Tajik wedding customs
Tajik ancestors and other ethnic groups, the implementation of a variety of marriage system. One of the earliest forms of marriage was the early marriage in which men did not marry and women did not marry. In modern times, Tajik people practiced the marriage of a man marrying a woman, which was basically monogamy, and only a few people practiced polygamy. There are several characteristics of marriage: first, it is arranged by parents, and men and women have no autonomy; second, it is widespread early marriage, with men generally marrying at the age of 20-22 and women aged 18-20; third, relatives have priority, and when entering into marriage, close relatives and cousins (uncles, aunts and aunts) are first considered, and there are no blood taboos. Moreover, men and women are not limited by seniority and age. If there are no close relatives or cousins, consider entering into marriage with another person; fourth, girls should not marry foreign ethnic groups, but men can marry girls from other ethnic groups. This may be a custom inherited by the Tajik people since ancient times; fifth, divorce is generally not allowed. This is the same as the Kazakh and Kirgiz people, who pay attention to growing old together and never separate. As long as a couple is alive, they stay together, and there is no atmosphere of divorce. It is considered shameful to divorce a wife or marry multiple husbands. Therefore, they are extremely cautious about marriage matters, and have the saying that "if you want to go against relatives, you must discuss for a year"; sixth, they implement the transfer system (or inheritance). When the husband dies, if there are children, they will rarely remarry. If you want to remarry, first marry your husband's brother.
After the 1950s, Tajik marriage customs also changed, and the commercial nature of polygamy and entering into marriage gradually disappeared.
Tajik weddings include engagement, marriage, etc. There are two main traditional forms of betrothal, one is adult betrothal and the other is childhood betrothal. The age of adult engagement is generally fifteen or six years old for men and thirteen years old for women, and the marriage ceremony is held shortly after the engagement; while childhood betrothal is when a man and a woman are underage, and some even when they are a few years old, the parents of both parties are engaged. The wedding ceremony lasted three days. The first day is the prelude to the ceremony. Both men and women dress up and prepare in their own homes, and both families are busy and jubilant. Guests attending the wedding all bring gifts to congratulate them. The gifts usually include 4 to 6 naans, clothes, jewelry, etc., while close relatives send sheep. The mother or eldest sister-in-law sprinkled some flour on the gifts sent to them to show good luck. When weddings are held in some places, female guests not only bring gifts, but also each brings some white flour. When they arrived at the bride's house, they sprinkled white flour on the wall to show their blessings. Visitors gathered happily in the two houses of men and women, singing and dancing.
The next day, the wedding reached its climax. The groom rode a tall horse, accompanied by two groomsmen, escorted by relatives and friends, and played national musical instruments, and marched to the wife's house to welcome the bride.
That evening, a formal religious service was held at the bride's home-Nika. The ceremony was presided over by the imam. The venue is in the bride's house. Parents and relatives of both parties are not allowed to attend except the groom, the bride and two groomsmen and bridesmaids from each party. At the beginning of the ceremony, the imam walked to the new couple to recite scriptures and pray. After reading a passage of scripture, he held a bowl of salt water for the new couple to drink together, just like a cup of wine for the Han people. Then sprinkle some flour on each of the newlyweds, then take a piece of mutton in each hand, blow on the meat, hand the one in the right hand to the groom on the right, and hand the one in the left hand to the bride on the left, and give them each a bite of naan. At this point, the ceremony is over and the couple can sit down. At this time, the bride's parents and relatives and friends entered the house to congratulate her. That night, the female guests played the tambourine, the male guests played the eagle flute, and one after another sang and danced. The wedding reached its climax.
On the morning of the third day, the bride bid farewell to her parents and relatives and friends. The groom and bride rode a horse together, with the male in front and the female in behind, and were surrounded by a welcoming team and set off to her in-laws 'house. Along the way, I played various musical instruments and sang and danced. When the horse arrived at the door, her mother-in-law brought two bowls of fresh milk with butter to her new daughter-in-law. After drinking the horse, the bride got off her horse, entered the new room, and sat in the room with a veil covered. On this day, the groom's family hosted a grand banquet for guests and held various entertainment activities. Within three days of the wedding, the bride lives in the new house and is not allowed to go out.
the third day after marriage, the mother's family had to bring gifts and meals to the groom's house, saying that she still remembered her daughter. The man's family also invited the imam and the witness "Baidr Khan" to come as guests. On this day, the imam or Baidr Khan, who is a marriage seeker, will remove the bride's veil in front of everyone. After that, the bride can participate in labor. After the dinner, her family stayed at her in-law's house for the night. At this point, the entire wedding ceremony ended.