Wedding Traditions 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