Wedding Traditions Of The Middle East; Cypress To Iraq
Wedding traditions in the Middle East brings together many cultures and various religious overtones
. For the countries of Cypress, Iran and Iraq, these cultural and religious traditions are steeped in long tradition.
Cypress
For the village of Kilani, an old tradition was that the bride's family will hand out specially made bread as the invitation to the wedding.
In many of the villages, there is the tradition of bed laying. This starts by having young girls surround the bed and, while dancing and singing around it, will lay sheets on to the bed. Once the sheets have been laid, money will then be placed on the bed by family guests. This financial support is intended to show for a prosperous wedding. After this, a baby, often a boy will be placed on the bed and rolled around to represent fertility, thus giving the couple many heirs.
Wedding attire will depend on the location of the wedding. While most big towns or villages are more modernized, the smaller villages are still set in their traditional ways. In a village wedding, conservative is the way to go.
Arriving to the church can vary, but it is not uncommon to see the bride and groom arrive to the church together. In the event the groom arrives before the bride, he may be seen standing outside waiting for her with her bouquet. In lieu of some traditions, the bride is usually given away outside the church. Then the groom and bride will walk together up the aisle and despite having a wedding party, the parents will also stand with the new couple to be.
The best man is known as Koumbaros and the main bridesmaid is the Koumera. Often they will be asked to place crowns, or headbands that are known as a Stefana, on to the couple's heads and are worn until the end of the ceremony.
Iran
In Iran, formerly known as Persia, it is the groom that will purchase his bride's wedding dress. The dress will usually consist of ten feet worth of sheeting in which the groom will wrap it around his bride.
Once the wedding vows have been exchanged, crumb shavings from two decorated sugar cones are trickled down onto their heads which is known to bring them good luck.
For many in Iran, the wedding will be based on the marriage contract, after all 95% of Iranians are Muslim. The groom' first view of his bride-to-be is from her reflection in the mirror. A wedding cloth, also known as a sofreh-ye aqhd, is placed before the mirror. The cloth will contain many items that are usually symbolic foods or other items.
The bride will be asked three times and if she agrees to the marriage, at that point they will be declared as husband and wife.
The after reception known as arusi, or feast, includes a dinner consisting of a whole roasted lamb with a side of sweet rice is served. After the meal, the dancing and singing will commence.
At the reception the new bride and groom may wet their fingers in honey and then place them in the other person's mouth or they may just feed the other person sugar-coated almonds as an alternative.
After the reception has finally ended, the new couple will go to their new home where they will knock over a bowl filled with water that is in their doorway, which is thought to bring them good luck. They will also wrestle with one another in a playful way to see who will be the first to enter the home as it means the first one in is the head of the household.
Iraq
In many ways, marriages in Iraq are arranged. When an Iraqi man sees a woman that he finds attractive, he informs his mother. His mom will then research the girl's family in every aspect to see if she would be a good match for her son. If his mother agrees, she will be the one that goes to the young girl's home and ask for her hand in marriage to her son, at which point the girl's family will then research his family.
Once both families agree, they will all come together to meet. The potential bride and groom will spend some alone time together to get to know each other. In the event one or both do not like the other, the courtship is over, otherwise the wedding is on. In smaller towns or villages, marriages between cousins are still the preference.
by: Nicole Sanchez
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