Are you yet to get married and want to know how much everything will cost? Here’s a guide on how much to budget for your wedding in Tanzania.
Tanzania is an East African country situated just south of the Equator. With a population of over 65 million, it is one of the 54 countries on the African continent that also boasts several natural resources that make the nation unique.
The African population consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, of which the Sukuma, Haya, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi, and Chaga have more than 1 million members each. Tanzania is a Christian-majority nation, with Islam being the largest minority faith in the country.
Tanzania boasts some of the best national parks in the world. Serengeti National Park is one of the most famous and best-loved parks and is home to more than one million species of large mammals. It’s also a World Heritage Site and has also had the honor of being named a 7th-century world wonder.
Just like most African countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa, Tanzania is a country rich in heritage and history. The country is rich in traditions, customs, and ritual practices, and one of the most cherished traditions in Tanzanian culture is the celebration of weddings, where families come together to honor love, unity, and commitment. Tanzanian weddings are not just ceremonies; they are grand celebrations that showcase the beauty of the country’s customs and rituals.
One question that comes up frequently when they discuss their weddings is how much weddings in Tanzania cost. It’s unusual for friends to pay for the wedding, which is usually paid for by the couple getting married and/or their parents. Friends are wedding guests, and they typically buy wedding gifts as per the gift list the couple gives their guests, or the couple may request that their guests contribute money to their honeymoon.
JanaTribe has a publication that talks about the cost of weddings in Tanzania with much emphasis on what the bride, her groom, and their parents/families pay from the start of a marriage ceremony to the finish. For more insight into who foots the bills, learn more here.
In this article, we will learn more about how much a typical Tanzanian wedding costs and what the cost may entail. Keep reading for more.
Cost of weddings in Tanzania
When it comes to a wedding cost, there is always no established price in Tanzania, but what you should know is that it can cost you a fortune for a luxury or elegant ceremony, or you can have a small but beautiful event in which the price could fall within your budget.
Marriage in Tanzania is an extravagant affair due to the rich African customs and traditions. Many ceremonies always have a long list of guests, and putting together a budget would not be so easy.
The amount of money the couple and their families are willing to put into the ceremony determines how grand and expensive a wedding will be.
According to Tanzanian tradition, traditional celebrations can go on for as long as 3 days, and it is required that people contribute to the ceremony. This reduces the burden on the very expensive wedding budget. Contributions range from Tshs 30,000 to upward of Tshs 1,000,000 (less than $15 to $400). Most people usually contribute Tshs 50,000 (less than 30 USD) as a standard ‘generous’ amount.
How much do weddings cost in Tanzania? An average Tanzanian wedding budget is often around 12,938,230.00 Tanzanian Shilling ($5,000) and above; this covers the feeding, entertainment, music, venue, decorations, transportation, and photography at the ceremony, per Marry on Chain.
Recently, a Tanzanian native took to a Zanzibar Subreddit to give an insight into how much wedding planners charge for an elegant wedding ceremony. According to the Reddit user, a wedding planner charged him $5000 for a ceremony, including cocktails and reception, and another wedding planner also asked him to pay a hefty price of 28,464,106.00 Tanzanian Shilling ($11,000).
As a rule of thumb, you can inquire about the venue and expected attendance. A posh venue with high attendance indirectly means the wedding budget is high; therefore, you are expected to contribute more. Also, there are expectations from the wedding planners: if you are a middle-to-high-income earner, small contributions will raise eyebrows and earn you a reputation for being stingy.
The bride’s price is often a very hefty sum, and the husband is required to pay it to the bride’s family or, according to Muslim traditions, to the bride herself.
Costs can be budget-friendly if you choose the right packages and opt for all-inclusive services from some destinations.
According to Africa A-Z, registering your marriage at the Registrar of Marriages to receive a certificate that allows you to enjoy some of the nation’s benefits as couples, requires a fee of approximately 22,000 Tanzania Shillings for entry into the Register of Foreign Marriages and an additional 7,000 Tanzania Shillings for the International Marriage Certificate.
Cost of bride’s price or dowry in Tanzania
Bride price, or dowry (also known as “lobola” or “mahari”), is one of the most common elements in almost all weddings in Africa.
This is a customary payment made by the groom or his family to the bride and her family as a symbol of respect and appreciation.
The bride’s price varies depending on factors such as the social status of the family and the preferences of the bride and groom. The bride’s price mostly includes clothing, livestock, some beer brewed in the village, money, etc.
In Kurya’s polygamous, patriarchal culture, men use cows as currency to buy multiple wives. The tragic story of two women, Mugosi Maningo and Anastasia Juma, from the remote village of Nyamongo in far northern Tanzania, who married each other because of their bad experiences with men who abused them, is also another case of cows as bride price. The couple did not have a wedding ceremony, but Mugosi paid Juma’s original “bride price” of eight cows to the family of her first husband. The payment released Juma from her ties to him and cemented her marriage to Mugosi. Almost all Kurya marriages, whether to a man or a woman, involve the payment of the bride’s price, or dowry, to the younger woman’s family.
