The Iranian wedding ceremony despite its local and regional variations, like many other rituals in the country goes back to the ancient Zoroastrian tradition. Although, the Quran and the Islamic traditions have drastically influenced the concepts and theory of the marriage, the actual ceremonies have remained more or less the same as they were before the arrival of Islam. For Iranians, marriage is a significant event, which must be celebrated with glory and distinction.
The Iranian wedding ceremony despite its local and regional variations, like many other rituals in the country goes back to the ancient Zoroastrian tradition. Although, the Quran and the Islamic traditions have drastically influenced the concepts and theory of the marriage, the actual ceremonies have remained more or less the same as they were before the arrival of Islam.
For Iranians, marriage is a significant event, which must be celebrated with glory and distinction. It is the most conspicuous of all occasions and is celebrated with a large congregation of friends and relatives. In the past the parents and the older members of the family arranged almost all marriages. This is still the case in rural areas and with traditional families. Modern couples, however, choose their own mate, but their parents’ consent is still very important and is considered by both sides. Even with modern Iranians, after the couples have decided themselves, it is normally the grooms’ parents or other relatives who take the initiative and formally ask for the bride and her family’s consent. Once this is done then the marriage will be announced.
In the ancient times, the musicians playing at marriage gatherings used drums to announce the marriage to the people of the town or village. The group that gathered for the marriage was called the assembly for the queenly bride. Traditionally, both the bride and the bridegroom were dressed in white.
The colour white is a symbol of purity, innocence and faithfulness. Today most modern Iranians follow the European dress code and style while various nomadic and ethnic groups follow their own traditions and colors. Once the groom and his family express their desire for the union, they go to the brides’ home with flowers, sweets and, sometimes gold coins or jewelry, and ask for her hand. If accepted more presents will follow. The couple becomes engaged in a reasonably lavish party. Rings are exchanged; the engagement rings are simple, mainly gold with no stones. However, the wedding ring presented to the bride will be lavish, expensive and with precious stones. Traditionally, the engagement ring was sent to the bride’s house with female relatives of the groom. This is still done in the rural areas and with the more traditional families. In the past, a few days before the actual ceremony more presents were taken to the bride’s home. Men dressed in festive costumes carried the presents in elaborately decorated large flat containers on their heads. The container is called tabagh and the whole presentation with the presents is called khoncheh. Many of these customs are still followed by the more traditional families and in the provinces. The modern Iranians normally by pass some stages like sending the ring through relatives. Outside Iran tabagh and khoncheh are making a comeback in some elaborate weddings, although most people do without them. However, most ceremonial objects are still present.
Mirror and candelabras are among the most important ceremonial objects that are taken to the bride’s home and they are reminiscence of the Zoroastrian religious believes. Groom’s family is expected to pay for all expenses and if they do not, they will be looked down at. The higher the status and the social standing of the bride, the more lavish will be the banquets and the presents, especially the jewelry. An elaborate wedding in Iran presently costs over a hundred thousand dollars. There are efforts by the government to encourage people to simplify the weddings and lower the cost. Mass communal weddings sponsored and paid for by the government have become increasingly popular. In February 2001, fourteen thousand couples married across Iran in this manner and the number of couples marrying communally is increasing every year. In 2005, the newly elect president, Ahmadi-nejad, announced that he will spend a billion dollars on helping the young couples getting married and provide them with low-interest loans. The government is still providing loans to young couples getting married.
All financial details are sorted out before the marriage and the couple’s parents, mainly the fathers, will carry out negotiations. With prosperous families, the issue is settled rather quickly. However, families with
insufficient means may drag the negotiations on for a while bargaining about how much should be paid and what should be included in the marriage contract. Bride in Persian is called arousl. The oldest historical record describing marriage ceremonies is by the Greek historians following Alexander’s invasion of Persia. Alexander and his men married a number of Iranian women, mainly from the royalty and aristocracy. In one account, it is mentioned that the marriage ceremonies were in Persian fashion; chairs were set for the bridegrooms in order of precedence. Wine was served and they all drank to health. Then the brides entered and sat by their grooms, including Alexander. The men took their brides hands and kissed them. The king was the first to perform the ceremony. After the ceremony both the bride and the groom ate from a loaf of bread, halved by sword and drank more wine. Then they took their wives into their private quarters and retired. It is also mentioned that dowries were paid for the brides. Alexander provided the money from his treasury.
In the 19th century Iran, pre-marriage arrangements were very extensive. The couples were not allowed to see each other at all before the wedding night. Therefore a number of unofficial arrangements were made for the groom to see the future bride accidentally or by watching from behind doors or curtains. Prenuptial agreements could take a long time. During negotiations, the family of groom was served tea and sekanjebin (sweet/soar drink made from vinegar and sugar) and they smoked water pipes. Once an agreement was reached, then the guests would be served with sweets, but not beforehand. This was called sheerne khoran (eating sweets) and is still practiced and varies according to the locality. In a few days, after this event the bride received an engagement ring and a shawl. These were placed in a relatively expensive carrying bag (boghcheh) withnabat (concentrated sugar extract), sugar cones and sweets and other presents.
