Article Details

In recent years, digital media has played a significant role in reshaping the expression and interpretation of African oral traditions. This paper explores how Igba Nkwu, the traditional marriage ceremony of Nkwerre in Imo State, is being reconfigured through its representation and circulation on TikTok. Drawing on Walter J. Ong’s concept of secondary orality, this paper examines how short-form digital media, especially on TikTok, reshape the presentation, circulation, and interpretation of Igba Nkwu, the traditional marriage ceremony of the people of Nkwerre in Imo State. Using a qualitative approach grounded in digital ethnography and interpretive cultural analysis, the research combines 15 semi-structured interviews with elders, recent ceremony participants, diaspora viewers, and media practitioners with a close analysis of a 25-second TikTok video posted by @chuksebuka4 on 14 January 2025 and of 781 audience comments. The findings show that TikTok compresses the extended ritual process into brief, visually compelling highlights, especially the palm-wine presentation, dance, and crowd reaction, while minimizing less visible but culturally significant stages such as negotiation, prayer, and family deliberation. At the same time, the platform expands Igba Nkwu’s audience by enabling diaspora participation and creating new forms of digital witnessing through comments, affirmations, and debates over authenticity. The paper concludes that TikTok simultaneously preserves and transforms Nkwerre marriage tradition by increasing cultural visibility while reconfiguring ritual meaning through platform logic, algorithmic circulation, and selective representation.

TikTok, Nkwerre, Igba Nkwu, Oral Tradition, Digitisation,