Tucked behind the tomb of Moulay Ismail, one of the landmarks of Meknes, Morocco, lies the home of Mohammed Fikri and his family. As is typical in the Islamic world, the exterior of the house is plain, almost poor in appearance; there is no hint of the luxury behind its walls. As is also typical, Mohammed's family keeps its private life hidden. When it was time for Mohammed to be married, his wedding was celebrated in traditional Moroccan style.
My colleague and I had the opportunity to witness this wedding firsthand after meeting Mohammed by chance. During a visit to Meknes we were interested bystanders as he and his friends brought his bride's furniture into his home. As we stood watching, Mohammed noticed us. He seemed delighted. With dark eyes flashing and a warm smile, he enthusiastically invited us to his wedding and we gladly accepted. During the four days of the wedding celebration, we were permitted a rare glimpse of private life in Moroccan society.
Mohammed came from Meknes and his bride from Fez, two of the four imperial cities of Morocco. Ceremonies were held first at the bride's home, then at the groom's. The marriage had been arranged by the groom's widowed mother. Mohammed, twenty-seven, explained in halting French that, with his father dead, his mother had decided he was ready to marry and take on the responsibilities of continuing the family name. His eighteen-year-old cousin, Latifa, had been chosen as his wife. The actual civil and religious formalities had been performed by a Muslim official some months before, when the two families had agreed upon the terms of the dowry. In the interim, Mohammed had made payments on the contract.
Because he paid a great deal of money for his bride, Mohammed would be expected to treat her well. By marrying his own cousin, Mohammed didn't really lose the money, but kept it within the confines of the larger family structure. This is a guiding principle in Moroccan marriage, especially in well-to-do urban families such as Mohammed's. Marrying relatives also acts as a safeguard against the possibility of divorce--in such a case, the children would remain with their father and their well-being, while the concern of both sides, would remain in the hands of the larger family. In a country where a man, but not a woman, may gain a divorce simply by saying "I divorce thee" three times, these protections are a necessary part of the pattern of marriage.
According to the Koran, any man in a family inherits twice as much as a woman. But a woman, even after having gained her inheritance, is unable to control her wealth and property since she is considered a legal minor. Her economic security depends first on her father, then on her husband, and ultimately on her son. A woman who is barren is virtually without an economic base.
If follows that as marriage is the very center of Islamic economic as well as ethical life, arranged marriages are logical and the choice of a bride is rife with economic considerations. By uniting distant branches of a family, as in the case of Mohammed and Latifa, female relatives on each side are ensuring that property remains within the scope of the family. For this reason, there is a strong preference for marriages between cousins, specifically the children of brothers, which helps to reinforce the family's economic capital.
The Moroccan marriage
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