Marriage is very much regarded and spells family
value in Somali community. Marriages can either be arranged or be as a result
of a personal choice. Either way the groom’s family elders set an appointment
with the bride’s family. In the nomadic society the groom’s family brings a
designated herd of camel and goats to the bride’s family as a dowry and in the
urban the dowry is in the form of money. This is to respect the bride and her
family and it reduced the meaningless divorce as it is not easy to let go with
such a precious women.
These cultural dances usually occur after a wedding.
Wedding are perhaps one of the most important aspects of the Somali culture. A
wedding denotes not only the union of two souls but the relationship between
families and more importantly two tribes.
Elders from the groom’s family send a delegation to
the bride’s family to request their daughter’s hand for marriage. The bride’s
family elders welcome the delegation from the groom’s side. Mainly discussions
take place tentatively for three days. The first day the delegation presents
the motive of their visit. On the second day, they discuss generally on the
situation at hand. On the third day, the engagement ceremony is prepared the
wedlock (engagement) takes place. The engagement or “Meher”, usually takes
place a few days before the wedding or at times on the same day. The wedding
arrangement and agreements are all settled on the day to prepare for the big
day. But before the jubilant groom can lay hands on his beautiful bride, there
are many hurdles to cross and many gifts to bestow upon her family. The
weddings have various ceremonies. On the wedding day, many goats and a camel
are slaughtered and plenty of rice, meat and drinks are served for both males
and female attendants. This is when the formal Islamic wedding agreement takes
place. A further important tradition is exchange of gifts between the two
family and friends. The bride and the bride’s maid are taken to beauty salon.
The bride wears a white wedding dress and atter women “dirac” with their hair
covered with a scarf. In the afternoon celebration takes both the family’s
residence and the new house. Food and drinks are served and tradional
entertainment takes place i.e. “Buran -bur”. In the evening the bride is
escorted to her new home by bridesmaid and her family and friends. The ceremony
continues till late night. Cakes, meat called “nyirnyir” and soda are served to
guests. The groom and his family pay for this.
It is a tradition that new bride remains in her home
for a week after wedding. A helper stays with her during this period. On the
third day, the grooms family visits them and drinks and food are served. On the
seventh day is women’s party for the bride and it signifies her being welcomed
to family way. She is adorned with “shashi” scarf, making officially the end of
wedding. She is mentored and showered with wise counsel and to be breed another
generation that defends the tribe of her husband.
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