ABSTRACT
Historically, marriage according to European law meant ‘Christian marriage’. The Christian element was seen, not only in its basic principles, but also in the control exercised by the Church over the mode of celebration. The pattern of procedure for the celebration of marriage according to the ‘civil’ form is fairly uniform. In contrast to the general similarity of the civil formalities in different territories, there is a great deal of variation as regards the procedure for the celebration of marriage by Christian rites. Before the introduction of a local statutory law of marriage, it was already the common practice of Christian missionaries in many parts of Africa to celebrate marriages according to the rites and observances of their respective religious bodies. Provision is usually made for the alternative of a special licence or Governor’s licence, which enables the giving of notice to be dispensed with and also permits of certain dispensations in regard to the actual celebration of the marriage.
