Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1903-11-19
THEIR ODD MARRIAGE.

How well you are lookingT gushed
the President Of the Psychological So
cIety to the tall, brown-haired girl
Just back from a trip to the Philip
pines. And how did you enjoy your
vacationT
"Splendidlyl" was the enthusiastic
reply, as the girl settled herself COM
fortably in an easy chair among the
members assembled for the regular
weekly meeting Really the most in
teresting event | witnessed during my
stay in the islands was high-caste
native marriage ceremony
Now, you must understand" she
went on, punctuating her tale with
nibbles at the cake she held in her
hand, that the Filipino marriage
ceremony is no light thing-over with
in a moment. One of the character
istics of those little brown people is
that while they are veritable stoics in
the event Of death, expressing little
or no sorrow, they indulge in all Sorts
of emotional ecstasies in their celebra-
ton of a wedding, and the prepara-
tions for the event are always elaoor-
ate, irrespective Of caste Of circum-
stances.
"At this particular ceremony the
high contracting parties were both
very young the bride being but four
teen, and, really. the groom didn't
look much older The wedding day
had been set by the priest, who far
the bride and bride
groom in importance through every
stage of the ceremony, and is usually
rewarded by a large fee in proportion
to the wealth of hose concerned.
Attending this ceremony caused
me some annoyance" continued the
brown-haired girl with a grimace at
the recollection, 'for l was compelled
to tumble out of bed at o'clock in
The morning in order to join the wed
ding procession to the nearby church,
which started at 3 o'clock. l landed
at the church all right with the rest
of the party. After a mass had been
said the bride and bridegroom ad'
vanced to the priest, who placed over
their shoulders a thick mantle, which
the English-speaking Filipino belle,
through whom l had received the in
vitation, explained was to typify the
bodily union. A marriage formula
was then recited, interspersed with
questions. which were responded 20
by both bride and bridegroom, much
like our own ceremony in this respect.
"As the pair turned from the priest
after this ceremony, and came down
the aisle to the rear Of the church"
she continued, "a bowl containing
coins was proffered them. The hus-
band stopped. look handful from the
bowl. and gave them to his wife, who
passed them back to the bowl This,
| discovered, was a token that he
Welded to her all his worldly goods"
How charmingw chorused all the
ladies' in one breath. What pity the
Gus, ON is not universal"
The scene of operations was then
transferred to the home Of the bride
groom's father" resumed the story
teller. whose duty it is to furnish
the wedding banquet. We all sat
down to a repast of sweetmeats, with
light liquors and chocolate, which was
followed with betel nuts and cigars
An dcigarettes, which every one helped
themselves to regardless of sex.
But all this was simply prelimi-
nary to the main feature, for it is in
the dance following the wedding that
the Filipino ceremony attains the
unique. The dance was begun by the
bride and bridegroom marching to the
centre of the floor, where, facing each
other. both started to sing. at each
other. Then, as the music quickened,
they danced around and around, keep
ing up all the while spirited chat
ter.
at this point young woman, the
sister of the bride, stepped out on the
floor. Her long hair was hanging
loose, her eyes snapped with an al
most insane light, and her every ac-
ton conveyed the impression Of sup
pressed excitement. At her appear
ance the music changed to a low,
plaintive, dirgelike tune, which, il
possible, became more forlorn as it
went on, the girl going through a
series Of languid movements, which
we're supposed to express various de-
grees of sorrow at the loss of her Sis
ter.
Gradually the dull, forlorn strain
gave way to livelier measure, the
girl in the meantime becoming more
and more animated, moving faster and
more wildly as the music increased,
swinging about like a whirling der
wish. until at last she sank to the
door in a frenzy of delirious passion
which all the natives present seemed
to share.-New York Times.