A
Somali town has banned lavish weddings to encourage young people to marry and
stop them migrating.
Receptions
in hotels would no longer be allowed and only three goats could be slaughtered
to feed guests, Beled Hawa's commissioner told the BBC.
Spending
limits of $600 (£500) on furnishings for a couple's new home and up to $150 for
the bride price had also been set, Mohamud Hayd Osman said.
It
is not unusual for a groom's family to spend about $5,000 on a wedding.
The
BBC Somali service's Bashir Mohamed says this amount includes the bride price,
wedding reception, outfits and jewellery for the bride as well as new furniture
"Islamic
teachings indicated that getting married should be cheap," Mr Osman told
the BBC Somali service.
The
decision to restrict spending on "wild partying" and other expenses
had been taken after officials met to find out why 150 children had recently
been born out of wedlock in the town.
"Young
women were refusing to get married unless a fortune was spent on wedding gold
and household furnishings," he said.
Times
were already difficult in Beled Hawa, which neighbours Kenya, because of the
drought and unemployment - and the high cost of weddings was another
contributing factor in people leaving the area, the commissioner said.
"A
young woman must be supported to get married to the young man she chooses... so
the community can grow," he said.
He
said $600 should be enough to purchase a double bed, table and chairs as well
as crockery and cutlery.
Traditionally
the events around a Somali wedding go on for seven days.
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