Sudani
Wedding Culture and Traditions
A Dunenese bridegroom ceremony is a common wedding practice in the
Sudan. The bridegroom is welcomed to the wedding site with an auspicious
decoration called the umbul-umbul, a type of 'wedding announcement'.
The mother of the bride gives the bridegroom a garland of flowers,
welcoming him into her family. She also gives him a 'keris', a hidden
message encouraging him not to be disheartened while toiling for
his family.
The bridegroom welcome is followed by a procession of ladies with
candles, who pray for the ceremony. The bride and groom sit next
to each other under an umbrella in front of the entrance to their
future home with a veil covering both of their heads. The umbrella
is held over the couple's head, serving not only a very practical
purpose by also symbolizing esteem and respect.
The bride and groom bend forward and kiss the knees
of their parents, a ceremony called sungkem, asking for forgiveness
and blessing and promising to continue to serve their parents. This
wedding ritual is held in front of a gargoyle fountain. Water flowing
from the gargoyle suggests the continuous flow of priceless parental
love for their children. A chosen man and woman, sing a special
song called kidung on behalf of the parents, advising the couple
to treat each other well and to live in harmony. Kidung also invokes
blessing upon the couple.
An egg breaking ceremony, called nincak endog, requires
the couple to stand facing each other in front of their house. The
bridegroom stands outside the entrance and the bride stands inside.
The ceremony is conducted by the Sudanese equivalent of an American
'maid of honor', who remains an advisor throughout the marriage.
In this ceremony, seven broomsticks are burnt and thrown away, dramatizing
the discarding of bad habits which endanger married life.
The groom is pronounced master of his house when
the egg is broken. His bride cleans the his foot with water from
a kendi, an earthen water jug which represents peace. Then she breaks
the kendi and crosses over a log into the house, demonstrating willing
obedience to her future husband. She is fed a dish of turmeric sticky
rice with yellow spiced chicken to symbolize the last time the parents
of the bride will feed their daughter.
The groom remains outside for another ceremony, which
is enacted before him by a couple who sing. During this ceremony,
the groom, via the vocalists, requests to enter his bride's house,
and she consents when he agrees to confirm his Moslem faith. Having
done so, the couple is given a barbecued spiced chicken to pull
apart on a signal from the 'maid of honor'. According to tradition,
the one who gets the larger piece will bring in the larger share
of the family fortune. The ceremony also portrays the importance
of working together to acquire fortune.
Following the wedding ceremony, dancers shower
the bride and groom with wedding flowers to insure a fragrant future
for the couple. A sawer, made of turmeric rice, coins, and candy,
is thrown at the couple. Rice is a symbol of prosperity, and yellow
is for everlasting love. The coins remind the couple to share their
wealth with the less fortunate, and the candy bestows sweetness
and fragrance upon their marriage. Seven candles are lit representing
the direction the couple should follow to bring about a happy married
life. A betel nut set near the couple is a reminder that different
customs should not spoil a harmonious marriage.
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