People now have ordinary marriage ceremonies,but the people of Madinah prefer to have their traditional Madinah dress and wedding procession,first,then the bride wears the white dress and has a modern procession afterwards..
The bride's dress is made of eight pieces:
1-Sharwal(a wide pair of pants)
2-Vest
3-The dress itself,which is wide rectangular shape,adorned with pearly beads and golden thread( gassab).
4-A bib is worn on top all adorned with gold and diamonds(all real) but nowadays just golden-coloured and diamond-like.
5-The hair is braided into two braids,with pearls,then a crown of the same colour as the dress is put on the head.
6-Another piece of cloth is put over the crown(of the same material as the dress)
7-The face is covered with a transparent white veil also adorned witha little beadwork.
8-The feet are put into slippers of the same colour and beadwork too.
*Of course to be complete the bride's hands must be adorned with henna.
The chair procession:
Two "chairs",two overturned wooden boxes around three feet high and covered with golden fabric are put in front of the bride.
She must not walk on the ground,so the chairs are moved according to her movements in front of her by her friends(they didn't have a high platform for the procession,so they improvised this),her mother,sisters and the women of the family walked along next to her.The aim was to let the bride be seen by all,and throughout the procession she had to leave her palms open so that everybody can see her henna.
When they reached the "kousha"*where she was to sit,the ladies in charge of the "duffs" will start a beat called "ruji'yi",as a sign for her mother and the groom's mother to dance in front of her,then the rest of the women of the family,join in the dancing.
*kousha = bride's seat
*duff = tambourines(with no bells)
Marriage in Dareen:
These wedding ceremonies are nearly the same throughout the arabian gulf with a little variation.
First a "farsha"is prepared for the bride and groom ,of fabric called "ghadnat" consisting of three colours,yellow,red and green.
A special table is set in the "farsha" with perfumes,rosewater and an incense burner.
The wedding dress (thob a-nnashl) is a traditional dress embroidered and brought especially from Bahrain.The neighbors,who come everyday to help from morning to afternoon,they return to their homes and come back after lunch,to work on the bride's dresses and the rest of the trouseau("dazzah").
Marriage in Dareen had a different set of rituals,the wedding festivities were three days.The first day lunch (called "Ddeefa"),the second day was all dancing and beating on duffs called "Ttag".The third day was also another "Ddeefa",along with dancing and duffs, and there was a specila lunch for the ladies(Ttaggat) who were doing the "Ttag".
The Ddeefa consisted of lamb and rice only,and all the neighbors come in the morning to help with the cooking.
The crown with the two pearly posts instead of braids,and the white material used as filling under the crowm
Here you can see the different parts of the madinah bridal dress,the bib is very clear..
Here you can see the dress called "thoub al-nashl".notice the henna on the hands and the basil leaves on her braids.
*Courtey of Bahrain National museum.
Notice the bride being carried to her groom in a carpet,the bride is completely covered and the women of the family and the ladies with the duffs(called "Ttaggagat").
*Courtesy of Bahrain National Museum.
Marriage in Al-aHhsa
The "khatba" is sent to the girl's family by the groom's family to check out which daughter thye want, then the groom's family go and visit without taking an appointment (to see the way they live without precautions).
If they do like the girl they come another time with a golden piece called "kaff" which is a bracelet with chains attaching all fingers with rings.Also they bring some pieces of material ,rose water and different perfumes.then they agree on the dowry.The dowry is taken by the bride's father with half of which he buys gold for his daughter and the other half for the wedding dress and things she might need.
The writing of the documents(milkah) and the wedding are performed on the same night.The celebrations keep on for three consecutive nights,the first day they slaughter sheep and the second day they slaughter a cow and on the third day coffee and tea are served.
Celebrations are filled with playing the duffs and the bride is not to be seen till the third day of the wedding.
The lady in charge of fixing up the bride's dress and hair is called "al-ga3adah" and the bride's dressed with a shiny dress and her hair is braided with fresh basil leaves and henna is applied to her hands and feet. Her make-up is kohl and something from plant called "deyram"to make her lips red and her teeth white.Over her head they have a special piece of gold called "hamah" it is circular like a cap or gold net and has chains coming down over the hair.
On the seventh day the groom's family invite the bride ' s family where she is taken in a procession all the way to the groom's house,where they slaughtre the sheep for the bride's family and gifts are given to all the bride's family.On the seventh day the bride also visits all the relatives who in turn present her with gifts.
