The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-03-06
MARRIAGE IN TURKEY.
An Armenian Bride Must See Her
Father-in-law to Bed.
DIV CI u,1rrrI A ND ArOEtI,Ir,r
BY CLEVELAND MOFFITT.

Constantinople, Feb. 15.-In some Of
the smaller villages of Asia Minor, re-
mote from enlightening influences, chill
dren are engaged to each other while
literally in the cradle, a boy not a year
old being chosen as the husband of a
newly BORN girl. And if both babies
live these contracts made by the par
ents are absolutely binding. Indeed, it
is universally true in Turkey that a
marriage engagement once made is sell
dom broken, the bride sometimes show
ing her confidence in her lovers plight
ed word to the extent of handing over
her dowry to rim before the ceremony.
I fear this use of the word lover as
applied to the prospective husband is
still a misnomer in most parts Of the
country. 1t is true things are improv-
ing in some parts so that the young
man, if he be a Greek or an Armenian,
is allowed to see something of his be-
trothed before the wedding day, but in
many places he never sees her at all
until she comes forward as his bride,
and this is nearly always the case if he
be a MOslem.
Besides, the practice of early mar
riages makes love rather an after
growth, if it comes at all, than a pre-
liminary requisite. What can nus
band of II and a wife of Is know about
love? Yet those are distinctly mar
riageable ages according to Turkish no
tions, and when l say Turkish l in
clude the three races of the country
that speak the Turkish language, the
Armenians, the Greeks and the Mos
lens. When 1 was in Caesarea 1 saw
an Armenian woman of 45 whose grand
daughter had just borne her first child
and it is no uncommon thing to see
mothers of 20 or so with married chill
dren. This practice, of course, is sap
ping the vigor of the people, as all doc
tors know.
Another feature of Turkish marriages
is the mercenary spirit shown by the
young men, or the young mems parents,
in selecting the brides; and it must be
said that Christians display this spirit
even more than Moslems. In the eyes
of q Turk marriage is of no great i'm
portance, anyway; if he does not like
one wife he can divorce her with a
word, and get another; but divorce is
not easy among Greeks and Armenians
they look upon a wedding as an impor-
tant transaction. in which it behooves
the man to get the best of it.
Constantinople is full of young wo-
men, beautiful and accomplished, who
cannot find husbands because the
young men demand wives with bowers,
and they have no bowers. To such an
extent is this carried that you will hear
young men say, with the utmost self
satisfaction, that they will not marry a
girl unless she has so many liraS. And
a friend of mine had an Armenian SER
want, quite an intelligent fellow, who
said to him one day: What 1 want to
do is to marry rich girl Then
could study at the MarsOvan college,
fn no a n
Many Armenians have a similar idea of
being a man."
Coming now to the widding formali-
ties, it is a fact that a MOslem may be
a married man for 10 or II hours with
out ever having seen his wife. The
Moslem marriage ceremony is as simple
as possible, and may take place with
out the presence of either of the con-
tracing parties. 1t is merely necessary
for two MOslems. one representing the
bride and the other the bridegroom, to
go to a mosque together and say their
prayers and make a certain pledge of
union for the thing to be done. 1t is
not even necessary that an imam
(priest) be present. When this detail
has been attended to the serious bust
ness of the wedding begins, that is, the
feasting and merry-making at the
houses of bride and bridegroom.
night. but the men and the women are
kept apart, each celebrating the event
in their own house. The men eat and
drink together, smoke together, ever
dance together, and the women do like
wise, and it is not until the rejoicing is
over that the bride is led to her hus-
bands house and given into his keep
ing. One characteristic feature of a
Moslem wedding is the beating of two
little drums which the bridegroom car
rfes strapped about his waist, and on
which he pounds for hours at a time
until the whole village is informed OF
his happiness. Friends of the happy
couple also march about the streets
with drums and footing flies.
Eager as they are TO be married, it
is doubtful If the young girls of Turkey
are very happy in the months just after
the honeymoon. Then for the first time
they realize in their own hard expert
ence that women are regarded here as
inferior creatures made for the service
of man. The conviction prevails among
men of all races, Christian as we'll as
Moslems An Armenian bride must see
her father-in-law to bed, helping him to
undress and then stand silently by his
bedside, holding a light until he has
settled himself to slumber. And in
many parts of Turkey she MAJ not
speak above a whisper in the presence
of her husbands relatives until she has
done something to justify her existence
by having a son. And in other parts
she must wear a veil night and day,
when sewing and working, and at all
times. until she has passed her 10th
year. And so long as her mother-in-
law lives she is the family servant.
often little more than a household
drudge.
bride of the house who brings in the
sweets and then remains standing with
downcast eyes until the mother-in-law
motions her to be seated. And when
the stranger passes through an Arme-
nian village. dozens of women. old and
young, viii rise from their seats on the