Iranian Wedding
Iran is a plateau located in Southwestern Asia between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Persian not only refers to the primary language spoken, but also the cultural sphere of civilization populations such as Iraq and central Asia (Countries and Their Cultures 1). The ritual that will be discussed in this paper is Iranian (Persian) wedding which is part of the Twelver Shi’ism, the official religion of the state which began in the 17th century by Safavid Dynasty (Countries and Their Cultures 1). The historical roots of the ritual will be discussed, who first practice it, what the goal of it is, how the ritual is conducted, who must be present, what actions are taken, and the duration, as well as how the ritual has changed over time.
This ritual started more than 2000 years ago when religious minorities like the Aryan Zoroastrians started the Achaemenid Empire in 550 B.C.E which was conquered in 330 B.C.E by Alexander the Great (Countries and their Cultures, 4). This was when the record of marriage ceremonies in Persian fashion was first observed as Alexander paid dowries for the bride, ate loaf of bread, and brides came and sat by the groom. Their religious book, Avesta defined marriage as a “religious task and a necessary contract for the salvation and redemption of the soul” (Zanjani'Asl 1) one had to be married in order to obtain the benefits of citizenship to be considered a member of society and head of the community.
Certain marriage requirements were established such as age. A boy and a girl were not allowed to get married before the ritual of the sacred belt (Koshti) before age 15. The average age for women was 21 years (Countries and Their Cultures 1). There were also specific people who one couldn...
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Beck, Lois, and Guity Nashat. Women in Iran from 1800 to the Islamic Republic. Urbana:
Rosenburg-Friedman, Lilach. “Wedding Ceremony, Religion and Tradition: The Shertok Family Debate, 1922. Israel Studies Review 27.1 (2012): 98-124. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6. Mar. 2104
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