Wedding OF BILEN IN ERITREA
INTRODUTION
Eritrea is located in the horn
of Africa and is bordered on the northeast and east by the Red sea, on the west
and northwest by Sudan, on the south by Ethiopia, and on the south east by Djibouti.
In Eritrea there are nine ethnic groups. They have difference ways of dressing,
and different way of arranging a marriage. The also speak different language
and have different culture.
In this article, I am going to write about how
the Bilen ethnic group arranges their marriages. The Members of Blin ethnic
group are commonly found in the Anseba region, particularly the south central
part of the country in and around of Keren. Bilen is also name of their language.
Earlier parents decide to
their children with who they are going merry.
Now most of the boys choose a girlfriend
themselves. Parents they ask to their son whether he has a girlfriend or not.
If he has not, they choose for him. Or if he has he told his family who is she,
from where is she so parents they send one man to the girl parents and they ask
for wedding. So the parents of girl say first we will going to ask our daughter
and we will going answer soon. She says ok so they give answer to boy’s parents.
First the parents of both
families arrange the engagement. After the engagement they discuss when the
wedding day should take place.In the wedding day, Father to boy gives a cow to the
parent of the girl for butcher in the wedding day.In the wedding come about 350
to 400 people .And parents to the boy give 35gram gold for bride
groom and complete clothes and clothes for bride grooms family. If parents for girl are rich they give circa 50 thousand
kroner. If you have not you can give 20 thousand kroner. A lot of money and
time is spent on wedding and honeymoon ceremonies.
The honeymoon may go on for
two to three months on end. During these months, the bride enjoys visits from
friends and relatives. The process continues until the time that the bride
return to her family.
12 days after the wedding ceremony,
the groom goes to the stream with his friends to wash himself and his clothes.
The bride remains in her room and has her hair plaited and her eyes shadowed
with kohli.
She is not permitted to call out for someone
in a loud voice and she is not allowed to sit at the same table with her
husband .She takes her meals with her sister in law she eats frugally. The
groom, who sits with his friends at the table, has no inhibition regarding the
way he eats.
40 days after the wedding day
the groom ceremoniously puts down the sword which he had carried since the
marriage ceremony for fear that the evil spirits may not whisk him away. Bride
returns to her family and she stays about three or four months but if she is
pregnant she stays until she gets birth.After this life returns to normal once.
