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A Qashqa'i Wedding
| Article
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11368 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
11 / 1986 |
3,547 Words |
| Author
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Lois Beck
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An important part of Qashqa'i identity is its distinctive culture. One cultural practice is the elaborate hospitality offered guests. Another is the festive wedding celebration. The arrangement and celebration of marriage are tied to other economic, political, and social decisions made by families and groups, and express Qashqa'i cultural values as no other single process does.
Close-kin and in-group marriage is preferred and widely practiced by the Qashqa'i. Those who exchange children in marriage tend to camp and migrate together and to be political allies. Since the average family size is six members, most parents have opportunities to form various affinal relationships with others. Households utilize their kinship and affinal ties to cooperate in pasture use and agricultural work and to render mutual protection and aid.
The account that follows is based on observation of more than twenty wedding celebrations and on information given by Qashqa'i about the meaning of the events. The degree of elaborateness depends on the wealth and status of the bride's and groom's families and the kinship, affinal, and political relationships that connect the two families. The wedding celebrations of the khans, while similar in form to those of non-elite Qashqa'i, have different dimensions from those described here.
Although the process of considering marriage partners and negotiating a marriage settlement may take years, preparations for the celebration can be made in one or two days. Payment of bride wealth to the bride's family usually means that the celebration is imminent. A close relative of the groom's father delivers the agreed upon amount in cash and animals and states the day events are to begin.
The day is chosen by elimination: four days of the week are considered inauspicious for beginning any important undertaking, so the celebration is planned so that its third day-when the bride is brought from natal to marriage tent-does not fall on an unlucky day. Further restrictions apply to Shi'i mourning days and the holy months of Muharram and Ramadan. Sometimes these calculations force the families to hold the wedding before all necessary preparations have been made. Weddings are usually conducted in the summer, when the annual sale of animals provides needed cash.
Before the wedding the bride's family must purchase and make clothes and household items for her dowry. All her clothes must be new, and she brings a complete set of new bedding. With the marriage payment and their own money, the bride's father, mother, and several female kin make a shopping expedition to the town bazaar. Purchases include gold jewelry, fabric for clothes, bedding, and perhaps woven goods if the household lacks them. The size of the dowry is considered a symbol of the family's status and the interest of the bride's family and lineage in her.
Sewing and other tasks necessary for the preparation of the dowry begin when the shoppers return. The bride's mother coordinates these activities and female relatives gather to help. These women may see no other part of the celebration, unless they are close relatives of the groom. Sweets are passed among the helpers, who offer small amounts of money to the bride.
Preparations are more hectic in the groom's
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