1.0. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background to the Study

Marriage is an institution ordained by God which has been in existences since creation. It is an essential step towards family formation. However, it varies from one culture to another. It is through marriage that new rights roles and new social relationship are formed between families of the spouses.

Family systems past and present are established on their performance of the basic social functions of child bearing; child rearing and the regulations of sexual behaviour. In a traditional system of marriage is regarded as a long life process or a continual process because even if a husband dies, the wife is still transferred to or inherited by another man in the same family; and before man chooses his wife, there would be various investigations as to the type of family where the would be spouse comes from. There is an intermediary between the prospective husband and wife who will act as a solicitor between them and his or her work will be terminated after a solid relationship has been established between the would be coupled with this system, family separation or divorce was a rare phenomenon in the past.

In Nigeria however, particularly in Yoruba land much importance is attached to marriage which is essentially polygamous. The accumulation of wives and children is one of the best ways of measuring a man’s social prestige in Yoruba land. It is the importance attached to marriage that takes the people involve in the marriage of their sons and daughters. They believe that when a man reaches the age of puberty, or fully matured, it is their right and duty to look for a good wife such as a person.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Modernization has negatively and positively polluted the traditional system of marriage in Ibarapa Maladjustment to this social factor if not curbed is capable of rendering Yoruba culture inferior to other world cultures. The resultant influences of it may cause and have been causing serious marriage problems in Ibarapa community. Among the marriage problems emanating as a result of modernization are high rate of divorce, high rate of bride price or wealth, infidelity, child abuse to mention a few.

1.3. Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study include:

(i) To find out whether traditional marriage entails some practices which may pass with time.

(ii) To identify the changes that traditional marriage has witnessed as a result of modernization.

1.4. Scope and Limitation to the Study

The scope of this study is limited to Ibarapa where One Hundred members of the community were randomly selected as samples for the study. This study is limited to Ibarapa community due to time factor and financial constraints.

1.5. Research Questions

The following research questions were answered in this study.

1. Has modernization reduced parental control on the choices of marriage partners for their children?

2. Has modernization affected the choice of marriage partner in Ibarapa?

3. Has modernization greatly increased the rate of divorce in Ibarapa?

4. Has modernization removed the involvement of intermediary in marriage institution in Ibarapa?

1.6. Definition of Key Terms

To clarify the meaning of some terms, concepts and key words used in this paper, their definitions are given. For the purpose of this study, the following key terms are defined.

1. Modernization: In this study, modernization is defined in general terms as new method of getting married or modern way method of getting married in our society nowadays. It can also be referred to as modernization.

2. Marriage: The next variable to be defined is marriage. This is a social institution for the union of a man and his wife in body and soul (Olayinka, 1987), it is the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife with the consent of the two families.

3. Family: It can be defined as the smallest unit of organization in a society and consists of people related by blood and sometimes by marriage. Father, mother with or without children always constitutes a family.

4. Spouse: It is the term used when referring to husband or wife in the institution of marriage.

5. Monogamy: It is one of the forms of marriage whereby a man marry only one wife. This form of marriage is associated with Christian religions.

6.Polygamy: This is a form of plural marriage in which one man is married to more than one wife. The family of such man is sometimes refers to a polygamous home.