Rafah Prep Girls “C” School Palestinian Wedding A project done by Students of Grade 7 March 2014

Palestinian Wedding 2013/2014

Marriage in Palestine Generally, marriage in Palestine is divided into two types : the traditional and the marriage of (the ” modern“) – they both have different types of access road to the bride of the young man’s dreams, but the rest of the details are similar. In traditional type of marriage, the mother of the groom and a sister, will search for the appropriate women, among acquaintances or relatives, or travel to different regions in search of a suitable women. When they find the appropriate women – as requested by the groom himself, he goes with them to the woman’s parents, her home , to confirm his acceptance after a look at the wife to be.

The Dowry Meeting The groom’s family starts the conversation asking questions in a polite way, about the acceptable dowry. They will convince on its value for their bride, a habitual, determined by Jordanian Dinars currency (1JD=1.3$) -the amount is roughly between 2.000 to 4.000 JD ( approx 7.000 used ) – less or more. The dowry is determined according to the traditions and the customs of the family itself, the age and level of education of the girl and other related issues, the answers are spoken in gentle way too.

The Betrothal

The Celebration Dowry and home furnishing costs are no longer ultimately, after approval and acceptance of the marriage officially, it is time to celebrate. The groom invites all his friends and the youth from both families and also their friends to celebrate with him. On the occasion of the wedding a youth concert called Ishhar , will be held, which requires the rental of a music ensemble, or a music band, a voice mixer, a stereo, head- phones to every one, and a large number of chairs for all the family members. Sometimes a wedding hall will be rented to throw a banquet. the very next day, in which the two families are gathering to get to know each other and to strengthen their bonds.

Henna Day It is the first event, where the groom's family gets large amounts of henna to the bride's house so the bride can have henna drawn on her body as well as her sisters and friends. The henna day, which is an exclusive feminine ceremony, is usually accompanied by singing traditional songs and dancing.

The Groom's Night: It is only for men, the groom's family and friends  meet to sing, dance, and have fun. Having special traditional dance makes it even more exciting, where the groom's friends gather in his house or sometimes in the area outside the house to have enough room for 'dabka'

The wedding day The wedding day is one of the most complex and busiest days of both the spouses; their schedule tends to be fraught since the first hour of dawn. In the morning he must take her, her sisters and her chosen female friends from relatives, to a women beauty & hair salon and he must pay the costs for them all. While he goes to the hairdresser for himself and his best friends, he leaves to confirm the date of the arrival of cars that will take all the members of both families to the specified wedding hall.

Lunch For The Bride And Bridegroom Members And The Guests In Public

When the bride finishes her makeup procedures, at the beauty salon, her husband to be, drives her to the closest photo studio, to capture the moment together for reminiscence, then he leads her back to her home, where her relatives and friends celebrate her wedding. The groom then finalizing the declaration process in the hall together with the men, of both families. As soon as he is finished, the groom takes the waiting cars towards the brides home, while he brings them all on a tour around the city.

The family members and friends begin to arrive to the wedding hall, where the celebration for the spouses starts from the beginning of the evening until midnight. Young and old will dance together the Palestinian folklore dance Debka,) singing and taking photos of the just married, blessing them and wishing them a happy marriage life .

Transportation to drive women to the wedding hall

The wedding car is waiting

The separate wedding doesn't mean that the groom won't meet his bride during the party. The groom usually enters to give his wife the wedding ring and golden presents and also attend the cake show. The groom's brothers and close relatives sometimes join the groom at the bride's hall to enjoy dancing with the groom

The separate wedding is sometimes Islamic, in which only Islamic nasheeds are played, in addition to traditional lyrics. Or it's only a separate one with Palestinian lyrics and contemporary songs. Talking about lyrics, I have to say that it is one of the most unique and characteristic words I have ever listened to. Some people might feel it's very old and irrelevant, Palestinians still sing for fruits, vegetables, and hail the bride who comes from countryside origins. Songs about Palestine, the homeland, different cities in Palestine, and the honor of martyrs, are still very common and an important pillar of celebrating different occasions including marriage.

The Honey – moon After all this marriage arrangements, the spouses enjoy a good month of honeymoon. It is a tradition that parents in Palestine provide a comfortable required rest for the new marriage couple. Everything possible is arranged to facilitate their life from now on, all close relatives of the two families, arrives with their gifts to help the new wedded couple to fulfill their dream. So the gifts will complete the new home, any lack of their basic needs or luxury, all gifts will be given after that the two have passed the test of ability to get married. He must provide all of the above requirements and need to prove that he is honorable to receive all the gifts.

He, the groom, must equip the house, pay the dowry, invite to the youth ceremony, pay for the wedding day & the banquet for both families, including all other expenses, to prove that he highly appreciate his the women that is now his wife, even if he is forced to borrow the money. – “There one who proposes to a beauty does not care about the dowry” – which means that he may sells his own soul, to provide the dowry for her, to express his high appreciation and his warm feelings towards his future wife.