INFO:

Before the Okuru is tied, the tradition is that the Bride & Groom must change into white singlet and wrapper and walk bare feet. The family head who is to tie the Okuru has to ask the crowd and families of both parties several times that he is tying the Okuru because of delicate and significant the act is. When the Okuru is tied, this singular act emphasizes the unbreakable bond of marriage and cements the marital union by the tying (or kaka-ing) of the Raffia (Okuru). Hence, Okuru-Kaka. The raffia is symbolic of the import of the union as being unbreakable. This is why once the raffia is tied, the marriage can no longer be dissolved. After the Okuru has been tied, every thing belonging to the man belongs to the woman and everything belonging to the woman belongs to the man. This is also called Iya Marriage.