Hey there…
It’s me
again… I just returned from an amazing trip to Amsterdam. Actually I have
relatives there and they invited my entire family to the most beautiful day in
their live or the beginning of a never-ending nightmare. Anyway, it was the
marriage between my Egyptian relative and his long standing girlfriend. The
interesting thing is that she is Moroccan decent. I have never been to a
Moroccan traditional wedding and I learned much about their country and wedding
traditions!!
Let’s begin
with some basic information about Morocco
Geography
The Kingdom
of Morocco is located in North Africa and it is characterized by its
mountainous areas as well as by its large portions of desert. The probably mostly
well-known city is Casablanca as it is the biggest one. However, Rabat is the
political capital city.
Official
languages
Arabic is
besides Berber the official language but French is also a recognized national
language. In the Arab world Moroccans are difficultly understood due to their
variety of barber dialects and French words.
The wedding
traditions
Within the
week before the real wedding day, Moroccans celebrate a “henna celebration”,
where only girls and women participate. Usually it is held in the private home
of a relative or close friend where the "hannaya", a professional tattoo artist, tattoos
the bride’s hands and feet with beautiful designs. It should protect the bride
against disease and ensure the success and prosperity. As men are not
allowed the girls and women wear revealing beautiful dresses and dance wildly.
In the
morning of the wedding day the bride goes to the beauty salon to be prepared
for the celebration. The bride will apply copious amounts of makeup and will be
dressed extravagantly. After finishing from the beauty salon the groom will
pick her up and drive directly to the venue where the celebration will take
place. The celebration usually occurs at night in a beautifully decorated ceremonial hall
with a special constructed superior sofa for the bride and the groom. A
characteristic of a Moroccan wedding are the special songs the women and only the
women sing on their way to the venue. They are dressed in a Moroccan caftan
which has long sleeves and a broad belt around the waist.
During the wedding the bride might change her
outfit a couple of times and dance in each outfit some time surrounded by the
guests. At the end each guest will congratulate once again and the bride and her
husband will leave for their wedding night.
sofa for bride and groom
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