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Dmitriy Mandzhiev, About Kalmyk Weddings


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Authors

Terbish, Baasanjav 

Abstract

During matchmaking the two sides agree on the date of wedding. On the eve of the wedding day, the groom’s people cook a sheep. Its lower jaw remains at home, but its head has to be given to the bride’s side, accompanied with a bottle of vodka. When the wedding procession approaches the bride’s house, a little boy (who is part of the delegation) runs ahead and delivers the news. A dowry includes vodka, sweets, biscuits, boiled meat and other gifts that should be in accordance to the agreement made between the two sides at the matchmaking meeting. From my own experience: when I got married my dowry included clothes. But when I married my nephew, we did not include clothes in the dowry. The groom’s side had asked us to offer clothes to the local temple instead, which we did. Today some people take the bride and drive with her to the capital city of Elista where they have a celebration and do the necessary rituals. However, this is not correct! If the groom’s parental home is not in Elista, then you need to take the bride to where your parental home is. We did that. We took the bride from her parental home, brought her to the groom’s paternal house and made her bow to his ancestors and clan deities. From this moment on, the bride takes her husband’s family name and becomes a member of his family. Today in Elista people do a wedding for a day, but in our village we celebrated it for a couple of days. After that, the bride’s parents can come to see their daughter, and only after that can she pay a visit to her parents. We have always attached great importance to a dowry, which should be done in accordance to our traditions. The cooked meat, including the legs, ribs, etc., of a dowry sheep has to be placed according to our traditions. A sheep’s neck is never included in a dowry. In fact, a dowry includes two sheep: one cooked and the other alive. In the past, nomads did not have much entertainment, and weddings were a good opportunity to have one. Weddings lasted from 3 to 4 days.

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Keywords

Matchmaking, wedding, dowry

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Publisher

Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge

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Sponsorship
Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin

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