CONTEMPORARY INFLUENCE ON BENIN TRADITIONAL MODE OF DRESSING, A STUDY OF BENIN TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE CEREMONY

Costumes are symbols of cultural representation and it serves as an element of culture. Aman's culture can be ascertained from the way he is dressed. That is to say, that costume is one of the significant visual aspect of culture. A man learns about his culture from birth, thus culture is the bedrock of every growing or developing society. Culture as it concerns costume is losing it symbolic and cultural significance due to ignorance and other societal factors. It is therefore imperative that this study aims at documenting costume as a symbol of cultural representation using the Emu people of Esan Land as a focal point
through pictorial representation of key persons in a traditional marriage ceremony of the people. The study aims at identifying the costume in marriage ceremonies as a form of cultural identification and to determine measures to be taken to enlighten people on the significance of these costumes to the tradition of the people. In actualizing the aim of this study, interviews were carried out on indigenes of the stated people, visual representation in respect to the pictures of the costumes were used and various related literatures relevant to the study were also used. The study was able to show that there are various types of Esan materials but there a specific fabric used for marriage ceremonies. These costumes are able to display the cultural aesthetics of the people and the social status of the wearer. To preserve the culture, it is recommended that awareness seminars should be held, cultural preservative organisations should be established and the media can play a great role in preserving our cultural heritage

This study examined Contemporary Influence on Benin Traditional Mode of Dressing: A
Study Of Benin Traditional Marriages Ceremony. The objectives of the study were to
find out the modes of dressing of the Benin people, examine the symbolic meaning of
Benin traditional mode of dressing in contemporary times, as well as the contemporary
influences of Benin traditional marriage of dressing, and to study the impact of
contemporary dressing in the traditions of the Benin People. The problem the study
sought to investigate was the importance of Benin traditional dress in marriage ceremony, symbolic meanings Benin traditional dresses portray as well as how the contemporary
ways of dressing in traditional Benin ceremony reflect the people’s cultural identity. The
research method adopted in carrying out this study is the qualitative method of research. Pictorial representation of bride and groom’s costumes as well s their respective parents
were presented and analyzed respectively. Findings reveal that costumes communicate
meanings and beauty of the Benin people. It reflects their social status, cultural heritage, occasion/event as well as sex. It also reveals that in the traditional marriage ceremony of
the Benin people, the bride and groom as well as their parents wear costumes to identify
their respective roles in the marriage ceremony. Based on the findings it was
recommended that the family being the bedrock of every individual should inculcate the
value of one’s cultural heritage into a child so that when he/she grows, he/she will
remember their root and preserve their cultural heritage and also encourage them to
always remember their identity no matter the height they have attained in life. It is also
proposed by this researcher that parents should start very early with their children in the
aspect of appreciating their culture by always wearing them traditional costumes in
special events and also teaching them the core cultural values of their culture so that the
people’s culture will not go into extinction.