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.