Marriage is considerd sacred in all communities of the world. At the beginning of the world, God created man (Adam) but later thought it wise to give him a companion, Eve. So it was God’s idea that man and woman should live together, till death did them part.

Wedding parties are some of happiest moments for couples. They vow to live together happily for ever. Those witnessing eat and drink lavishly to commemorate the union. The main reasons for marriage are:

• Companionship

• Procreation

• Sex

There are several types of marriages in Kenya. These are; Traditional, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Civial, and the commonly reffered to as "Come we stay".

TRADITIONAL. Every community had its own set of traditions that had to be strictly adhered to for a marrige to be considered through. Sevaral steps had to be followed. Among the Kikuyu for example, such rites as paying of dowry(mostly in form of goats and cattle) had to be completed. During negotiations, elders from both families were treated to gouards of the traditinal brew called muratina.

The christian, hindu, and islamic types of mariages are governed by the different doctrines of the faith The "come we stay" type is as a result of long cohabitations sometimes leading to large families of grown up children. In most cases these are also considered and recognised as families as they mostly adhere to the traditions of the communities of the couples. For the chrstians, a certificate validifies the marriage. Civial marriages are conducted at the Attorney General Chambers or District headquaters (D.Cs Office), where a certificate has to awarded.

IMji wa Huruma is no exception to these concepts of companionship. However, due to the economic hardships faced by the community, very few young people can afford to live together as man and wife to support a family. Fewer still will be able formalise their marriages by undergoiong the necessary rites. The village therefore has witnessed very few wedding ceremonies. This is because weddings in Kenya today require alot of resources and much preparations. In some cases couples have had to organise pre-wedding parties to help raise funds for the actual ceremony. These have been commercialised and are becoming less and less popular. As a result, the most common type of families are the "come we stay" . You go get a girl and make a family. These types of families have led to numerous break-ups that lead to single- parent families.