A knock-door is an engagement party that happens a few months before a Nso woman’s wedding. Technically, the suitor has to ask every single one of his would-be bride’s relatives for her hand in marriage. The relatives, I am told, cannot flat-out refuse to allow her to marry the boy, but they can refuse to grant approval if the bride price is not enough. What usually happens is that the bride’s family will deliberate for a week or so on what the suitable bride price is. The bride price depends on the woman’s worth. Things like beauty, personal worth, age, and family status come into play. I am not sure what was agreed upon in my case, since I was just hearing from Shamwun that arrangements had been made, which meant my mother had already been involved in agreeing to a bride price. She didn’t even have the courtesy to be the one to deliver the news. “But I have never even met him,” I cried. “How can we be having the engagement when we have never met?” “You will meet with him after the event.
