A wedding is almost always a unique and huge affair, but the magnitude of importance increases exponentially when it comes to Ethiopian weddings. It is a moment of a lifetime that should be treasured forever. Hence it should go as smoothly as is practically possible.
Ethiopians give due emphasis for wedding. As a result Ethiopian wedding tradition and culture is one of the richest in the African continent and has mostly remained unblemished over the years.
In Ethiopia there are religious, traditional or cultural and modern wedding styles. Even though some couples are choosing to have modern weddings, most still incorporate religious and traditional customs in their Ethiopian wedding ceremonies.
According to Deneke Moges, a wedding protocol, despite each one of Ethiopian wedding ceremonies are colorful, the traditional one has its own uniqueness. The wedding procedure starts with a ceremony of giving, the bride price, and dowry of locally called Telosh. Telosh is a formal procedure which is undertaken two days ahead of the main wedding.
This ceremony is held at the bride’s parent’s home (or her house) and is characteristically celebrated by the bride and groom and their families. The groom and his family offer presents to the bride, these gifts usually include a wedding gown and jewelry. The presenting of gifts comes with a round of applause from the guests seated close by.
The other interesting ceremony of Ethiopian traditional wedding is the arrival of the groom. As to him, on the morning of the wedding, the groom prepares himself at home in the company of his groomsmen.
In the meantime, the bridesmaids get together at the bride’s family home, whereupon the bride starts to ready herself. Those inside the bride’s house go outside singing a traditional song that says they will not let anyone in the house. The mood is joyous and fun, as the groom begs the people to let him in to his bride to be.
After a short back and forth with song, the groom is let into the house, where he presents his bride to be with flowers. She accepts this gift with a hug and a kiss and then everyone leaves to their awaiting vehicles and heads to the next Ethiopian wedding ceremony.
Before they leave the home, the great grandparents and grandparents dressed with traditional clothes are supposed to sit at the entrance to the hall. Therefore following the photo shoot at the park, the kissing of the knee ceremony follows. The groom and bride proceed to thank them and bow low to kiss their feet, upon which they are given blessings for prosperity and health.
According to Deneke, the next step is to have the main Ethiopian wedding lunch. As they enter the hall, the flower girls, candle girls, groomsmen and bridesmaids lead them in while singing traditional Ethiopian wedding songs.
The flower girls are at the head of the procession dropping beautifully colorful flower petals for the couple to walk on. After a meet and greet with the guests, the couple proceeds to be seated at their place of honor.
Cultural music of merriment fills the hall as everyone rejoices. At this point the priest prays for the lunch to be eaten as the couple goes to the buffet area and is the first to be served. They are followed by the bridal party and then the guests.
The official engagement and eating of the cake follows next. Oddly enough, the real engagement takes place on the actual day of the Ethiopian wedding. After everyone has had enough to eat from the wedding lunch, the couple goes on to section of the hall allocated for the cutting of the cake and engagement ceremony.
The ceremony begins by the couple exchanging rings and cutting the cake, upon which time the champagne is opened. The guests are all served a piece of cake and a glass of champagne, while the bride throws gift parcels filled with sweets to the guests.
Next up in the traditional Ethiopian wedding ceremony is the reading of the names. The couple proceeds to take pictures with each one of their guests and then is led to the stage for their first dance as a married couple.
Upon dancing for a short while amidst cameras flashing, the couple is joined by family and guests. At this juncture, the band receives appreciatory messages from family and friends not in attendance from all over the world. The band calls out the names of the people unable to attend and passes on their well wishes to the couple.
The dinner at the groom’s family home follows next in the celebration. After the merriment at the hall comes to an end, the newlyweds head to the groom’s family home. The grooms parents host this dinner for close family and friends to relax after a long day.
The evening is spent discussing many aspects of the wedding that took place amidst laughter and joy.
The Ethiopian wedding continues after two days, in the form of Melse. On this day, the newlyweds are clothed in traditional Ethiopian clothes known as Kaba. Mostly, the Melse or post wedding party will be held at brides family house.
This evening event is once again only for close family and friends and involves giving the bride a nickname and the cutting of bread. As the bread is being cut, the bride’s mother presents her daughter a nickname that everyone in attendance will use in remembrance of the wedding.
By the fourth day, a Kelekel (mixing together) is held for all those extended family members that were unable to be in attendance for the wedding. The parents of the newlyweds usually supposed to have dinner at groom’s family home.
Towards the end of this ceremony, the parents bless and congratulate their kids and bid them adieu. After this the newlyweds are free of some expose during the past five days, he added.
The Ethiopian Herald May 16/2020
BY HIZKEL HAILU
