WEDDING TRADITION IN SUDAN

A bridegroom ceremony is a common wedding practice in the Sudan. The bridegroom is welcomed to the wedding site with an auspicious decoration called the umbul-umbul, a type of 'wedding announcement'. The mother of the bride gives the bridegroom a garland of flowers, welcoming him into her family. She also gives him a 'keris', a hidden message encouraging him not to be disheartened while toiling for his family. The bridegroom welcome is followed by a procession of ladies with candles, who pray for the ceremony. The bride and groom sit next to each other under an umbrella in front of the entrance to their future home with a veil covering both of their heads. The umbrella is held over the couple's head, serving not only a very practical purpose by also symbolizing esteem and respect. The bride and groom bend forward and kiss the knees of their parents, a ceremony called sungkem, asking for forgiveness and blessing and promising to continue to serve their parents. This wedding ritual is held in front of a gargoyle fountain. Water flowing from the gargoyle suggests the continuous flow of priceless parental love for their children. A chosen man and woman, sing a special song called kidung on behalf of the parents, advising the couple to treat each other well and to live in harmony. Kidung also invokes blessing upon the couple. An egg breaking ceremony, called nincak endog, requires the couple to stand facing each other in front of their house. The bridegroom stands outside the entrance and the bride stands inside. The ceremony is conducted by the Sudanese equivalent of an American 'maid of honor', who remains an advisor throughout the marriage. In this ceremony, seven broomsticks are burnt and thrown away, dramatizing the discarding of bad habits which endanger married life. The groom is pronounced master of his house when the egg is broken. His bride cleans the his foot with water from a kendi, an earthen water jug which represents peace. Then she breaks the kendi and crosses over a log into the house, demonstrating willing obedience to her future husband. She is fed a dish of turmeric sticky rice with yellow spiced chicken to symbolize the last time the parents of the bride will feed their daughter. The groom remains outside for another ceremony, which is enacted before him by a couple who sing. During this ceremony, the groom, via the vocalists, requests to enter his bride's house, and she consents when he agrees to confirm his Moslem faith. Having done so, the couple is given a barbecued spiced chicken to pull apart on a signal from the 'maid of honor'. According to tradition, the one who gets the larger piece will bring in the larger share of the family fortune. The ceremony also portrays the importance of working together to acquire fortune. Following the wedding ceremony, dancers shower the bride and groom with wedding flowers to insure a fragrant future for the couple. A sawer, made of turmeric rice, coins, and candy, is thrown at the couple. Rice is a symbol of prosperity, and yellow is for everlasting love. The coins remind the couple to share their wealth with the less fortunate, and the candy bestows sweetness and fragrance upon their marriage. Seven candles are lit representing the direction the couple should follow to bring about a happy married life. A betel nut set near the couple is a reminder that different customs should not spoil a harmonious marriage.

CHRISTIAN WEDDING

Christian Wedding
A Christian wedding usually is conducted in a Church. The wedding is attended by friends and relatives of the bride and groom. An Anglo Indian Christian bride traditionally wears a white gown in western style and the groom wears a suit. The full skirted gown is usually made of around five to seven metres of material but can vary according to pattern. In other sects of Christian community the bride's dress is usually a white or cream saree. Brides head is covered with a white veil and a crown - a tiara or a bunch of white flowers and she holds a flower bouquet in her hand. The Christian matrimonial ceremony is simple and involves the exchange of wedding bands and marriage vows by the bridal couple. The proceedings of the marriage ceremony is accompanied by a group of choir singers. The rituals are conducted along with the holy mass. The couple walks down the corridor slowly but gracefully till they reach where the priest stands, who welcomes them and offers his best wishes. The priest then commences the procession of reading psalms from the Holy Bible. He then renders a sermon called Homily, which dwells on the sacredness of the wedlock. Like in all Indian matrimonial rituals, this community too, has an interesting lecture with an emphasis on the sanctity of marriage given by the priest. The Homily being over, the bride and the groom hold each other's right hand and make the Solemn Promise of lifelong loyalty stating that they will stay together in thick and thin to each other, in the name of God. This is followed by Blessing and the exchange of the wedding rings, which are first blessed by the priest to instill in the bearers an everlasting love and an earnest faith. Another common feature of the Indian community, that has been extended to the Christian community matrimonial alliance is the Mangalsutra. In the Roman Catholic Saraswat Brahmin community this is known as Piduk. In the Syrian Christian community the groom presents his bride in church with a sari. This is known as 'Mantra Kodi'. A Taali, a leaf shaped gold pendant with a cross sealed on it, is worn on thread created with strands drawn from this sari by the groom's sister. The priest prays for the couple and the couple renders a thanksgiving prayer to the Almighty.
The ceremony comes to an end with the priest giving the final blessing to the couple. The gathering, towards the end, shower their blessings on the newly weds. The last formality is the couple then signs the register and walk down aisle, arm in arm.
Like all weddings in the Indian community, the holy matrimonial alliance in Catholic weddings is followed by a reception for celebration. Christian matrimonials reach its optimum at the reception by a live band. The newly married couple is greeted at the venue with showering of confetti.