Wedding Traditions of the Middle East; Oman to Saudi Arabia
Wedding traditions of the Middle East can come in all kinds of forms. Some of the customs maybe the same from country to country, but other traditions will vary. For such countries as Oman,Palestine, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, these ritual traditions are taken very seriously.
OMAN
Wedding traditions of Oman include:
– Unlike other Middle Eastern countries, both men and women are allowed to select their mate.
– After the price is agreed upon, the groom-to-be and the father of the bride will attend anOmanian judge’s office to sign a contract. For this procedure, the bride will not be present.
– For most of the wedding proceedings, the groom and bride will be separated.
– As for celebrations, it is common for the groom’s family to stay together and celebrate for aslong as three days. Meanwhile the bride’s side will only celebrate for just one or two of the days.During the celebrations, the bride stays with other children in another room.
– After the groom’s family has returned from the bride’s home with the new bride, the partystarts up again. While the bridal party is entertained and fed, her new groom is being shaved andredressed into his best clothes. His outfit would also include a green sash to match his wife’sgreen headdress. The color green being worn by both is thought to bring good fortune.
– Upon the completion of the ceremony, the couple will go off to a nuptial hut that is usuallybuilt by the groom’s friends. It is here where the new couple will spend their honeymoonlasting up to one week. During this time, they will use their feet to crack an egg, which isencouragement for fertility.
PALESTINE
Wedding traditions of Palestine include:
– A Ziyaneh is held for the bachelor the night before his wedding. It’s basically a bachelor partywhere the groom’s sexual abilities are confirmed. This ritual includes his parents bragging abouthis beard, which is a symbol of manhood. Although the groom may be as young as 14 years old,he will still need to have a good shave to be successful at the taking of his bride’s virginity.
– Expectations are high that the new bride is a virgin and proof is often needed to avoid havingthe groom laughed at and mocked. Therefore, after they consummate the marriage, the groomwill exit the room with the virgin’s blood on the cloth. The cloth is then handed to the groom’smother where she will dance with it in front of some women. After, she will hand it to the fatherof the groom who then brags about his son’s manhood.
– One of the bigger traditions in Palestine is when the bride places a piece of dough on her front
door of her new home. This symbolizes blessings and wealth to her home as well as good fortunein money and children to the groom by his bride.
QATAR
Wedding traditions of Qatar include:
– Nearly all marriages are arranged and are usually within the tribe.
– Girls are considered old enough to marry upon their educational completion by about age 14 or15.
– The bride can choose to go with either a more modern wear or a traditional wear. Thetraditional wear includes a green disdaasha (Arabic gown) that is covered with embroidery ofgold color. Wearing the dishaasha shows a sign of respect for the older Gulf traditions.
– For a Qatari marriage, the groom needs to give the bride a marital payment known as “mahr.”
– The bride will generally make all the decisions for her wedding and is assisted by other femalesin her family, the groom’s family and friends. The groom will be in charge of financing theentire wedding and honeymoon, as well as any other requests she may have or want.
– Most Qatari weddings take place after either the “Maghrib” (after sunset prayer) or afterthe “Ishaa” (the evening prayer). Many weddings usually take place in the evening since a nightsetting tends to be a more romantic atmosphere.
SAUDI ABRABIA
Wedding traditions in Saudi Arabia include:
– When a man and a woman decide to marry, they generally will go out and buy new clothes,then return to throw out their old clothes. This symbolizes a new life together.
– Both the groom and bride will wear white for their wedding ceremony. The groom will alsowear a long cover that is known as a Bisht.