Marriage in the traditional Afghan culture has a deep-rooted process through which it treads step by step. Rarely do young men and women have an opportunity to meet each other, and the to-be wife is usually chosen in a haste. When a young man wants to marry a young lady who is from an unknown family, first his parents do some kind of background check about her, trying to know more about her morals, beauty, and other family affairs.
If they are contented with what they find, his parents will send a female family member or a relative to her house in order to understand, indirectly or directly, and would disclose the proposal, if the situation is favorable. This consultation process takes some time, and a date is usually fixed to announce the decision among the relatives, if both sides are satisfied with this deal.
The Engagement
Shereny khory or namzady (Dari for: engagement) is the first step to formalize the affinity. The groom's father, accompanied by some kinfolk and elders, comes to the bride's home in a prefixed date with bags of sweets and gifts for the to-be bride, some money and clothes to some family members. After the food is served, the groom's father or a respected man from among the guests formally unveils the purpose for their coming and puts the demand as if the bride's father accepts his son "as a servant of him."
An elder man from the bride's extended or close family receives this demand, and both sides discuss and agree on things such as dowry, jewelry, expenses of the wedding, and other necessities —which are in most cases beyond the capacity of the to-be groom's family.
As it is agreed, a big qand (Dari for: lump sugar) is broken with two sides present and mixed up with sweets to be distributed in ...
... middle of paper ...
... that the bride will stay at her husband's home forever. Then, a number of girls take the bride to her bedroom and the party ends.
Takht jami (Dari for: wrap up the program) is another special ceremony held on third or seventh day after the wedding. Close relatives and friends are invited, and they bring gifts for the bride. These are mostly furniture and dishes for the newly established house.
It is a party special for the girls and women. Gifts are raised one by one, with the name of the person who presented it called out.
A few days after the wedding party, groom will go with some valuable gifts to greet his father-in-law and later the couple's relatives will begin inviting the new couple to their home called Paeewazee.
Works Cited
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&pagename=Zone-English-ArtCulture%2FACELayout&cid=1212925455834
...roperty of one another and nothing is held individually against one another. The two will share one of everything, and the Bride is also forced to forget other people. The reason being for all of this is because now the Bride and Bridegroom can now have love for their marriage.
Second, the groom visits the bride’s parents at their house to talk with her parents about the marriage. The parents question the groom to see if he actually loves their daughter. The groom clarifies to the bride’s parents he meet their daughter and fell in love with her. The groom also says he knows their daughter like a recipe. In the end of the visit, the parents tell him to come back in a week.
Nuer and American wedding’s result in the two extended families coming together and unite as one (Holtzman: 2008, 73). Nuer families are involved in the involvement of payment of bridewealth cattle, usually getting between 25 to 40 animals, from the family of the groom to the family of the bride (Holtzman: 2008, 73). The purpose of the bridewealth cattle was to connect her father from her groom’s father and to make children from the marriage. In America, traditionally, the bride and the groom often get gifts from all family members, but they would not get animals. They usually receive currency or household materials. Nuer weddings are not arranged like traditional Nuer marriages. Many of the times, the couple are usually friends or lovers before marriage (Holtzman: 2008, 74) which is similar to American culture.
this celebration. She has to pick a partner which is known as an escort, along
This event is celebrated differently by many diverse cultures, and as time goes by, some of the traditions change. Even though the traditions may alter, the whole point of this eventful activity stays the same. The point of this event is to recognize the young lady’s transition from childhood to womanhood. This is also known as “the coming of age.” On this one day, it’s all about the girl, nothing else matters!
The bride is then assisted in adorning herself for the public ceremony which begins with a feast at the family’s home.
