A wedding is a special event in a person’s life, and each nation has its own customs and traditions in holding this celebration. In Dagestan, a wedding is a real celebration, which is celebrated in a big way and, of course, observing the important elements of its specificity.
Important Features
The wedding customs of the Dagestan people are closely intertwined with its national culture. Among the characteristic traditions of the Dagestan wedding are:
1) Double celebration. The holiday is held for two days, the first time in the bride's house, and the second in the groom's house. It is important that the days of celebration do not go in a row, but with a break of seven days.
2) Ban weddings on certain days. In Dagestan, one cannot marry on the birthdays of future husbands and wives, on the birthdays of their parents and on the religious festive days of the Islamic religion.
3) The choice of the type of holiday from two opposite. The bride and groom together with their parents decide what they want: a silent, quiet holiday with a taboo for alcohol or a fun wind-up party with a classic set of entertainment drinks.
4) Many guests. Despite the type of wedding, at least three hundred guests should attend, but their number is usually not more than one and a half thousand. Each resident of the city in which the newlyweds live needs to at least for a short while appear at the celebration as a sign of respect.
5) Theft of the bride in case of disagreement of parents. Everywhere the bride’s theft at modern Dagestan weddings is not practiced, but if the parents do not give their blessings, then the groom has no choice but to steal their daughter so that she spends the night in his house. Since such a phenomenon entails a shame for the girl, the wedding is destined to take place.
6) Secret matchmaking. The matchmaking procedure takes place in the evening by the visit of the groom’s parents to the bride’s house, where she receives various gifts. At the same time, they try not to disclose the fact of such a visit, and the process itself takes place in a close circle only with the bride’s closest relatives.
7) Beautiful rich celebration. As soon as a child is born in a Dagestan family, the money of the family begins to be postponed for his wedding, so such events are always magnificent and expensive.
8) Mourning the bride. On the first day of the wedding celebration, which takes place in the bride’s house, her friends mourn her, because the bride’s departure to the groom’s house is considered to be a sad situation for them;
9) Shooting friends of the groom. It is noteworthy that when a friend marries, his comrades are engaged in shooting, because such an occupation helps to make a young family happy and drive away troubles from it.
10) Dance of the newlyweds. This process is especially amazing at a Dagestan wedding, this is its mandatory component. First, invited men dance lezginka around the bride and throw money on the floor, which the bride’s girlfriend collects. Aravul (the one who starts the dance at the wedding) portends the beginning of dances for men, but the invited women go out to dance only after the dance is performed by the groom's sister.
11) Outfit. It is customary for a woman to dress elegantly and beautifully in a long dress, she doesn’t put a veil on her head. A man wears a regular costume, but on his head during the dance he should have a folk hat - a hat.
12) Drinking honey. As soon as the bride enters the groom’s house, his mother will give her a bowl of honey, so that after tasting it, the bride’s family life becomes sweet and smooth.
