Wednesday, March 19, 2014

The Best Nights are the Nights Spent at a Wedding

Before coming to Morocco I had only been to two weddings in the span of eighteen years. After being in Morocco for only six months I have been to three weddings. Going to a Moroccan wedding permits you to witness an amazing display of culture.


Most men at weddings wear formal dress suits and ties, but at more traditional weddings you will find men wearing formal jelabas. A wedding is an occasion for women to get as dressed up as they possibly can. Many women go to salons and get both their hair and make-up done. Women will either wear a dress called a taksheta or a gandora. The taksheta is the traditional Moroccan dress. There will be a simple dress and then on top of the dress a more intricately designed dress. In addition a large decorated belt is worn. The gandora is a large flowing dress that is beautifully decorated and somewhat resembles a butterfly when the arms are fully stretched out. The bride and groom will generally go through several outfit changes. The bride generally changes at least three times, but the dress changes could go past six times.


The thing that all people look forward to in weddings is the food. Fish and chicken are ancient symbols of fertility. A fish pastilla is generally served as well as a sheep tagine with almonds, apricots, boiled eggs, onions, and spices. A variety of small appetizers are served before the main dishes and after the main dishes of course a large plate of fruit is served. Following this several small cakes and sweets are served along with the traditional Moroccan soup ‘harira’ and some tea or coffee.  


Before the wedding the family of the groom and his friends will meet at his house for a celebration and the family of the bride and her friends will meet at her house for a celebration. Everyone meets together either at a home or at an event hall. Most weddings are held in large reception halls. The bride’s family will arrive first and the groom and his family will arrive carrying gifts as part of the dowry given to the bride and her family. The dowry consists of money, jewelry, clothes, and perfume. Moroccan weddings are an event that take up the entire night. The starting time could be stated as eight or nine, but usually not everyone  will be at the reception hall until around ten. Weddings that finish early are the weddings that finish at five. Most weddings do not finish until at least six or seven in the morning. The night is spent watching the bride and groom get carried in by a group of men on thrones. This is generally led by the ‘neggafa’ who play as helpers for the bride and lead songs and chants. They also do henna for the bride on the day of her wedding and help in arranging her dresses. In addition to watching the bride and groom and eating delicious food there is a great deal of dancing. Traditional chaabi music will be played and a group of Ganowa music performers are also hired.


At the end of the wedding the bride and groom will be brought in carried on thrones one final time and then leave for their honeymoon and the guests will leave happily exhausted from spending the night dancing and eating.