Why Virgins Are Paraded Semi Nude In Iria Ceremony In Rivers State

The Iria ceremony otherwise referred to as virgin ceremony took place on Saturday in Rivers state of the South South geo-political zone of Nigeria. The Virgins had the top half of their body painted and their waists cladded in a wrapper.

The Ceremony which is a passage of rites for girls into marriage and also celebrates their femininity is also practiced in other parts of the country like in Delta.

The ceremony comprises of 3 main stages as described below…

Stage 1

This stage involves girls of a certain age bracket 14- 17 starting their journey into becoming a wife. This process begins with the girls show off their assests naked to the entire tribe, in order to have their bodies painted and also inspected to prove they are virgins.

Stage 2

After confirming their virginity, the girls will be assembled in a fattening room for about a month to 6 months. This is done in order to make them fatter and beautiful for Marriage. During their stay, they will be taught songs for the final day of the celebration. These songs are to set the girls free from water spirits.

Final stage

After leaving the fattening room, they will all be taken to the tribe river,  On getting there, they would sing the songs they had been taught, while a senior male of the tribe often referred to as Osokolo beats the girls to send off the spirits from them.  It is important to note that this stage differs, because in some cases, the girls are beaten by the tribes Men.

After all these stages, the town square is decorated to celebrate the girls’ passage rites into womanhood. Upon the release of the girls, drums are played to commence the Celebration.

Intriguing! The things that are done in the name of Tradition.