American weddings. We've all been to our share. Except for a few differences (i.e. Latin spoken at Catholic ceremonies, Hebrew at Jewish ceremonies, etc.), they pretty much look the same. The bride wears white, marches down the aisle, the couple says their vows and seals them with a kiss, then it's off to the reception--heavy appetizers, a seated dinner, their first dance, a toast or two, cutting the cake, off on their honeymoon. To see something different, we have to step out of our comfort zone and into another culture. I thought it might be fun to "jog the blog" around the world to see how other couples tie the proverbial knot. We won't go into all the details--just a few of the more interesting traditions. First up--Sudan. The Republic of Sudan is in Africa just south of Egypt and borders the Red Sea. It's also the tenth largest country in the world. So how do they do it in Sudan? Sudan is predominantly Muslim, and their wedding ceremonies reflect that. Among the Sudanese wedding traditions is an egg breaking ceremony, called nincak endog, which 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. A little later in the ceremony, 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.
I don't know about you, but I think watching a bride and groom take apart a barbecued chicken would be infinitely more fun than watching them smear wedding cake on each other's face. Just one stop and I'm already intrigued by what happens at weddings in other parts of the globe. Stay wired.