The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1876-11-10
Oriental Marriages.

In America, lovel lprecedes and prepares
the way for marriage--at least this is our
theory of courtship. In the East marriage
precedes and prepares for love-at least this
is the Oriental theory of the welded state.
1t quite accords, therefore, with the. Eastern
ideas.of the marriage relation that women
enter into it at an age which to us seems
very unfit; and this practice of early mar
riages is also favored by theifact that women
reach their maturity at a much earlier age
than with us. They are at thel height of
their bloom and beauty at fifteen.or sixteen.
They are often married. at.thirteen1or four
teen, and sometimes 'asl early as eight or
nine andiDr. Van Lennep mentions one
instance of a wedding which he attended in
which the bride was so young that she was
carried about in the arms of her relatives
Naturally courtship is, done by proxy, and
| the young men are cheated out of what the
American regards as one of the most sacred +,
inalienable rights. The dutyof looking up
| for the young man suitable wife, which
even in our own society the mothers, aunts,
or sisters often assume, is in the East, by
universal consent, devolved.upon them.
Womanly nature is essentially.the same
the world. over, and we may safely assume
that they are nothing 10th to perform the
duty'which social custom intrusts to them.
For this purpose they sally forth in a body
on their tour of inspection, call at any house
which affords reasonable hope of containing
suitable inmate, are invariably greeted
with the utmost courtesy, and ushered at
once into the, reception room; the young
lady is summoned, and presently enters
bearing sweetmeats and water ;..she is ar
rayed in all the fnery and jewels which be-
long to her dowry; nor is it considered a
breach of social propriety to inquire with
particularly respecting her marriage por-
tion. This frankness prevents some of the
awkward discoveries which sometimes occur
of the honey If the preliminary ne
gotiations are satisfactory, bargain is made
between the parents, in which the amount
paid by the husband, or on his behalf either
to the bride or to her parents, is definitely
agreed upon. This, which under the Mosa-
ic law was fixed at uniform rate-at fifty
shekels or twenty-five dollars-varies with
the modern Jews with the condition of the
brides family, while among some of the
Circassan tribes and the Tartars, as among
the African savages, the daughter, when she
| reaches manageable age, is sold to the
highest bidder. The parties are always
| considered as; affianced as soon as the mar.
riage contract has been agreed:to, but the
considerable period, during which time the
bride and groom are not permitted to see
eachiother; their sole.intercourse with each
other is through the Intervention of "friend
of the.brdegroom." Thei.wedding dress..i
even more matter of importance with the
Eastern bride than with us.IThe prepara-
tion of her toilet in the presence of female
friends often occupies larger part of two
days. The wedding veil, the bridal crown,
the dodos, or cap, are. some of the emblems
dodned for the bridal ceremony. The cos
tunes are often rich and gorgeous beyond
expression. Fashion, las interpreted by an
Oriental milliner, quoted by DR.. Van Len
nep, prescribes the characteristics of an ideal
wedding dress. 1t should measure six yards
from the shoulders to the end of the train;
the long sleeves should sweep the floor ;
the material is silk it is elaborately en-
broidered by party of professional embroi-
deers under the direction of a chief The
sum paid for experimenting the needle work
on Il single robe referred to by DR.. Van
Lennep was five hundred dollars, while the
charge for the work done by the subordi-
mates was two thousand five hundred dol
lars, and the entire cost of the dress was ten
thousand; nor must it be forgotten that la
Dor in that country is very much less expen-
siye than in this.
The marriage festivities last often for a
week, and in many sections of the East the
old practices are still maintained The
bridegroom with a procession, starts with
music and torches by night, for the house OF
the bride, where, after show of resistance,
and sometimes quite struggle, she is taken
possession of and borne away to her future
home This resistance by the coy maiden
to the approach of her husband is curiousy
illustrative of the marriage customs of many
countries, and in various forms--lrom that
of African society, in which the bridegroom
chases the fleeing bird, captures and carries
her away bodily, to that Of the HISTORIAN =,
where the bride remains in the corner of the
church until the time comes for the joining
of hands, when she is dragged half across
the building by main strength toward her
intended husband, who is allowed to seize
her hand only after vehement struggle, du-
ring which the officiating clergyman stands
passyely by.-HuPe'S Aagasine for De-