Analytical Study of Ethnicity, Class, and Marriage Patterns in Kaduna State: A Sociological Investigation

Marriage is a foundational institution through which ethnic and class boundaries are maintained or transgressed in Nigerian society, yet the intersection of ethnicity and socioeconomic class as co-determinants of mate selection and marriage patterns in ethnically plural North West Nigerian states has been analytically underexplored. This study analytically examines how ethnicity and class jointly shape marriage patterns in Kaduna State, focusing on the Hausa-Fulani, Southern Kaduna Christian minorities, and Yoruba migrant communities. A mixed-methods analytical design was employed, combining analysis of marriage registry records and household survey data from 350 married couples in Kaduna, Zaria, and Kafanchan LGAs with twenty-eight qualitative interviews. Log-linear models of ethnic and class endogamy rates were applied to quantitative data. Results indicate ethnic endogamy rates of 88% for Hausa-Fulani respondents, 79% for Southern Kaduna groups, and 61% for Yoruba migrants, demonstrating significant variation linked to minority group size and residential mixing patterns. Class endogamy effects were statistically significant and independent of ethnic effects, with respondents marrying within one income quintile of their spouse in 71% of cases. Inter-ethnic marriages were concentrated in the upper two income quintiles, suggesting that class convergence at high income levels partially dissolves ethnic boundary maintenance in mate selection. Religious matching was more constraining than ethnic matching for Christian-Muslim potential pairings, with no documented inter-religious marriages in the sample. The study provides analytical evidence for the complex stratification mechanisms shaping marriage in plural Nigerian contexts. Keywords: ethnicity, class, marriage patterns, Kaduna State, social stratification.