Then, the female relatives on both sides visited the bride, and one of groom’s relatives other than his mother, placed the ring in bride’s hand and the shawl on her back. There would be dancing, merrymaking and with the rich, female musicians. Segregation of sexes due to religious codes of behaviour was observed.
Guests were invited by sending written invitations to the men or simply by calling on them and letting them know. For the women, a female servant or relative would personally visit the households and presented the ladies with noghl(small sugary sweets), nabat, and cardamom seeds in a silk or satin handkerchief with lace placed on a small glass plate. She would offer them the sweets and announce the time and the place. The ladies would eat a couple of sweets and would express their joy. The servants who brought the message would receive tips and sweets.
Modern Iranians place sweets and candies like noghl and nabat in small satin kerchiefs or lace for the guests to take home. The tradition of giving gifts to guests is very old and existed before and after Islam. One such account is mentioned at the marriage of the daughter of the famous Barmakid Minister Jafar at the court of Abbasid Caliphs. In this account, special little wax balls were filled with coins or names of slaves or even title to properties. The couple was showered with these and people who got the balls would claim their presents later on.
Three days before the actual wedding the bride would be taken to female beauticians or was visited by them at home for the ritual of removing body hair. A significant rite of passage, this marked the passage from girlhood to womanhood. Unmarried women would not remove their body hair or pluck their eyebrows—the most visible sign that a woman was married.
This was done three days before to make sure any allergic reaction and redness of the face and body parts would be healed by wedding day. Facial hair, all hair from under arms, legs and stomach and back hair were removed by using special threads that, once moved in a certain fashion, would remove the hair right from the root. This is called band andazi and is still practiced by the traditional families and in the rural areas and is becoming increasingly popular in the western countries as well. In recent times, with the more strict and traditional parents moving to the western countries, shaving legs and plucking eyebrows has become a source of conflict with their teenage girls. For the teenagers these are part of the beautifying process common in modern societies, while for their parents this is an obvious indication of becoming a woman without being married.
Mirrors and candelabra with espand (a popular incense, wild rue), large decorated sugar cones, cardamom seeds, rosewater, henna, dress fabrics, prayer mat (janamaz) and candles were sent at this time to the bride’s house. Included was specially decorated bread called khoncheh still placed on the wedding spread. These were carried on tabagh with singing and clapping and accompanied by male musicians if they could be afforded. All the males stopped by the entrance to the bride’s house and women took over from this point on. The day before the wedding was the bathing day. The bride and other female relatives went to the bathhouses. She would be thoroughly cleaned and massaged and all dead skin on her body was removed by scrubbing with a rough mitten (kisseh keshi). The hair was washed and her entire body would be rubbed with oils and perfumes. Henna was placed on her hands and feet in a ceremony called hanna bandan. On the morning of the wedding, the beauticians arrived again to apply the makeup. The groom to be also had his pre-marital bath, however, his was a lot simpler. What mattered was the bride being accepted by the groom and not the other way around.
Today still many of these traditions are kept and carried out even though they might be ceremonial. The wedding is almost identical to the past and all brides will have the mirror and candelabra, if not the other items. The mirrors were always full size and a pair of candelabra was placed on either side of the mirror with lit candles, one for the bride and one for the groom. However, the cost of living and small living spaces have forced many to settle with smaller mirrors and candelabras.
A very important part of the pre-wedding activities is the dowry preparation by the bride’s family. Until very recently the girls were expected to prepare many of the items themselves. They were required to weave fabrics, prepare cloths and many in the poor families would weave carpets and rugs long before there was any talk of marriage. The tradition is very ancient. Herodotus mentions that Amestris, the Achaemenian Queen and Xerxes’s future wife, made a magnificent outfit for the king with cloths that she had woven and prepared before her marriage. Today dowry preparation is still practiced by almost all families. The bride’s family will buy household items for the dowry. The higher the social status the more elaborate will be the dowry and it could include properties as well. The very modern professional couples with means do not follow this tradition. On the whole, this is still very important and is practiced by the majority and it can at times become a source of major conflict between the two families.
There were and are two stages to a marriage. Most often, both take place on the same day, but occasionally there could be some time between the two. In the past when marriage age was very young, there might have been a few years between the two to allow the girl to mature. The first is calledaghed meaning knot. This is when the legal process takes place; both parties and their guardians sign a marriage contract and a bride price ormahr is set to guarantee the financial well-being of the bride. The mahr is agreed on beforehand and at this time previously prepared documents will be signed.
In the absence of modern and equalitarian family laws in Iran, mahr is a very important and serious consideration for the bride’s family, since it will guarantee the well being of the bride if there is a divorce.