When Trobriand couples are interested in getting married, they spend time, live together and also have intercourse together. The parents of the girl accept her future husband once she starts to accept gifts from the
has to go to the woman’s side and ask her parents for permission to be wed. The man has
Despite people celebrating marriage in different ways it all comes back to one thing; marriage is a social ritual that by which two people affirms one abiding contracts between. The ceremonies are composed of rituals which symbolize facets of married life and the obligations being undertaken. In Hinduism the marriage celebration can start weeks before the actual ceremony depending on the preferences of the family. Once the day of the ceremony comes around the day starts with the brides’ family welcoming the groom into their home and both families are formally introduced. Both the bride and groom sit at the Mandap- tent where the ceremony is held under,-and are offered a drink. Gifts between the two families are generally exchanged at this point. The groom's mother gives an auspicious necklace to the bride, which is essentially an emblem of the married status in the Hindu religion. Then scared fire is lit and a pundit recites t...
This cultural event also had a religious meaning and ceremony that went along with it. Like traditional ways, the birthday girl has to attend a special Mass that includes her close friends a...
To further support her acceptance of arrange marriages, the person that she will marry will not necessarily be a stranger because her parents examine her potential suitor’s and his family’s background. She readily trusts her parent’s judgement so she has no concerns about whether or not the man she will marry is “good”. To close her defensive statements, she explains that she will have her whole married life to get to know and love her husband, so she does not need to ruin the fun before it begins with dating.
Finally after what seemed like years, I walked out to greet my new father-in-law and my new wife. I shook his hands as he gave away his youngest daughter to start our own family, and then I reached out for the arm of my bride. Together we walked the rest of the way down the aisle and stood in front of the pastor’s
On occasion of the Howkrah the “Walwar” (the money to be paid by the father of the boy to the girl’s father) money is specified. In accordance with the elders decision the groom’s parent agree to pay in cash the specified amount to the bride’s parents on the day of marriage. Some amount is paid in advance while rest of the money is paid on the marriage day. The father of the girl demands a huge sum of money from the father of the boy. The father of the boy and other relatives present on the occasion request him to reduce the amount for sake of God, sake of Prophet and other saints. The father of the girls on their request and for God’s sake and Prophet and other saints cuts down the amount to some extent. In some cases the father of the boy requests on reducing the amount for the sake of their dead forefathers too. Nevertheless, the amount is brought down to a reasonable level within the range of the boy’s father. Whenever the walwar amount is settled, some sweets and drinks are served to the people on the occasion.(Afridi:2002)
...church, a courthouse, or a wedding venue. Both bride and groom exchange wedding rings and kiss before the witnesses and their families. Flowers are thrown at the newlyweds when they leave the place of ceremony. The banquet party happens in a restaurant where the bride’s and groom’s families, their relatives, and guests are sharing their joy and celebration. Dancing in the party is the loveliest part of the American wedding culture and happens at every American wedding. In addition, at the end of my husband’s coworker wedding party, I saw the guests enjoyed dancing happily around the newlyweds until late in the night to share the joy of happiness to the newlyweds.
He usually arrives dressed in his wedding attire on the back of a horse, or sometimes on the back of an elephant. “The wedding altar (mandapa) is built the day of and the groom is welcomed by his future mother in law where his feet are then washed and he is offered milk and honey. His sister in law will attempt to steal his shoes and if she succeeds, the groom must pay her to get them back” (beau-coup.com). At the wedding venue the bride waits for the groom in a room covered in garland, when the groom arrives they exchange garland. After this, the brides family will welcome the grooms family to the wedding. Like Christian weddings, the father of the bride gives the bride away at the wedding, this is called a Kanyadaan. A priest will facilitate the marriage by reciting mantras or holy hymns, but the bride and groom marry each other. The bride and groom are considered married when the groom ties a thread that symbolizes his vow to care for the bride. He ties it in three knots that symbolizes the gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Masheshwara. The ceremony takes place around a fire and the god, Agni is considered the witness to the union. “The bride and the groom then circle the fire seven times, in a clockwise direction, called Saat Phere which signifies seven goals of married life which include religious and moral duties, prosperity, spiritual salvation and liberation, and sensual gratification” (Gullapalli