Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1903-05-23
AN ISLAND MARRIAGE

/ enjoy your vacation"
"Splendidly.' was the enthusiastic reply
as the girl settled herself comfortably in
an easy chair among the members assem-
| bled for the regular weekly meeting. The
| islands are so picturesque, the climate il
30 salubrious and the natives have the most
| delightfully."- interesting customs imagin'
| able"
Charming" chorused those Of the mem.
| beers who were not listening to a whispered
| exchange Of social gossip in the far corner
Of the room. And" asked the president
| what was the most interesting of these
| customs? | am sure we would all like to
| hear"
well" said the travelled one, as she
helped herself to the proffered refresh
ments, really the most interesting event
! witnessed during my stay in the islands
was high caste native marriage ceremony.
Now, you must understand" she went
on, prnctuating her tale with nibbles at the
cake she held in her hand, that the Filipino
marriage ceremony is no light thing--over
with in 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 allsorts OF emotional costa
sizes in their celebration Of a wedding. and
the preparations for the event are always
elaborate, irrespective OF caste or ciieun-
stances.
AT this particular ceremony the high
contracting parties were bota vety young,
the bride being but IA, and, really. the
groom didn't look much older The we'd
ding day had been set by the priest, who far
overshadows the bride and bridegroom in
Importance through every Stage oil the cere-
mony, and is usually rewarded by a large
fee in proportion to the wealth Of those
concerned.
Attending this ceremony caused me
some annoyance" continued the brown
haired girl with grimace at the recollec-
ton, for | was compelled to tumble out
of bed at four o'clock in the morning in
order to join the wedding procession to the
nearby church, which started at five
o'clock"
What preposterous and unnecessary
hardship" interpolated the stout, ease
loving member.
eyes, l thought that, and more, too"
resumed the narrator, "but was bound to
see that ceremony through from start to
finish. AT that, it seemed that the thing
had formally begun on the night before,
for / afterward learned that the young
couple had gone together to the church for
confession and to receive absolution.
Anyway, landed at the church all
right with the rest of the party. After a
mass had been said the bride and bride
groom advanced to the priest. who placed
over their shoulders thick mantle. which
the English-speaKing Filipino belle, through
whom | had received the invitation, ex.
planned was to typify the bodily union. A
marriage formula was then recited, inter-
spersed with questions. which were re-
sponded to by both bride and bridegroom,
much like our own ceremony in this re-
spect.
"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 husband stopped, took handful from
the bowl. and gave them to his wife, who
passed them back to the bowl. This, dis.
covered. was a token that he yielded to her
all his worldly goods"
Glow charming" chorused all the ladies'
in one breath. what pity the custom is
not universal"
The scene Of operations was then trans
ferred to the home of the bridegroom's ia.
Their" resumed the story teller, whose duty
It is to furnish the wedding banquet We
al sat down to repast of sweetmeats, with
light liquors and chocolate, which was fol-
lowed with betel nuts and cigars and cigar
cites. which everyone helped themselves
to, regardless of sex.
"But all this was simply preliminary to
the main feature, for it is in the dance fol
lowing the wedding that the Filipino cere-
mony attains the unique. The dance was
begun by the bride and bridegroom march.
ing to the center OF the floor, where, fac
ing each other, both started to sing at each
other. Then, as the music quickened, they
danced around and around, keeping up all
the while spirited chatter.
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 almost insane light, and
her every action conveyed the impression
of suppressed excitement. At her appear
ance the music changed to low. plaintive,
dirgelike tune, which. if possible, became
more forlorn as it went on. the girl going
through a series Of languid movements,
which were supposed to express various de-
grees of sorrow at the loss of her sister.
Gradually the dull, forlorn strain gave
way to livelier measure, the girl in the
meantime becoming more and more ami.
mated. moving faster and more wildly as
the music increased, swinging about like a
whiring dervish, until at last she sank to
the floor in frenzy of delirious passion
which all the natives present seemed to
share.
But don't run away with the idea that
there is not practical side to the Filipino
character said the girl as some of The
members started to arrange their wraps.
''for after the dance the men and women
relatives retired, to their respective quar-.
tiers to talk over the future prospects of the
newly married couple. and" concluded the
narrator, as the meeting broke up, there
was much pickering between the respective
papas before the dowries were finally salts
factorily agreed upon. IN. Y. Times.