Baalbeck Wedding Ceremony
Wedding ceremony in Baalbeck tells stories of the peoples, civilisations and cultures that went through and lived in Baalbeck leaving their values, principles and tales of chivilary and heroism which are told in the weddings.
The meanings conceyed by Baalbeck weddings are related to the ancestors' strong relationship with their land which they gave their hard work until its dust was mixed with their sweat to make them powerful and strong men . It also reflects the role of women who have been great supporters to men in each step of their life. So,through line-dances you can see the stories of the past emodied in the strong taps, shoulders shakings, twists and facial expressions.
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| Wedding Ceremony |
The Big Day is not only special for the bride and the groom, but also for all relatives and even the neighbourhood since everyone takes a part in the preparations. The wedding ceremony in Baabeck is formally for two days, and it usually takes place in parents' houses of both the bride and the groom.
This day often begins in the early morning when women gather to cook for the feasts which will be after midnight while men set a big tent-house, bring chairs,and decorate the place where the grooms sit. In past days, the groom's mother and sisters used to bake the local bread on "Tanour", this bread is speciality in Baalbeck, where they used to sing and dance announcing the wedding two or three days.
The party usually begins at 8:00 with a singer of folk songs with local musical instruments: Rabah, Nay, and 2 drums. Old men with their traditional clothes lead the party with their professional Dabkeh, line dances of different kinds_el-Shmalieh, Bedawi ,Arja and others. This lasts till about 10:30 when the groom and some of his family members headed by an old man go to the bride's house taking a big decorated Henna tray with them singing special songs praising the groom, his family and his good background.
Meanwhile, in the bride's house women also have their own celebration which is the bride's special night. She strolls and dances slowly like a queen in her coloured night dress surrounded by her family, friends, relatives and neighbours waiting for the groom to come with Henna . When the groom's procession arrives, the bride's family will be waiting for him to sprinkle rice and roses on him accompanied with folk songs. The old man dyes the smallest bride's finger with the Henna the groom's family brought and when he finishes, both the bride and the groom will be carried on shoulders and dancing for a while then the groom leaves to his own party where the henna ceremony also takes place.Henna is an occasion to honour the grooms by wrapping their fingers with money over the henna from people who appreciate and love them. The night will be closed by having dinner for the guests at about 1:00. After that, the groom is "kidnapped" to one of his dearest friend or relative's house to spend night there whereas guests stay at his parents' house dancing, singing and playing till morning when they go in a procession dancing and singing all the way to bring the groom back.
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| Dabke |
The second day of the wedding is a another story for both the bride and groom because there are more ceremonies take place. At his, usually about 2:00, there is the public preparation for the groom before he gets dressed. So, a barber comes over to have his hair cut and his beard shaved after having grown them for days before the wedding. During this, old people of the family, friends and relatives surround the barber and a poet (he is usually a man or a woman who knows special lines of verse which talk about love, heroism and events that took place in past). This kind of verse is called "Tansheed" for the groom. After that, the groom will be taken in a procession to one of his friend's or relative's house to get dressed his wedding-suit there accompanied with local songs. This procession is called "Aradah" and it is a speciality in Baalbeck where men head the prcession or "Aradah" repeating a refrain of a song that is sung by a man, or they sing chorally while women follow the men singing their own song that praises the groom, his family and his achievement. Drums are played during this procession and people on the sides of the roads sprinkle rose leaves and rice over the groom and his people. When they arrive at the targeted house, the groom and old respectable people help him to get dressed, and then he goes back to his parents house on an Arab horsebach or a cammelback in the same way accompanied with hails of rice and rose leaves along the whole road. When the procession goes back to the original place of the wedding ,the groom will be heartedly welcomed by more hails of rice, rose-leaves and sweets. Then people will dance until lunch is served when everyone eats then there is another ceremony takes place which is a religous one called "Mawled" ,celebrating the birth of Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings on him) as a kind of bless. When this finishes, the groom go to the bride's house with his parents, family and relatives to accompany her to their own house where they will begin their new life.
In the meanwhile, in the bride's house there is another image taking place which is rooted deeply in the history and heritage of Baalbeck. The bride wears like the Arabs in past, a black locally embroidered abayah with a headcover that matches and a kind of a tatoo-like on her face_ it is usually made by a blue make-up by a professional woman and who will sing special songs for this dress which it has similarities with bedwins. The bride in this ceremony represents the woman who is the symbol of honour to her family. Because of this, her father of brothers have her to carry a gun, a rifle, and a sword if it is available. This ceremony lasts for two hours, and then she goes to the hairdresser's where she will come back from in her wedding-dress. When she arrives her parents' house, she will be welcomed with hails of rice and rose-leaves, next lunch is served and dancing will go on till the groom and his family come to take the bride to her new house. It is worthy to mention that there is a tradition for all the new weds to go around Raas El -Ain Park in a procession of cars honking as if announcing to the whole world their union.
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| Hinna |
When the grooms arrive at their new house, the bride sticks a piece of decorated dough over the entrance of the house ,and she has to be received with a present from her in-laws as a sign of accepting her as a new member of their family.