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Describe traditional wedding ceremony
Which ritual is performed during marriage ceremony in traditional african society
Wedding customs throughout the world
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WEDDING TRADITIONS Ethnic diversity lies at the core of cultural or social anthropology. Anthropology, derived from Greek, literally means ‘study of human’. The discipline examines, from a holistic, scientific and cross-cultural viewpoint, how humans lived in the past and how they live today, what activities they performed or perform in this day and age and their manners of interacting with members of vast social groups. Being aware of distinctive cultures enables us to see the world from a broader perspective as we become familiar how various traditions stem from distinct populations. Among miscellaneous topics such as archaeology, linguistics, politics and evolution, anthropology also studies matrimony as well as the customs exemplifying it. Marriage is termed as a legitimate commitment or social establishment which unites two people mutually as husband and wife. The agreement ascertains privileges and responsibilities amid spouses, spouses and children and spouses and in-laws. Marriage is deemed to be a momentous union in every society. It is significant in terms of providing security, emotional support and fulfilling economic, social, cultural and physical needs. These needs are the natural cravings of young adults that drive them towards matrimony. It is a foundation that is based on personal responsibilities which form the backbone of civilizations. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast between various wedding customs that are prevalent in different continents of the world. The essay sheds light on culturally diverse traditions that originate in different parts of the world. It is the wide variety or cultural conventions that give each nation or tribe a unique identity. Every culture has ... ... middle of paper ... ...hat is considered appropriate in one part of the world may not be acceptable in other parts of the world. This indigenous multiplicity of cultures across the globe is probably what makes Anthropology an enriching subject. (Flesche, 1912) References (1997). Wedding Traditions & Superstitions: 50 Wedding Facts & Trivia. Investor Relations. Group Inc. . Belloni, A. (n.d.). TARANTELLA: SPIDER DANCE. Downey, A. (n.d.). Wedding Traditions Explained. (n.d.). Filipino Wedding Traditions and Spanish Influence . Flesche, F. L. (1912, March). Osage Marriage Customs. (A. A. Association, Ed.) American Anthropologist, 14, 127 - 130. Oracle: Think Quest. (n.d.). Wedding Superstitions. Education Foundation. Story, F. (n.d.). Tarantella: An Italian Folk Dance. Canada's Digital Collections. (n.d.). Strange Wedding Traditions. Vietri. (n.d.). An Italian wedding.
Engstrom (2008) argues in his paper that weddings are considered hegemonic practices due to the fact that getting married is considered “the life goal for women” (p. 61). He believes that the media and publications surrounding weddings and wedding materials (for example, dresses, veils, flowers, etc.) make weddings seem glamorous. Engstrom’s focus on hegemony and women is the media that surrounds weddings. Engstrom (2008) writes, “these bridal media serve as an example of hegemony…as the exercise of indirect power as exemplified by civil institutions, among which he includes the media industry” (p. 61). In that, weddings have become part of this category of dominant practices due to the media presenting ideas around weddings. The media portrays weddings as a goal that should be fulfilled by the entire population. Examples of media would be reality TV shows, magazines, advertisements, and even movies surrounding the idea of marriage. All of these examples help support the notion that marriage is considered a ‘hegemonic practice’
Arranged marriages are typically not practiced in the United States, however, they are still a part of other cultures. While arranged marriages are often seen as a barbaric or outdated practice, they can still be successful. It may not seem important to study arranged marriages since they are not widely practiced in modern America or other western cultures but some benefits of arranged marriages found could be used to lessen the negative image western civilizations have about cultures that continue the practice of arranged marriages. There are definitely drawbacks in the practice of arranged marriage but there are also benefits that are often overlooked.
Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets-Salter. Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History, Volume II, From 1500 to the Present, Second Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 411-29
For a long time, the popular belief about anthropology was that it was the study of “far away” or “exotic” cultures. After my 10 weeks in Professor Michael Perez’s Anthropology 101 class, I now know this to be anything but the truth. My immediate thought’s for a cultural event to observe were reflective of these misconceptions – I considered an Indian wedding, a winter festival, a family friend’s Quinceanera. Nothing stood out to me.
