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Traditions
of Marriage
In
Tajikistan: Weddings are More Sweet with Rice
The
first thing that grasps our attention in the weddings in Tajikistan is
that the groom does not like gold. Even if it happens that the groom has
a desire for gold, she chooses only one ring. On proposing to a girl it
is totally strange. Abdul Ghaffar Yusuf, a Tajik researcher, says:
“when a young man chooses the family to marry from, he goes there to
see the girl along with his mum. Once, he gets admired with the girl, he
delivers a short religious sermon advising the future wife of being
righteous and keeping on following the teachings of Islam and preparing
herself for the tasks of the coming life i.e. cooking and household.
This signifies that the groom has accepted the girl. Later, the marriage
ceremonies begin to be carried out, dower, marriage expenses and the
like. It is very simple here in Tajikistan.
All
that is required from the bride’s father is to buy a heap of cotton
that suffices for twenty pillows. Then, the dower ranging between 160 to
320 thousand Robel is decided. Then comes the expenses of the food
offered to the attendants of the wedding. The bride’s father asks the
groom to bring a cow, five bags of rice, 100 kilo of carrots, 50 liters
of cooking oil, 20 kilos of onion and 20 kilos of raisins. All this is
needed for making the Bukhari rice.
Now it is bride’s mother’s turn. She has prepared for the groom a
list of the clothes he has to buy for her daughter. In the wedding day,
which is almost Saturday or Sunday, all the relatives and the friends
are called for having lunch. With joy and happiness roaming around, the
guests eat and celebrate the establishment of a new house and the birth
of a new Muslim family.
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