Consumer identity & Nigerian wedding rituals : a blended netnography approach

Fagbola, LO

Abstract

(Global) White wedding rituals is the chosen consumption sphere for this study due to its preference for intense consumption of symbolic artefacts and its global reach. The materialistic tendency of the global white wedding allows for its infiltration and deterritorialised usage in most local wedding rituals. Nigeria was the preferred research site due to her prominent cosmopolitan tendencies and large consumer market, rife with Nigerian and non-Nigerian consumer goods. In particular, Nigerian wedding rituals were explored due to their proximity to the global white wedding and concentration of conspicuous consumption. Methodologically, a blended Netnography was applied, to collect and analyse online and offline data to illuminate the interaction of global white wedding consumer culture with Nigerian weddings. Here, thematic analysis was applied, uncovering the paths where Nigerian culture mixes, resists and elaborates on (global) white wedding consumer culture.
The findings indicate a complex use of wedding rituals at performing, negotiating and maintaining multiple identities including consumer and ethno-religious identities. Bridal identity, a globally recognisable consumer identity was performed within Nigerian wedding rituals. However, its expression was mostly localised, with traditional institutions of family and religion playing an outsized role in its expression. Contrary to the typical bridal identity that is market driven but sprinkled with ethno-religious aesthetics, in Nigeria, wedding vendors were largely absent and, in some cases, they actively undermined the bride. Further, the research concluded that Nigerian bridal identity is typically embedded within religious and familial guidelines. There are multiple occurrences of creativity, whereby, brides synthesise their personal aesthetic with traditional norms within said guidelines. When the bride’s preferences go beyond prescribed expectations, the traditional institutions of family and religion re-assert their dominance over the ritual, resulting in a strained and unpredictable bridal identity.

Citation

Fagbola, L. Consumer identity & Nigerian wedding rituals : a blended netnography approach. (Thesis). The University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Feb 12, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 12, 2020
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2019