Marriage in the Victorian time period was carefully contemplated, as Rosenberg addresses that “Wedding ceremonies were seen as an expression of Victorian social values that that the Queen wished to renounce, while on the other hand, such occasions were viewed as having national and collective significance” (Rosenberg 98). Love played a very tiny role in the Victorian Era marriages. An engagement was more approached as a business deal. Once married all possessions went to the husband as property. Anatolyevna emphasizes how “Victorian weddings should be transformed from a formalized procedure to a celebration, a holiday for a young couple in honor of their initiation” (Anatolyevna 1) The Marriage and Wedding Customs of the Victorian time period are interesting because they are religious, strict, unique, and elegant. First of all, the Victorian time period wedding mores were intriguing because of their strong connection to religion. Terpening explains that “in the sense that marriage is an act through hardship and trial, people who led Christian lives were rewarded by enjoying years with their spouse” (Terpening 22). Even though in the Victorian time period their marriages were arranged, if you and your spouse had the same religions beliefs your marriage will be strong and last longer than other couples. People during the Victorian time believed that if you didn’t practice the same beliefs of your partner your marriage would fall apart or be in great bitterness. Religion played a big role in the Victorian wedding ethnicities but the harsh laws of marriage were a huge part for weddings during this time period. Next, the Victorian time period Wedding traditions were remarkable because of the firm traditions. Author Kat Stromquist ment...
Chesser, Barbara Jo. “Analysis of Wedding Rituals: An attempt to make weddings more sfdsdfffdmeaningful”. Family Relations. Vol. 29, No. 2. (Apr., 1980) pp. 204-209. [JSTOR]
Schultz, E.A. & Lavenda, R.H. Cultural Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition, Sixth Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005.
The 'information gathering' phase of a wedding includes the groom's family determining the notoriety and genealogy of the bride's family, and the character and conduct of the bride. This is of incredible significance as the notoriety of the groom's family is in question.
Together, they go through a myriad of ceremonies that mostly compromise of different prayers to the many gods of the Gujarati culture. These prayers are led by a Gujarati priest and are done to ensure good fortune for their marriage and for the rest of their lives. This ceremony includes the brides’ parents with the bride and groom partaking in the rituals as well. To finish the ceremony off, after the rituals are completed, the bride and groom walk in a circle in the altar around the ceremonial offerings, and the respective families throw roses as they complete this circle to show that the marriage is completed.” This vivid description makes me feel as if I was at the wedding, and sitting right there as it was going on. The goal of the ceremony is the same as the American culture, but the means to get it are completely different. The Gujarati wedding ceremony has a strong focus on praying to the many Gujarati gods along with celebrating one of the cultures unique
Weddings are a very joyous occasion, not only for the bride and groom , but also for their friends and family that get to join in the celebration. A wedding allows two people who are in love to legally join together and spend their lives together, serving one another in devoted infatuation. It is also a way to show their love to the world and truly enjoy being with each other. Most wedding ceremonies revolve around the traditions of a certain religion, and each religion has its own way of conducting such a ceremony. Each one can be very different or can be similar. In the cases of Buddhism and Muslim traditions, weddings are differing when it comes to the actual ceremony.
We have started to expect that a good wedding is also an expensive wedding, and those who do not spend the excess money obviously cannot love their partners as much as those who spend the average thirty-two thousands dollars. Because of the financial pressure that society puts on love, the meaning behind wedding rituals have been replaced by a competitive performance where those who do not have the means to compete are marginalized.
Johnson, Diane. Traditional Marriage in Africa: The Dowry. 7 October 2010. 11 May 2011 .
Culture and society, while important terms to the field of anthropology, are often misunderstood or misused by new students. They are frequently used in daily life, but with a somewhat different context and meaning than those used in anthropological discussions, hence the misunderstanding. They refer to concepts which act as foundations of this field, and it is difficult to make sense of both old and new studies or ideas without them.
In the Gambia, weddings are big celebrations and not just for the couple to be, but for the entire family. The wedding ceremonies
Culture is an important concept in anthropology. Culture is defined as, "sets of learned behavior and ideas that human beings acquire as members of society. Human beings use culture to adapt to and transform the world in which they live." (LS:512). Culture has been used in anthropology to understand human difference, but within this understanding there have been benefits and drawbacks to the ideas of culture. Finally, the study of language and humans as symbol using creatures helps us have perspectives on different parts of the world. All anthropologists share a certain reliance on culture to have a starting point in understanding human experience as a whole.