CYPRUS WEDDINGS:The traditional Turkish dances have been taken place in the Turkish weddings over the years, altough, this has changed a bir since but it’s still takes place in the village weddings.
The seeing of the bride and asking the hand of the bride from the parents.The weddings in the northern part of
Cyprus are still usually done in this way. The young man does a resarch about the girl and learns whether or not she wants to get married, if the girl wants to get married then the boy’s family goes to the girl’s house and asks for her hand in marriage to their son.
While they are there, they are served with Turkish coffee and if they don’t want to give their daughter away the coffees are served with no sugar, but if they are willing coffee ceremony then a spokesman from the boy’s side says these words:“We have almonds in our garden, And our feet carry luck, We are asking for jewel from you, Are you going to give it to us?”The girl’s side says:“If everyone agrees with this, Then ı have nothing to say, But if the girl’s side doesn’t want to give her away “I am cooking weeds, I won’t eat it because I’m full,”And that way they have answered the request. Then the boy’s side angry and dillusioned they leave. While the guests are still at the girl’s house they are looking at her and surveying everything she is doing, how she serves the coffees, how she is dressed, and what her face is like and how she does the serving. One of the guests finds an excuse and goes to look at the rest of the house if it is clean and tidy. If everthing is to their satisfaction and they get a “yes” answer from the girl’s parents then the news is told to all the family. The second time the families get together and have dinner. Both sides tell the bride and groom what they are going to give them as present. When the promises are kept then the wedding date is established. The quilt man comes to the house and starts to make the young couples quilts (whisch are made from fine satin and stuffed with cotton wool).
The quilt man is chosen by his respectibility and honesty and should have a smiling face so that he can bring luck to the cuple. While the quilts are being made everyone sings songs and prayers. Sor the couple to have their first baby as a healty boy they bring a healthy boy baby and roll him over the quilts, and also the women to come to the house should be married.
The meat which will be served at he wedding is made ready by cutting chickens, lamb, goat etc. The neighbors of the bride give the family chickens, potatoes and fruits as a gift. The family cooks dolma (stuffes vine leafs) kofte (mincemeat rolls ), handmade pasta, and homemade bread etc. In the old days the Muslim weddings always took place on Fridays, after the lunch time mass and by night time the prepared meals are eaten. The bride gets to be prepared by the lady called ‘yenge’, her eyebrows are plucked, and she is given a bath and her makeup is put on , then they practiceputting on her veil and wedding dress. The bridegroom is enjoying his last hours with his friends. Bride Hamam, does not necessrily mean the ‘hamam’ as we know it (Turkish baths), it means the bride is made ready for her walk through the village wearing green, blue or golden coloured material evening gown which usually is of chiffon or lace. The rest of the young unmarried girls of the family join her in their evening gown which will have pearls or flowers stitched on the dresses, and they will
cary white and red candles in their hands and all this is done accompaid with music. ‘kına’ Night for the bride (kına is obtained from a certain tree which is called kına tree) The next night the bride one groom sit seperately in the garden. The musicians sit in the middle of the garden. The background of where the bride is sitting is decorated with a velvent designed material. As the bride makes her way accros the garden to her place, she gets incensed to keep the evil eyes off her. Everyone eats and drinks and everyone enjoys the ‘kına’ night. During this celebrations night, usually the men dance with water jugs place upside-down on their heads and other kitchen gadgets and they make everyone laugh. While all this is going on the guests are being served with traditional made ‘’Meze’’ kind of food like: hellim, bread, çikoeas, dried fruit, corn and different coloured sweets. Also at this point a lady appears with ‘’kına’’ on her right hand and a candle in the left, and she turns in circles as she makes her way to the bride. The lady places the candle in the middle of the kına and then she puts some on the bride, firstly on the right hand then left, and right foot then left foot then the hands and feet are wrapped up with a piece of cloth. After saying some rhyming words
