A wedding in Oman

Right in the Middle

Weddings are fun - there is happiness and excitement. Add to all this the quaintness of a new culture and you have a memorable affair. I had the good fortune of attending a wedding in Muscat a few years back.

The marriage was of the son of an Omani colleague of my host and I did not need much persuasion to attend the event. The function, an all-male affair, was held in a building adjacent to a mosque. This is known as the Majlis, a private place, where guests are received and entertained. It was held after the night prayers. The women have a separate function.

We were seated in blue sofas. The bridegroom and the guests looked elegant in their white Dishdashas (collarless long gowns, the traditional wear of the region), waist band, the elaborate silver ceremonial khanjjar (dagger) with delicate engravings stuck in the waist band, and beautifully embroidered turbans.

The marriage was a simple affair. The ceremony conducted by a Qazi, consisted of reading from the Qur’an, and confirmation of acceptance of the bride and bridegroom to each other, in the presence of witnesses, the bride being represented by her witnesses. This was followed by a short sermon and an offer from the very jovial Qazi to conduct any other marriage if anybody else wishes to get married! Nobody took the offer.

The entire ceremony took 15 minutes. This was followed by attendants serving the traditional halwa - a rich sweet, sticky, brown coloured and flavoured with nuts, very similar to our Calicut halwa. Followed by the sweet was a small cup of strong, black coffee and wet tissues to clean your hands.

The entire gathering then sat in small groups on the floor in front of the sofas. Attendants came with a plastic sheet to spread on the floor and cups of pre-packaged water. Another attendant came with a large platter of brown, delicately flavoured rice with chunks of meat and a salad of onions, cucumber and capsicum and red chutney. Groups of 5-7 men sat down to eat from a common platter. The food was tasty, and familiar as it was almost Indian. A person came around with a large bag to collect the trash and the whole place was swiftly and efficiently cleaned with no traces of food.

No gifts are expected. Incidentally, dowry is given by the bridegroom. The ceremony was short, simple yet grand. I do wish more of us could emulate the Oman example and cut down the vulgar display of wealth in our weddings and also keep the venue clean.