Large crowds gathered in Shindagha last Sunday for the first in a series of eight wedding re-enactments to be staged by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
The Syrian Bedouin wedding ceremony began at 7pm with the groom's family visiting the bride's family khaimah (tent) for negotiations with the elders and, when everything was agreed upon, the boy's family presented the girl and her family with gifts, including clothes and maher (dowry), among other things.
A prayer in the presence of a cleric followed the engagement ceremony and an agreement or contract was drawn up. And then the wedding rituals began, starting with the henna ceremony at the bride's house as the distinctive sound of Syrian music permeated the air.
Abdullah Hamdan bin Dalmook, chairman of the DTCM Committee for DSF 2004, said weddings in every society are a special event but among the Bedouins, the ceremonies are distinct and truly enchanting. "By organising these wedding re-enactments we are providing visitors with a historical overview of the traditional Arabian life as it existed in the past."
The bride's relatives and friends dress her up in a silver-embellished dress, decorate her wrists and feet with gold rings and crown her with arja a hoop of gold or silver English pounds.
They also apply eye make up with a traditional coal liner, and paint her hands and feet with henna, before finally perfuming her with agar (traditional perfume). In the old days these rituals lasted the whole night. However, an abridged version was carried out at the Arabian Bedouin Life encampment.
The bride decked up in tribal finery looked beautiful with the shanbar a scarf she wore with a head ribbon.
Meanwhile, the groom got dressed up in a separate khaimah and his attire consisted of the dishdasha - a long flowing garment - with a red and white guttrah (head-dress) that is worn around the head with the help of a black wool ring called the agaal.
The bride was then seated atop a hoduch (palanquin) and carried to the groom's house in a procession marked by boisterous dance and music.
At the groom's house, big celebrations were in store as members of the groom's family welcomed the guests and well-wishers. Traditional Arabian coffee was served, as a meal of Mansaf Al Malihi (boiled grain or rice made with yogurt and meat) simmered in an open oven.
Jufiyah or traditional songs followed with men lining up to sing part of the song and other men repeating after them. The lines then became a circle and the group started singing slower numbers called the sahjah with accompanied clapping from the Bedouins as well as the visitors, adding to the electricity of the atmosphere.
The dance performed by the Bedouins in Syria is called the dobka wherein the dancers hit their feet on the ground and produce synchronised noise.
Bin Dalmook expressed delight at the large number of visitors, including foreign and local media, and said: "By recreating these traditional marriage ceremonies we are popularising the regional culture and as you can see from the visitor turn out, our events are a hit."
The number of Bedouins in Syria is about 1.2 million and is about 6 per cent of the population according to the Syrian national census. They belong mainly to the large tribes such as Bani Khaled tribe in central Syria and the Hamad tribe in the south.
The Syrian Bedouins, for the most part, depend on their livestock of sheep and goats to support themselves with food, apparel and money.
The tribes still roam the Syrian wilderness constantly on the look-out for grazing meadows for their cattle.
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