Families in Hadramout have their own style of life and traditions in different social occasions including wedding ceremonies. Family members gather around one table during main meals. Other families allocate a table for men and another for women. Families feel proud that they get up early morning to pray and read the Holy Quran. While men go to pray at the mosque* women stay home to perform prayer and read the Quran. There are numerous mosques in Hadramout particularly in Tarim city which contains more than 300 mosques.When a man desires to get married* he first consults his family about the suitable woman he can choose as a wife. When they agree on a specific girl* his mother and sisters visit her at and come back to describe the girl and tell the man about her advantages and beauty. Following that* the "sebi" of the tribe( a man selected by the tribe members to manage their social affairs) goes to the family of the girl to tell them that someone desiring to get married into their daughter is coming to propose her hand. In relative families* there is no need of a sebi to go to the girl's family as the man's family can go and propose her hand alone .The two families meet at the girl's house for the purpose of engagement. They agree on the dowry and assign the specific day of marriage. The day of engagement is called "al-medad" on which the man and the girl get engaged officially and their families get together and invite other people to attend the engagement party. After the engagement* the ma goes to prepare his room in order to receive his prospective wife and buys some jewelry for her depending on his ability.Three days of continuous celebrationOn the first day of wedding ceremony called "henna" day* men go to the groom's house while women go to the house of the bride. In the groom's house* men dance in a circle after the groom's family prepares a band to sing while people perform "sharh"* i.e. dancing. The band consists of a woman to dance and performers of the musical instruments such as drum and clarinet. There are two kinds of sharh. The first one is called" Qutni" and the second is called "Dehifah". As some people are dancing* the others gather around the group of dancers and clap their hands in harmony. This session continues for the whole night.In the bride's house* women gather on the first day of wedding ceremony to dance but they cannot see the bride's face as she is covered. The first person to see her uncovered is the groom at their first meeting. The other day* women gather around her since early morning and bring the "sabiah" (the bride's attendant who prepares her on the days of wedding). Women dance and sing* praising families of both the groom and the bride . The session continues until the evening. On the second day which is called "harawah day"* people who were invited gather at around nine o'clock in the evening outside the groom's house. The groom comes out and sits on a chair while people dance around him in a circle. The Sabi comes holding water* soap and a comb. He washes the groom's hair and combs it. People dance in a circle while the sabi is washing and combing the groom's hair. Then the groom goes home to get dressed and mostly carries a stick and puts a shawl on his shoulder. Accompanied by the sabi* he goes out to meet people who wait for him again. At this time* the sabi collects money* called "Tarh"* from all attendants to help the groom. When the sabi takes the money* he mentions the name of the person who gave the money and the sum of money he gave the groom. The aim of announcing names of people and the sums of money they grant is to encourage others to assist the groom. On the same day* women go to dance at the groom's house to receive the bride.After they finish tarh* the groom's family selects some people to go and bring the bride to the groom's house. The selected people are called "harawah". Usually* father of the groom selects a man from every tribe in the area. This process aimed in the past to prevent highway men from intercepting the harawah way. When the groom and the people who go with him arrive at the bride's house* the bride's family and their guests of relatives' line up to receive them and shake hands. They have supper together and when they finish* they take the bride to the car allocated to carry the couple to their new nest. The bride is accompanied by a group of women called "rawakeb" who accompany her until she reaches the groom's house. When they arrive in the groom's house* the Rawakeb prepare the bride's stuff in her room. The groom's family serves sweet to the attendants. The Sabiah comes into the bride's room to uncover her face after the groom pays some money to the bride and shakes hands with his mother-in-law. In the morning of the third day called "Sabha"* people come to congratulate the groom on his getting together with his bride and stay until they have lunch. Women also go to the bride to congratulate her and see her face as this is the first time to see her uncovered since the first day of wedding ceremony. They sing and dance until the evening with every two women dancing together. Wearing the bridal gown* the bride performs a special dancing called "Naeesh" in which she waves her hair. The bride tries her best to prolong Naeesh as it is an indicator of her strength. The party continues till late at night and the wedding ceremonies end. The eighth day of marriage is called "Khatrah" day on which the couple are invited to bride's house where they have lunch with relatives. Curtsey of Hadramout Government website: www.hadhramaut.info...

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