tradition. If someone is marrying a Maghrebi woman, he
has to put into consideration that he is obliged by traditions
to satisfy all the desires of her family.
K hotba /E ngagement
An Algerian old saying says:
“A one-night wedding is a year’s preparation”.
The first step of the marriage is the Khotba; the day of
the engagement. Before the couple can make their
engagement public, the groom must go with his family
to ask for the hand of the bride-to-be. The two families
would then agree on the date of marriage and the other
details such as the shuura or the dowry (it could be money
or property that a wife or a wife’s family ask the husband
to provide), the costs of the events (Henna night, wedding
ceremony, and wedding party). The bridegroom’s family
is responsible for providing the house for the new family,
including all its major furniture items, plus the expenses
of the wedding preparations. Most importantly, the
prospective bridegroom must offer a sum of money, called
Shuura, intended for the installation of the couple. The
bridegroom then offers gifts to his bride: Often presented
on a silver tray with cone-shaped lids (the téfors), gifts of
mostly symbolic value, such as milk, dates or sugar, as well
as an engagement ring, gold jewelry, traditional costumes
and accessories. The more gifts that are presented, the
happier it would be for the bride’s family.
The bride and her family are responsible to provide the
décor, carpets, linens, and kitchen items of the new couple’s
house, therefore large sums of money are spent in selecting
the finest colorful fabric, accessories, and decor. When
the groom’s family comes to the bride’s family, the bride
responds by serving guests pastries, tea, and milk as symbols
of purity and good luck. Then the families set the date for
the next stages of the wedding and discuss financial details.
On this occasion, both families will dress well as they have
to impress each other, but it’s not an occasion for formal
evening attire.
Continueing the first phase is an unconventional khotba...
Once the two families agree to the marriage, they
usually recite al-Fatiha with the presence of a religious
scholar, mostly the Imam (Priest), followed by zaghareet
(ululations) announcing the engagement. Both families
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The Belly Dance Chronicles
January 2020
then set a date for the wedding ceremony. The bride-to-be
begins to prepare for the marriage by obtaining everything
she needs for her new life, including objects to decorate
the new home such as kitchen utensils, rugs, blankets,
mattresses and embroidered sheets, and possibly napkins
that she made herself. Sometimes, the mother began to
prepare the dowry for her daughter while she was still a
little girl, sewing and weaving handmade blankets and
sheets her daughter would need after the wedding.
Opened Qur’an (Koran)
Photo by Flickr.com user “el7bara”
[CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]
T he F atiha or the religious ceremony
Marriage is seen, above all, as a religious event. The rituals
and customs are derived from Islamic Law. The Koran, the
holy book, states that marriage should be based on love
and mercy. For Muslims, marriage is complete only after
the religious ceremony. The Koran is usually recited when
the two families accept the engagement of their respective
children. Then the family and the guests gather for the
religious ceremony, characterized by reciting Quranic verses
such as the Fatiha.
The conclusion of the acceptance of the engagement contract
traditionally takes place about one year before the beginning
of the wedding ceremony festivities. This is often a contract
concluded orally, in front of witnesses and the Imam (the
priest), an ‘adoul (notary) in Morocco and a Sdak (Planner) in
Tunisia. The marriage contract is prepared in the presence of
the maazoun (wedding planner) and religious figures. After
an agreement by witnesses, gifts such as jewelry and shoes
can be exchanged. Despite strong similarities, each Maghrebi
country or region has its specific rituals. Wedding ceremonies
differ from region to region and even from family to family.
Today, Algerian weddings can move from engagement to a
wedding party within the space of just a few months. Men