For those who having spent time in Yemen, weddings here are an important and frequent occurrence. I have been to a few since I've arrived and thought I'd give a brief synopsis of what it entails.
The ceremony starts with wedding invitations, although most of the time my invitations have been verbal. During the celebration, as with everything else in Yemen, women and men split into separate groups. For women, the celebration can last anywhere from one to seven days depending on the family and their status. For men, the time frame tends to be one to three days.
The early morning of the first day of the celebration is called the thebal or gassal, when the bride and her friends go together to the hammam or public bath. Upon their return there is a traditional lunch accompanied by Yemeni songs and following the lunch is an afternoon party where the bride wears a green dress and sits next to a shamadon (an ornate iron structure decorated with egg shells). During this time, the older women chew qat and the younger women dance.
On the second day, the party is called naghash, taking place in a spacious hall and lasting into the night. The family of the bride provides the guests with cookies and cakes at this time.
The biggest celebration is on the third day. The bride wears a modern dress (usually quite flamboyant) and the party welcomes the bride with applause. At the end of the party (usually late at night, around 11pm) the groom enters the hall where the bride is waiting and they sit together.
The althath, or the fourth day, the mother of the groom hosts a party that gives her family an opportunity to see the wife of her son. That night (or after the wedding reception), guests usually participate in giving al-tarh. This is where the male guests give money to the groom, each according to his ability (in place of gifts as is done in western culture). The bride and the female guests also get henna done on this day.
If the groom does not throw a banquet to cut the costs of the wedding, then instead of al-tarh, the groom and his guests go to the hammam, eat breakfast, and then drive around the city accompanied by drummers. Tribal dances are performed until lunch at which time an al-magyal or vocalist sings and chants with the guests until the evening when its time to prepare for the reception.
The reception usually begins with traditional dances followed by the azafah (the actual wedding reception) which lasts from an hour and a half to two hours. During this time, the al-magyal sings religious chants while the groom carries a sword and walks from one end of the street to the other. The street is usually lit up with special lights and decorations. After the azafah, the groom asks permission to leave for his bride while the guests continue to dance until dawn. Dances are performed the next morning and similar ceremonies take place the following afternoon.
One aspect of weddings that I find worth mentioning is that the women tend to dress very scandalously and put on lots of make up (neither of which are tolerated outside of this situation). Of course, they are only in the presence of other women when this happens, but I find it to be a unique tradition that doesn’t mesh with the rest of Yemeni culture.
The ceremony starts with wedding invitations, although most of the time my invitations have been verbal. During the celebration, as with everything else in Yemen, women and men split into separate groups. For women, the celebration can last anywhere from one to seven days depending on the family and their status. For men, the time frame tends to be one to three days.
The early morning of the first day of the celebration is called the thebal or gassal, when the bride and her friends go together to the hammam or public bath. Upon their return there is a traditional lunch accompanied by Yemeni songs and following the lunch is an afternoon party where the bride wears a green dress and sits next to a shamadon (an ornate iron structure decorated with egg shells). During this time, the older women chew qat and the younger women dance.
On the second day, the party is called naghash, taking place in a spacious hall and lasting into the night. The family of the bride provides the guests with cookies and cakes at this time.
The biggest celebration is on the third day. The bride wears a modern dress (usually quite flamboyant) and the party welcomes the bride with applause. At the end of the party (usually late at night, around 11pm) the groom enters the hall where the bride is waiting and they sit together.
The althath, or the fourth day, the mother of the groom hosts a party that gives her family an opportunity to see the wife of her son. That night (or after the wedding reception), guests usually participate in giving al-tarh. This is where the male guests give money to the groom, each according to his ability (in place of gifts as is done in western culture). The bride and the female guests also get henna done on this day.
If the groom does not throw a banquet to cut the costs of the wedding, then instead of al-tarh, the groom and his guests go to the hammam, eat breakfast, and then drive around the city accompanied by drummers. Tribal dances are performed until lunch at which time an al-magyal or vocalist sings and chants with the guests until the evening when its time to prepare for the reception.
The reception usually begins with traditional dances followed by the azafah (the actual wedding reception) which lasts from an hour and a half to two hours. During this time, the al-magyal sings religious chants while the groom carries a sword and walks from one end of the street to the other. The street is usually lit up with special lights and decorations. After the azafah, the groom asks permission to leave for his bride while the guests continue to dance until dawn. Dances are performed the next morning and similar ceremonies take place the following afternoon.
One aspect of weddings that I find worth mentioning is that the women tend to dress very scandalously and put on lots of make up (neither of which are tolerated outside of this situation). Of course, they are only in the presence of other women when this happens, but I find it to be a unique tradition that doesn’t mesh with the rest of Yemeni culture.
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