Sharing a Jordanian Wedding

Yesterday I took part in the best possible celebration in Jordan, a wedding in the family. As part of the groom’s family, I went with them to Madaba to bring the bride from her father’s house. The logistics of trying to keep 15 cars together on the streets of Amman at 3PM on a Monday afternoon was beyond us. We all straggled in somewhat late to find a large group of beautifully suited men from the bride’s family milling around outside her house. My husband was the responsible uncle who must ask the bride’s uncle if she intended to go through with the marriage. His little speech went something like, “We are pleased to open another house in our family and accept your daughter as our own.” Meanwhile the women hovered near the bride while the oldest and frailest of the groom’s aunties, who had the strongest voice, sang the traditional wedding songs and chants and trilled the ‘zaghareet.’ The groom’s mother, the bride’s father, and her uncle gave her gifts of gold while many little girls, wearing hot looking satin dresses, pushed between the women straining to see. The church service and the receiving line that followed included much kissing and hugging as part of the congratulations. The kaleidoscope of color, dancing, clapping, and music at the reception enticed everyone to join in. Yesterday’s celebration was one of the nicest in recent years since my own niece from the States was with me. She was fascinated by the customs, took photos galore, and of course danced the night away. Showing my American family the unique sites of Jordan is always a thrill, but this opportunity to share a large wedding in my Jordanian family was an unsurpassed pleasure.
ASH