has taken place, a witness of sorts, and she will take a piece of the bed linens to show the other women the virgin blood.

#3 A High-Leg Kick to “Prove” Virginity

In a Zulu wedding, the highlight of the entire ceremony is often the dance competition that takes place between the family of the bride and the family of the groom. At some point during the dance, which is performed during the wedding ceremony, the bride does a little dance all on her own, during which she kicks her leg high with the specific purpose of showing her mother that she is a virgin.

#4 Smeared With A Cow’s Butterfat

In the Southwestern African country of Namibia, known for its significant cheetah population, the wedding ceremony is typically followed by a visit to the bride’s father’s house. There, she is told by the family what her responsibilities as a wife will be. And after that, she is anointed with butterfat from cows, symbolizing that she is part of a new family, and has been accepted into it.

#5 An “Emergency” Situation

In the Shona culture, the tradition of the wedding night begins even before the wedding! She is dressed from head to toe in white, and as she approaches her future husband’s home, his family will ululate and dance in celebration. The groom is told his bride has arrived, and often he had no clue until that moment when the wedding would happen. This is to test how he and his family will deal with an “emergency” situation.

#6 Threesome With the Bride’s Aunt

The Banyankole people of Uganda in East Africa have some interesting wedding traditions. But before the couple can get things going in the bedroom, the bride’s aunt must perform a “potency test” on her niece’s groom; that is to say, she must have sex with him to make sure he is able to perform. It is also done to confirm his virginity. It is thought of as a sort of “sexual check”.

Some traditions say it is the aunt’s gift to her niece to instruct her and guide her in the art of lovemaking. This can even include demonstrations!

#7 An Audience Awaits

In the North African country of Tunisia, some of the old traditions regarding the wedding night are still practiced, such as the newlyweds showing off the blood of their sheets to prove the bride remained a virgin until marriage. The groom will light a candle after consummating the marriage, and it can be seen from outside so that everyone knows his bride bled and was, therefore, a virgin up until that very evening.

#8 Bridal Party a Party to Consummation

After being married at the ceremony, a Moroccan bride will be carried through the crowd into her bridal chamber, where she is aided in preparing for her wedding night. Her bridesmaids, their duty not over just yet, will verify that she is a virgin. Can you imagine trying to do the deed with your new wife for the first time and having a group of her friends just standing around watching?

#9 There Will Be Blood

On the wedding night in Ethiopia, it is imperative that the bride proves her virginity, more so than in many places. To do this, she will take her scarf into the bedroom to collect any blood with, while her mother-in-law and her husband’s best man wait outside. It would be intimidating enough to have people waiting for you to finish having sex for the first time, but if for some reason the bride has not remained a virgin, or if she has but there is no blood, she can be whipped by her new husband.

He can even “send her back” and get a full refund of his dowry, a true shame to the bride and her family. If she does prove her purity, however, more celebrations ensue, and five days later her mother-in-law will take the stained scarf to the bride’s family with gifts congratulating them on raising their daughter “right”.

#10 Consent or No Consent

For Tanzanian brides, losing their virginity to their new husband may be scarier than it would be for women in other places. She must wait alone at home with one wedding attendant. The wedding attendant makes up the couple’s bed while they wait, until he arrives and pays a fee for his bride. Then, the newlyweds are left alone, and he is expected to take her virginity- whether she consents or not.

#11 A Loud Procession to the Groom’s Home

In the Muslim nation of Libya, weddings can be quite lavish and last up to five days. On the fourth day, called Dokhla, the bride has a party in her home before her new husband arrives to whisk her off to his home for the first time. It is the first night they will spend as husband and wife, and on the way, a procession of their friends’ and families’ cars follow them, honking and shouting in celebration of the bride going into the groom’s house.

#12 Deflowered by a Midwife

After all the wedding festivities have died down in an Egyptian wedding, the bride and groom will, of course, proceed to the marital chamber to consummate their marriage. The parents and relatives of the bride and groom will literally sit outside of their bedroom, waiting to hear if there was blood, and thus, if the bride was a virgin.

However, one version of this custom includes a midwife, who is charged with following the couple into their room and deflowering the bride herself. She will use a white handkerchief to do so, and it will then be paraded before all of the guests.

#13 The Namibian Anti-Climax

In the coastal Atlantic country of Namibia in Northwest Africa, the bride and groom spend the first night after the wedding ceremony is performed separate from each other. Imagine if, at the end of it all, you had to go home like every other night of your life and wait another whole day before actually spending the night as husband and wife. How anti-climactic!

The bride and groom are technically husband and wife, but spend one more night apart. The second night after the ceremony they may spend together, but shockingly, the marriage is not even considered official until the woman has given birth to her second child!

#14 First Shave Head, Then Consummate Marriage

The Nuer people of Sudan in North Africa begins with the groom’s family paying the bride’s family with cattle, which will then be used as payment when the bride’s family owes for their son’s marriage. After the ceremony, the bride is taken to the groom’s village by her peers, where her head is completely shaved. Continuing the fun, the couple can then consummate their marriage, although they have been considered husband and wife since the first-ever cattle payment, at which time an ox was sacrificed and they had promised to marry before consuming the slaughtered animal.

#15 Practice Makes Perfect!

In the country of Zambia, practice makes perfect! The night before the wedding ceremony, the bride will be delivered to her future husband’s home once night has fallen. A tutorial is then given to the bride on everything one would ever want to know about sex, including how to please a man and even shaving and bathing each other! Then, according to traditional Zambian village wedding customs, the bride and groom are encouraged to “practice” as much as possible before their wedding the next day.