Marriage Culture

The Bassan’s have different types of marriage. One of these is the Toiere that is free Bassan man marrying a freer Bassan woman popularly known as the small dowry, the man pays a state amount of money to the girls father and the girl becomes his wife. The children that are derived from this form of marriage don’t inherit it the father neither can the father inherit anything from them. The Toiere issues belongs to the mothers family and there have the right to give them out for marriage.

Another type of marriage is called Fe-ere. When a man buys a slave, the issues are the legal children of the father. There are called the Bra-ereowei children. These children inherit their father completely and there can be inherited  to their father. There are the properties of the father.

A man never shares his Fe-ere with another man unless he gives her out. When a man gives out his Fe-ere to another man in the family, the children are free born. But in a situation where a family member comes and have sexual intercourse with the slave wife without the owner permission, the offender have to make a sacrifices to appease the gods. In that sacrifice, he has slaughter a he-goat before the ancestral shrine with a bunch of plantain, a jar of palm wine, native salt, a bottle of palm oil. The woman (slave) have to carry the palm wine on her head with head pad made of thorns with her hair shaved off. She kneels down to present these palm wine and the he-goat before the shine and the worshippers receives the things from her. On her way back, she will be flogged by men standing at strategic places until she rans to her house. This is a ceremonial cleansing called Okotipele. Okotipele ceremony plays a vital role in the family. If the husband sleeps with the defied slave wife without the Okotipele ceremony and dies, he will be buried in the evil forest called Yabou. The man is expected not to eat food from her until cleansing is done.

If the sex result in pregnant, the child is called Ibiodo which is a slave. When two Ibiodo met and have issue, it is called Ibiodo-kunei. If two Ibiodo Kumai have intercourse that results in pregnancy, the child is known as Ikawa. These belong to the house. There don’t  go to other family. The man can’t marry since there can’t marry their own sisters whom  is free. Also if an uncircumcised man have sex with a free woman, the resulting child is Ibiodo.

A barren woman can buy a slave girl and gives to somebody in the family, the children that comes out belong to the owner of the slave. If the barren woman comes from the Tobuo confederation, the woman can marry anybody from there and have the right to abuse anybody in the confederation circumstances demand for it.

Diepepre-ere is yet another type of marriage. A father of legal child can invite a young man he likes either he is industrious or the young man father is industrious and gives his daughter for him to marry. The children that both couple will have belongs to the father of the girl. The father or the girl can also invite the father another young man and tells him that he want any of his children (boys) to marry his daughters. In this case, the father of the boys will choose which of his sons will marry the girl. The children of this relationship also belongs to the girls father.

A woman can have both legal and illegal children for the same man. If a man who have Bra-ereowei children have money from another man and uses his daughter to pledge, the children she got for the leader belongs to the leader. They are his legal children. But when the debt is redeemed, and the relationship still continues, any child she have after redemption belongs to her father. In extreme cases, the father can give his daughter to the man freely without redeeming the money he took. The material side of a free born girl can do the same.

Burial Culture

If a man or woman dies naturally, after consulting the oracle and is declared free of witchcraft icy, and of killing somebody through diabolical means, that man or woman will have to be buried in or her residence or in a special forest designated for burial of such persons. The death is heralded by shooting of guns. If it a man, immediately after his death, 3 gunshots are shot in the air. If it is a woman, 4 shots.

After the gun shot, the person is bathed and lay him/her in state and the oracle is prepared. The oracle was prepared from boubou leaves. A black tread is tied at the center of the Obebe. Then the people goes to the bush and cut special stake called Ele and with special technique, a coffin is waved out of it. A mangrove root is fixed in a particular angle of the coffin, if not it is incomplete. The dead person will be pieces of clothes as things he/she will use to pass the world of the ferries. Thereafter, the body will be place on the coffin called Ikpataghe and oracle is consulted. The oracle is carried by four men. After the salutation and incantation, the oracle is asked to greet the ancestors.