Tor Tiv sets N100,000 cap on marriage rites, approves legal inheritance for women

‎The Tor Tiv, James Iorzua Ayatse, has introduced comprehensive changes to longstanding Tiv customs, marking what many see as a historic transformation of the traditional system.

‎The announcements were made at the Ijir Tamen, the supreme assembly of the Tiv Nation chaired by the paramount ruler and attended by traditional leaders, elders, and Tiv representatives from within Nigeria and the diaspora.

‎The measures, according to the council, are designed to encourage unity, discipline, financial responsibility, and gender fairness among Tiv people globally.

‎One of the most significant resolutions concerns burial rites.

‎The assembly directed that all funeral activities must be completed within three days and restricted to immediate family members.

‎Lavish ceremonies and extended celebrations were strongly discouraged, while burial anniversaries and remembrance events were completely outlawed due to what the council described as unnecessary financial burden.

‎The new directives also relieve married women of compulsory financial contributions toward burial expenses in their husbands’ families, except where they willingly decide to assist.

‎In a groundbreaking shift, Tiv women have now been accorded full rights to inheritance.

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