Idoma Traditional Council Enacts Radical Reforms in Marriage Rites and Burial Practices

From Our Correspondent

The Idoma Area Traditional Council (IATC) of Benue State, under the leadership of Och’Idoma Elaigwu Odogbo, has initiated groundbreaking changes affecting age-old customs in Idomaland.

Following a meeting in Otukpo, the heart of the Idoma-speaking tribe, the council has capped traditional marriage rites at a maximum of N50,000.

This move intends to streamline and simplify the intricate and often demanding aspects associated with traditional marriage ceremonies, aiming for more accessible and inclusive practices.

Notably, the council has prohibited the customary return of an Idoma daughter’s corpse from her husband’s home to her paternal residence for burial, except in instances of multiple marriages.

Furthermore, the council has banned extravagant burial rites, emphasizing conducting funerals within the financial means of the family and concluding them within two to three weeks from the date of death.

The resolutions also address inheritance matters, abolishing the practice where relatives deprive the deceased’s children and wives of their rightful inheritance. The guidelines prioritize the deceased’s wife or wives and children for inheritance, unless a written will specifies otherwise.

Moreover, the indiscriminate burial of bodies within communities, especially in residential areas, has been strictly forbidden. Villages and hamlets are mandated to designate specific burial grounds by the close of 2024, seeking to regulate burial practices and necessitating permission from the Traditional Ruler for burials within or around compounds.