On Wednesday, 20 August, we visited a wedding in typical traditional Turkish Cypriot style.
The wedding was held at Büyük Anadolu Girne Hotel (see map below) and around 200 guests came to congratulate the newly weds, Latife & Serkan, and to bring them gifts.
As most weddings here a live band played traditional folk music mixed with Turkish pop music. Regardless of the sweltering heat the bride and groom were dressed from top to toe with layer after layer of beautiful garments, whereas us westerners would probably have melted away.
The bride and groom stood on the podium, together with the closest family, and greeted their guests, with two kisses on the cheeks, as they walked down the red carpet.
Both Greek and Turkish Cypriots have very similar receptions with small variations. They both enter the reception together and walk around the venue three times to claps from the guests.
The Greek Cypriots do the walk to violin music, while Turkish Cypriots walk to drums.
At this wedding the gifts guests brought were placed at a designated table which is a more discrete way than some of the more traditional Cypriot ceremonies.
Many weddings here have a traditional dance where guests pin money on the bride and groom, which is called ‘the mortgage dance’. It’s in place of gifts being bought for the wedding couple and it’s supposed to help them start their life in a financial way.
Another way of doing it is common in Turkey. Their tradition is similar, but instead of money they give gifts of gold bangles and bracelets etc. that the bride wear on her right arm. These are to again give financial help in case of hard times.
At this wedding there was no food or drinks on offer, except for wrapped cookies and wedding cake of course. This is more of a Turkish inspired tradition as Turkish Cypriot weddings usually have plenty of food and drink and the dancing will often continue through the night. The families of both the bride and groom usually dance together to emphasise the families becoming one.
One Turkish Cypriot wedding dance not performed by Greek Cypriots is the Testi (pot) dance. The single girls dance in a circle, taking it in turns to dance in the centre of the circle with the pot. When they have all danced individually, the pot will be smashed on the floor by either the bride or groom, revealing sweets and pennies inside for the children. The old fashioned interpretation of the pot smashing is to do with the bride losing her virginity.
A very important part of the wedding is the dancing. Folk dances reflect all details of the Cypriot lifestyle. The dances, that are choreographed with the motifs of typical behaviours and traditional occasions, typically focus on notable events. Undoubtedly the most important among these are weddings. In a wedding environment, dances such as ‘Karsilama’, ‘Sirtos’, ‘Zeybek’, ‘Ciftetelli/Arabiyes, and others topical dances.
Weddings in North Cyprus are huge family events. Aunts, uncles and cousins join in the wedding preparations to ensure that the couple have the best day possible. The extended family usually provides the couple with a furnished place to live in. This tradition in Cyprus enables a young couple to enter married life without any major worries. Parents are frequent visitors at their children’s homes and usually continue to provide financial and emotional support.
In North Cyprus family comes first. Marriages usually need the approval of the family to succeed. Harsh as this may sound, it is difficult to live happily in a community which places such high value on the family unit without their approval of the spouse. Approval is given when parents have researched the family, education and social status of the eligible partner. The children’s happiness is very important in Cyprus.
Wrapped cookies
The post Ett traditionellt turkcypriotiskt bröllop appeared first on Norra Cypern Magasinet.
