If after the wedding, the bride plans to move to her husband’s apartment, or to a shared shared housing, then, following ancient customs, she must take a dowry with her. But young people now do not know what is included in the bride’s dowry. In this matter, of course, the older generation is more competent, these are grandmothers, villagers. But not every young girl can have such a granny nearby. Therefore, we suggest that you get acquainted with the things that should be included in the list.
What is included in the dowry of a Russian bride?
The dowry of a Russian bride should consist of items that will create a comfortable and cozy state. What can be included in the list of such things?
- A set of bed linen, maybe not just one, but several.
- Towels are purchased for both the kitchen and the bath.
- Set of dishes. These are pots, pans, a kettle, plates, spoons, forks.
- Appliances. This could be a TV, a washing machine, a dishwasher, or a steamer.
In order for the dowry to become useful and truly necessary, you need to consult with your future husband and mother-in-law on this matter. Therefore, you should choose wisely. And first buy those things that you will need first, and then buy everything else as needed. Therefore, the bride's dowry is modern and is not always bought in advance, as in the old days.
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To collect a dowry, you should only buy new things so that they serve you for many years, and in case of any problems, you can always return the item or send it to a workshop under warranty. And it’s better not to buy used goods. Moreover, it is believed that every thing has the energy of the one who used it before you.
Wedding preparations
The basis of preparation for a wedding is the bride's outfit. The girl's dress should be elegant, the color does not really matter. Beautiful accessories are selected that will add solemnity to the appearance.
Do not forget that according to Chechen customs, a bride price must be paid. When the young girl is completely ready, the groom's brother comes for her, but his path is blocked by the bride's sister, demanding a ransom. The amount of dowry was announced by the mullah. But often those who bought the bride paid a large sum.
The ransom is a symbol of gratitude and generosity to the bride's parents. Before the wedding day, an interesting ritual called “chokhi” was always carried out - ritual bathing. A bath of water was taken, to which infusions of medicinal herbs were added. Drawings in the form of stripes were applied to the girl’s skin after the bathing procedure.
The girl's mother or friend always sewed a new needle to the hem of the wedding dress, thereby protecting the newlywed from the evil eye.
Young brides. Chechnya, Georgia and other places with shocking wedding customs
In Russia, the law allows people to get married at the age of 18. But did you know that in dozens of regions from Murmansk to Magadan, including the Moscow region, “as an exception” you can marry someone aged 14? There must be good reasons for this, for example, the pregnancy of a minor bride or an actual marital relationship.
The peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia are in a special position. Their original traditions have been observed for centuries, although to a society accustomed to modern weddings that mix Russian, European and American customs, they may seem like medieval savagery. Anews decided to tell you more about them.
Dowry for a Chechen bride
The main thing you need to know about the dowry of a Chechen bride is that, according to customs, the girl must take all her things to her husband’s house for four seasons, which she will wear for a whole year.
This composition includes the following.
- Fur coats, jackets, coats or raincoats.
- Tights, socks, stockings.
- Underwear.
- Gold jewelry.
And all this should be very beautifully packaged and folded, either in suitcases, or it could be a chest. Each item must be packaged in a separate plastic bag. So that when you open your luggage, your relatives see not a stack of things, but beautiful packages with bows.
Now in the Caucasus, these chores fall on the hands of the relatives of the future husband. But since this takes a lot of time, this is entrusted to specially trained people who can easily help you collect everything you need.
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Features of the behavior of guests at a wedding
On a holiday, all relatives gather at one table, they talk, drink, and have a snack. They also begin to arrange tests, only this time not for the bride, but for the groom. After all the tests and gatherings, precious gifts are given, for example, gold rings or watches, and then the groom is taken away by friends. And the bride can go home, but she can also stay overnight with her parents. In the morning, the groom must come to the house of the bride's parents and wish her parents good morning. This is where all wedding events end.
After the celebration, brides usually keep their wedding dresses as a souvenir of this magnificent celebration. But if the outfit was rented, it will need to be returned.
How does matchmaking and engagement work?
It must be said right away that a Chechen wedding can take place only on the condition that the parents of both the bride and groom agree to the marriage of their children. The introduction of newlyweds has an interesting aspect and differs from the traditional one.
One of the options involves meeting at a wedding celebration, where a lot of people always gather. During the celebration, the guy looks closely at the unmarried girls present. If he likes one of the girls, the young man gives her some sweets through one of the guests.
If the sympathies of the young people coincide, the guy receives a handkerchief as a gift from his chosen one. After this, the future groom had the right to invite her on a date. If at a wedding party a man does not like any of the girls present, he looks at the fair sex under other circumstances, for example, chooses someone from nearby rural houses.
Having made his choice, the young man sends a message to the lucky woman through the child and makes an appointment.
If several dates were successful, the sympathy did not disappear, the man already has the right to talk about his intention to get married. After a joint decision to marry, the guy tells the happy news to his female relatives.
If the relatives are favorable to the choice of the groom, then a preliminary date for the wedding is set, and matchmakers are sent to the bride’s house. In the case when the groom's relatives categorically reject the guy's decision, the wedding cannot take place.
To receive a blessing for the union from the bride's father, matchmakers on the groom's side have to repeatedly visit the young woman's house. Each time, matchmaking is accompanied by a feast, during which there is a discussion of the groom's intentions to marry the daughter of the head of the family.
In turn, the girl’s father every time promises to think about this issue. As a rule, the final answer is given after the third visit of the matchmakers.
Dowry among the ancient Slavs
Among the ancient Slavs, the size of the dowry depended on the material status of the bride’s family. Even if the family was poor, the parents tried to provide their daughter with a good set of items that would become the foundation of her family life.
Then the dowry included various jewelry, kitchen utensils, bed linen and seasonal blankets. From an early age, the girl, together with her mother and sisters, embroidered towels for herself and sewed shirts for herself and her husband. A girl without a rich dowry might not be taken as a wife.
Each family had a special chest for each of their daughters, gradually filled with things that could be useful in everyday life: napkins, towels, tablecloths and other small things.
The bride's wedding attire also had to be provided by her family.
The bride embroidered her own dress and decorated it. The chemise for the wedding night had to be decorated by the bride herself.
Same with bed linen. At the same time, they had to take into account the traditions of the area where the young people lived: national patterns, symbols, decorations.
There were whole traditions on how to pack a bride's trousseau. There were gathering rituals. Regardless of financial wealth, in any family a girl had to make an effort to sew and decorate, at least partially, her dowry.
The dowry was transported to the young family's house according to a list kept by the mother or matchmaker.
