We are often invited to different ceremonies of friends....Circumcisions, Thanksgivings, and Weddings being the most common. Today we were invited to a wedding. Usually this consists of arriving...eating...greeting the new couple...then leaving. That simple. Here it is referred to as SMP (Sesudah Makan pulang)...(eat and go home).
This time it was different. We were actually invited to witness the actual ceremony in the mosque.
When we arrived, a tent was set up in the street in front of the mosque. We were greeted by family members of the bride.
Once inside the tent, we greeted the Bride as she also waited under the tent for her Groom and his family to arrive. We took this photo with our good friends waiting with the bride. My friend looks much better wearing here head covering than most white women.
After the groom arrived..the couple and their families entered the mosque. It wasn't much on formal ceremony. They just took off their shoes and walked into the mosque. Many times, the bride is not allowed to enter for the ceremony due to certain times of the month.
Let me first say...since we are Non-Muslims, it was highly unlikely we would be allowed inside the mosque. We were expecting to be asked to wait outside. To the contrary...Our good friends (family of the bride...also American Christians) and Rich and I were escorted into the Mosque. Rich entered through the men's door and I, with the women, entered in through the women's door.
Inside, I was encouraged by the other women to move closer to get better photos. I saw the couple, along with their immediate families, sitting in the front on the floor. All the other male friends and family were sitting on the floor in the main area. Rich sat with the men. While we, the women, sat in a divided area off to the back and side of the men. There was a green curtain separating the areas for the men and women.
We were surprised to witness the bride being allowed to speak at her own wedding. Normally the promises and agreements are only conducted between the father of the bride and the groom. In this situation, the Bride asked the Groom to marry her and asked her father to allow her to marry the man. After the ceremony was over, we had the opportunity to meet the grooms father. We couldn't pass up the chance to get a photo. It is obvious by the fathers clothing that he has met the Muslim requirement of completing a trip to Mecca.
Then it was time for SMP. The men had a food line and the women had a separate food line.
After eating, We went through the reception line, had our photo taken with the couple and were on our way home. I have to say this was one of the most memorable weddings I've been honored to attend.
What a privilege!
ReplyDeleteI attended a wedding where the bride was the only woman allowed under the tent where the wedding took place. I joined the other woman in the house, and got to see the ceremony through the window. And no, the bride didn't talk as I recall.
On a funnier note, I remember one time many years ago when a friend had been invited to attend a wedding ...at least the reception part. He asked me if I wanted to go along. It, too, was a Muslim wedding. Someone gave some words of advice to the bride and groom. At the time, I didn't understand the language all that well, but I understood enough to know that the bride was advised not to tell all her friends too much detail on "how things went"...if you know what I mean. :)