There’s always a negotiation between the families, which is then followed by an agreement on what should be included in the dowry list.
Here, the groom and his family receive the list of items from the bride’s family that must be provided for the marriage ceremony to take place. The planning of the wedding will take months, and there will be many stages, such as a dowry presentation ceremony, a traditional ceremony, and a church wedding, or Nikkai.
How much is the bride price in Tanzania? According to Land Portal, dowries average between 10 and 20 cows (one cow is worth around 500,000 Tanzanian shillings, or about $230), and teen girls are typically married off to the highest male bidder.
In a research study by the American Economic Association, Tanzanian law governing marriages allows for bride price payments. Data from Tanzanian marriages were obtained, and bride prices were paid in 81.5% of marriages, with an average amount of 97,298 Tanzanian shillings (about 45 USD) and a maximum amount of 1,005,000 (about 468 USD).
What are weddings in Tanzania like?
Marriage customs in Africa vary from one tribe to another. Before colonization, marriages were strictly traditional and depended on the customs, traditions, and beliefs of the people. However, that changed with colonization and the intrusion of Western religion, the Christian marriage (the white wedding), or the Islamic wedding, which is gradually replacing traditional marriage in some African tribes.
Marriage in Tanzania, in the traditional African sense, means building stronger family ties. It goes beyond the union of two people. It is also enriched with traditions and customs. It often incorporates religious customs according to the couple’s faith, grounding the celebration in spiritual significance. In Christian ceremonies, couples typically exchange vows in a church with blessings and sermons led by the clergy, whereas in Islamic marriages, the couple is blessed by elders or leaders.
In Tanzania, weddings are joyous occasions that bring families, friends, and communities together. They are often elaborate affairs that involve extensive planning and preparation.
From the moment a couple decides to tie the knot, the entire process is steeped in tradition and cultural significance. Tanzanian weddings are marked by colorful ceremonies, lively music, and delicious food, making them unforgettable experiences for all involved.
Sections 10(2), 13(1), and 15 of Tanzania’s Law of Marriage Act of 1971 (as amended by Act 23/73, Act 15/80, and Act 9/96) allow men to contract polygamous marriages and permit the marriage of 15-year-old girls, while the minimum age of marriage for boys is 18. A portion of the two sections of the 1971 Marriage Act even allow girls to marry 14 with the permission of a court.
A new marriage law in Tanzania was passed years ago, and the policy focus was generally on child marriage rather than forced marriage because Tanzania has one of the highest rates of under-18 marriage in the world. However, Tanzanians over the age of 18 are also coerced by their parents into marriage.
A publication on HuffPost puts anyone who encourages child marriage to a penalty of 30 years in prison. “This ruling is a headway toward solving the problem, but it cannot by itself be the solution to child marriages,” said Hellen-Kijo Bisimba, a women’s rights campaigner and lawyer with the Legal and Human Rights Centre.
The practice of clan exogamy—or marriage outside of the clan or group—is typical of almost all ethnic groups. In some tribes, arranged marriages are a common practice, Tanzanian Weddings reports. However, this is becoming less common as Western influence grows stronger on the continent.
A common element in marriages in Tanzania is the introduction, or “knock door” (as some other tribes may call it). This early stage of marriage custom involves a small ceremony when the groom and his family visit the bride’s family to officially declare their intentions.
Another common traditional marriage custom in Tanzania is the payment of the bride’s price, or dowry. Over the years, there has been a growing debate on its relevance and legitimacy. This is one dominant tradition that cuts across diverse tribes.
The size of a dowry or bride price (which may come in the form of money or gift items) differs from one tribe to another. Also, some ethnic groups believe payment of the bride’s price is important to show the man’s commitment and as a sign of respect to the bride’s family. Others believe it is a tradition that has lost its relevance for impoverished would-be couples. Others blame it for the inability of low-income earners to get married.
The majority of the wedding ceremonies (especially those of Muslims) in Tanzania are performed in the Shawaal, which is the 10th month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Christian marriages take place on weekends, mostly on Saturdays or Sundays. After the wedding ceremony is concluded, a reception usually follows, which serves as a celebration for the newlyweds. The party involves various games as well as feasting and dancing by the couple and other guests.
Conclusion
While there is no set price for the general cost of a wedding in Tanzania, it is right for incoming couples to budget based on their preferences. Keep in mind to set a hefty budget if you can afford a classy or luxurious ceremony, which would cost less for a small but beautiful event.
However, the average cost of a wedding in Tanzania is around 12,938,230 Tanzanian shillings (approximately $5,000) to over 25,876,460.00 TZS (approximately $10,000). This amount can cover major expenses like catering, entertainment, music, the venue, decorations, transportation, and photography.
