[الدوش]

(SUDANESE WEDDING (I

The Traditional Sudanese Perfume preparation takes quite a long time. It is a very essential factor in the preparation of the bride for the wedding. The perfumes are used for a long time after the wedding ceremony. The bride’s family, relatives and friends help in this work. It is seen as a privilege to take part in it. Different ingredients are used in the perfumes preparation, cloves, sandal wood, other ready made perfumes.

All body hair is removed from the brides body, by using a home made removal paste made from boiling sugar in water and lime juice. The bride has to have the (Dukhan); it is like a sauna, but with a smoke of sandal wood instead of hot steam. She has to sit on a small hole and cover up to her neck with a thick blanket only. This will perfume her entire body and give her body a nice color and her hands and feet are painted in intricate designs of henna. When she emerges on the first night of the wedding known as DUKHLAH.

(To be continued)

[الدوش]

(SUDANESE WEDDING (II

Before the Dukhlah Night (wedding night) there are two important parties. One is known as the Henna of the bride, where only females and close male relatives of the bride are allowed to attend. The Groom is not allowed to attend this; it’s a mainly female gathering. The second one is the Groom Henna Party where female and male gathering take place, but the bride is absent.

After those two parties come the main Wedding Night (The Dukhla) where Female and male gathering is permitted. The guests have to come early and wait for the moment when the bride and the groom enter the venue of the party. At this point the party will take its real shape and the music, singing and dancing start. Some times the guest number could exceed two thousand guests, this depend on how rich the family is. The Government enforced its strict rules for wedding party to finish by midnight, but many families continue the party in a smaller scale in bride family home until the morning, this is known as (THE OVERNIGHT PARTY).

There are two more parties to follow; one is known as the SUBHIYAH or the morning after DuKhlah. That is a party for female only where the bride has to dance in a female gathering, no men are allowed except the groom. The bride has to learn so many dances some time up to 75 different dances. She tries to show her beauty and that she is able to shake and move every part of her body.

Then comes the other party known as the JIRTEK, again only females are allowed to attend. The exceptional male to attend is the groom. This is an old believe to bless the newly wedded couple and taking the evil eye from their life. The groom has to enter the venue leading the bride with her face covered until they sit down in the seating area prepared for them. Then two ladies one from each family (they must be married and widows) will apply some perfumes on the wedded couple who are dressed in special clothing. Then the groom is given a glass of milk to drink and then pass it to the bride to drink. After this the groom has to splash perfume at the females gathering around him and hold a sword, all the single females try to get closer to get some of the splashed perfumes on their body, hopping and believing this will bring them their future husband. Then the party is over and the wedded couple travel for their honeymoon.