Wushewushe: A Kanuri traditional bridal shower

A decorated event at a Wushewushe venue

In Borno and parts of Yobe state, no wedding is considered done without the Wushewushe coming day to the actual day of consummating the marriage. 

As a matter to the bride and her maids, wushewushe is seen as the icing of the ceremony. 

On a day like this, the bride and her groom will take leave off the busy family homes to an arena where they would dance to traditional music. 

A dance party at a Wushewushe event in Maiduguri

The bride would dress in traditional wares of the Kanuris alongside her friends. The venue is beautifully decorated with various signature traditional artefacts. 

Various smoky incense are used to scent up the atmosphere as their families and friend join the bride and groom on the dance floor. 

A bride and her groom at WusheWushe event in Maiduguri

A Maiduguri based online newspaper, YerwaExpress, 

said in a report that "wushe wushe is to tell the groom and the bride: wushe—meaning ‘well done’. Well done, for daring to get along; well done, for finally graduating from the Cairo (bachelorhood) stage of adulthood and well done for becoming a man, a woman—real ones. In what is called beit3, meaning admonition, both the groom and his bride will be given ‘professional’ pieces of advice on how to live a happy married life in the lyrics of the music."

Borno state may have suffered a severe setback due to the decade long insurgency, but the devastation has not robbed the people of their revered culture of marriage.