If you’ve never been to a wedding with over 300 people before, a Kurdish wedding will make your eyes pop out. You would be surprised by how many family members and friends would be there. Weddings are the biggest
events in a Muslim’s life, after Ramadan and Eid.
A Kurdish wedding doesn’t only consist of a bride and a groom, but it also means that two families who come together and celebrate child’s big day. This is significant because it brings the two families together as one big family.
events in a Muslim’s life, after Ramadan and Eid.
A Kurdish wedding doesn’t only consist of a bride and a groom, but it also means that two families who come together and celebrate child’s big day. This is significant because it brings the two families together as one big family.
Unlike most American weddings, Kurdish wedding don’t take place in a church. The most common location is normally a venue that the groom’s family is paying for. Not only do they pay for the location, they also pay for the whole wedding. Instead of a ceremony that takes place in a church, we have a pre-wedding that is in the homes of either the groom or the bride. The main wedding takes place at the reception which takes place in a rented location.
When it comes to the food, we hire Kurdish caterers to make it. When you first walk into the reception, you will find appetizers and soup on the tables. The main food consists of rice, lamb, bread, and tzatziki. Cake and baklava are the main deserts that are served after the main course meals.
The music is normally performed by an artist that we book for that night. The type of music that is played comes from Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic influences. Normally fast paced and accompanied with drums.
Since there is a lot of music involved, it leads to a lot of traditional dancing. The dancing is very rhythmic; you have to move to the beat very precisely. There is a lot of clapping, snapping, shoulder movements, hand gestures and body movement involved with the dancing.
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzDlOqvwFI4 )
The music is normally performed by an artist that we book for that night. The type of music that is played comes from Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic influences. Normally fast paced and accompanied with drums.
Since there is a lot of music involved, it leads to a lot of traditional dancing. The dancing is very rhythmic; you have to move to the beat very precisely. There is a lot of clapping, snapping, shoulder movements, hand gestures and body movement involved with the dancing.
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzDlOqvwFI4 )
The clothes now play a huge role in the wedding celebration. Back then they used to wear traditional clothing like robes and garments. Now the women are interested in the fancy clothes such as Dolce & Gabbana, Jovani, and other high fashion brands of clothing. The men are normally dressed in suits, and some might be the well-known brands like Armani and Hugo Boss.
The biggest thing that separates the Kurdish wedding to an American wedding is definitely the wedding rituals. There’s a private party for the families and close friends where we have photographers, cameramen, drummers, and an artist at the home celebrating the day of the wedding. After the pre-party, we make our way to the real wedding in a caravan of fancy cars to the venue. When we arrive at the location, everybody is honking their horns and shouting in happiness. The groom steps outside the car (usually a limo) and the bride stays in the car until the groom’s family gives her enough money to leave the car and join the celebration. This is a typical traditional performance that shows that the woman is actually worth a lot and therefore is suppose to be hard to get. Once the bride comes out, the groom’s mother will hand the bride a glass vase with money and candy in it. Before entering the venue, she makes a wish and throws the vase on the ground. When the vase is broken, the groom takes the brides hand and keeps walking inside the building
When walking into the building, people are lined up with flowers, lit candles, and swords that they use to cut the cake on each side. After all of this, the people eat the dinner that is served, followed by more dancing and celebrating. The groom finally puts the wedding ring on the hand of the bride while the guest are giving presents and” pinning” money to their clothes. Finally the night ends with the bride and groom cutting the cake with a sword given to them by the father of the groom.
To close things up a Kurdish wedding consists of; cultural rituals, long and wild nights, a lot of eating, and a lot of dancing. But most important is all of the happiness on both sides of the families. People now a day’s worry too much about what to wear, how to walk, and how to dance. It’s almost like people are competing against each other about who looks the best, who has the most expensive necklace, who has the best make up or who gets the most attention. Instead of just enjoying the time and actually celebrating the marriage of two people. That is the one thing that bothers me about Kurdish weddings, but I do love the delicious food and the crazy party.
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