A TikToker is documenting his adventures to prove he is worthy of marrying his beautiful Nigerian bride-to-be.
Digital content creator Chris is reportedly on a mission to visit every single country in the world.
“Follow to see the world with me! 162 countries,” reads the description on his colorful TikTok page.
The American photographer is currently documenting his experience of proving to his soon-to-be father-in-law that he is a worthy match for his daughter.
Chris, known to his followers as authentic_traveling, documented his quest to prove to his soon-to-be father-in-law that he is worthy of marrying his fiancé, Adenike Daramola
Armed with a “dowry list” of 39 items, Chris set out on a quest to collect all the items that his father-in-law specifically said he needed for the wedding.
The list reads like a treasure hunt, including items like yams, kola nuts, alligator pepper, dried fish, palm oil, ground oil, and even a live goat.
“This my friends is what it takes to marry a Nigerian girl. So I have a list here and this is the dowry list. This is what her father gave me and signed [with] all the things that I need to gather to marry my beautiful bride,” the social media influencer said in a video explaining the list of items he needed to marry his Nigerian fiancée.
The content creator showed his audience the “dowry list” featuring the 39 items he has to buy for his fiancée’s family
“On this list, there are things like yam, there are things like kola nuts, alligator pepper, dried fish, all these things I need to buy. 39 items in total. There’s a live goat. I need to go to the goat market to buy an actual live goat,” he told his 770.5k-strong audience.
“I’ve got to get honey, I’ve got to get sugar, I’ve got to get palm oil. I’ve got to get ground oil. Anything you can imagine and this is a lot,” he continued. “There are a lot of things. So I’m here in Mushin today and I’m starting on this list of all these things I need to marry a pure Nigerian geh. A Yoruba geh.”
The list contains items like yam, honey, alligator pepper, kola nuts, and even a live goat
In the same video, he mentioned that the hunt to find all the items would be worth it as long as the final prize is winning the hand of his love, Adenike Daramola.
“So my friends, it’s a lot of things to marry a Nigerian, a beautiful bride like I have. But it is worth it, my friends,” he said. “The women are beautiful, the women are kind, they’re strong and I’m so excited to get married to Adenike. But we’ve got a lot of things that we need to collect. So this dowry list, 39 items in total and it’s a lot and it’s going to take several days to get all these. We gotta go to several different markets but it is worth it.”
“It’s a lot of things to marry a Nigerian, a beautiful bride like I have. But it is worth it, my friends,” the travel vlogger told his audience
@authentic_traveling This is what it takes to marry a Nigerian girl I received the dowry list signed by her father I need to purchase yam, cola nut, alligator pepper, palm oil and even a LIVE GOAT! And not just one yam or pepper – large quantities. The list is 39 items in total. I will be visiting the bulk food markets to gather everything I need to complete this list before the marriage. These items are symbolic like the bottle of honey meaning our marriage will forever be sweet, yam as a symbol of fertility and prosperity, and an umbrella signifying my role as a protector for my wife. It is a lot of things, but it is worth it for Adenike. She is Yoruba but all the tribes practice dowries though with different items and traditions around it. #nigerianwedding #nigeria #lagos #africanwedding #dowry #nigerianweddings ♬ original sound – Chris – Authentic Traveling
The next video that Chris uploaded captured him braving the bustling markets of Nigeria to buy all the items he needed to check off his “dowry list.”
The content curator explained that giving the “dowry” is meant to be symbolic of him “proving [his] worth” to marry the woman he loves
“In Nigeria, they practice dowry for marriage paid to the family. In the Yoruba culture, each item is symbolic and not really a payment to the family but rather proving your worth to marry her,” he said.
A follow-up video captured Chris making his way through the crowded markets of Nigeria to get all the items he requires to prove he is a worthy husband
The video showed the vlogger making his way in the rain through markets and even taking his pick from a line of goats at the market.
“I spoke with the Hausa men to find the meatiest goat. This is the one I picked and surprisingly the goat at only $40 is one of the cheapest items on the list,” he said, showing clips of the four-legged “dowry” item on his list.
He then went on to mention all the other things he bought from the market and also pointed out the symbolism behind them. For instance, he explained that the honey was meant to symbolize that their marriage would be sweet and the marriage Bible was meant to represent how “God will always come first.”
Armed with his “dowry list,” he braved the rain and went shopping for the items, and he even showed viewers how he had to pick the “meatiest goat”
“This can’t be done in one day so after the rain cleared I went to Mushin Main Market to find the kola nut, both bitter and regular, the alligator pepper, the adun, which specifically said I needed to buy plenty, and a bottle of raw honey which symbolizes that our marriage will be sweet,” he said.
“Next I had to gather biscuits, bulk packs of different drinks, wine and Seaman’s schnapps as well as a suitcase full of new clothes for my fiancee to prove I can provide for her in the marriage. And lastly the marriage Bible as God will always come first,” he continued.
“It is possible to pay someone to buy these items but for me I wanted the experience myself,” he concluded. “Finally we brought all these items to the family home for the wedding day. It is not easy to marry a Yoruba girl but my bride is strong, smart, loving, beautiful and completely worth it.”
The TikToker explained that the “dowry” has symbolic meanings; for instance, the honey Chris has to buy symbolizes how their marriage will be sweet, and the marriage Bible represents how “God will always come first”
@authentic_traveling This is everything you need to marry a Yoruba girl 🇳🇬 Her father gave me a list of 39 items I had to gather before the wedding. In Yoruba culture, the practice of a dowry is more symbolic with each item having a purpose like the honey to ensure our marriage is sweet. Payment of the dowry items is the way the man proves his worth to marry their daughter. The items are split by the family members at the end. You can hire someone to get the items for you, but it was way more interesting and meaningful to do it myself. Thank you so much to @aboutconsumables for helping me gather everything. She is so knowledgeable about the markets and local foods from her experience running her own restaurant. #dowry #nigerianwedding #yoruba #yorubagirl #africanwedding #nigeria #yorubaweddings ♬ original sound – Chris – Authentic Traveling
Adenike, who has 21k followers of her own on Instagram, shared an emotional post this week about her relationship with Chris.
“I started typing our love story but realized I couldn’t,” she wrote. “It wasn’t a coincidence. Neither was it luck.”
“It was ordained by him who knows the end from the beginning. The story played out just the way the producer had scripted it to be.”
“It’s 3 years of friendship, growth, lessons, travels, moments, adventures, experiences, and love,” she added. “We are meant to do life together. Cheers to forever.”
