All couples want their wedding to be as unique and memorable as possible. But in spite of all the lavishness and drama of the weddings they all seem to be the same. Which makes you wonder how weddings are done in other cultures?
Marriage rites vary in different places and among people of different social tradition. Let's us discover some strange and fascinating marriage rituals.
The Tausug of Mindanao
The Tausug of Mindanao is an ethnic tribe that has a bizarre marriage rite. They can marry as many as they want. Polygamy is allowed in their culture. Sounds like nothing unusual. Here's the peculiar part, a Tausug man can abduct a woman for a wife and the marriage is considered binding and legal.
The Ifugaos of Ifugao Province
Ifugao is a province part of Cordillera Autonomous Region. The people are also called Ifugao. They are famous for the Ifugao Rice terraces. These people have an unusual wedding tradition, they are the proponent of the so-called “trial marriage” or popularly known now as “live-in.” A man and a woman could live together as husband and wife for a certain period of time. Ifugaos, like any other people all throughout the world, strongly believe that the very essence of a man's existence is to have a child or children. Thus, if the woman doesn't have the capability to give the man a child, the man has the option to abandon her and look for another woman who can bore him a child. If the woman gets pregnant, the marriage will be arranged. The family of the groom-to-be is going to give a dowry to the family of the bride-to-be like of piece of land, jewelries or beast of burden.
The Kalingas of Kalinga Province
These people from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) have a peculiar wedding ceremony. The priest who solemnizes the marriage fills his mouth with water, gurgle it a little, and squirts it on the faces of the bride and the bridegroom. Then the priest would say; may the good spirits grant that your lives will be forever, just like an ever flowing stream (of water).
The Aetas of Luzon
Another peculiar wedding ceremony is that of the Aetas. Mt.Pinatubo is the home for many Aetas but many are displaced by the explosion of the volcano in 1991. After the bride and the groom have fed each other with a handful of rice supposedly blessed by god, a “mabalian” or a priest conducting the ritual would gently knock the couples' heads to perfect the marital vow.
The Ilongots of Northern Luzon
Years ago, among the headhunting tribes of Ilongots, a man who intended to marry a woman must pass a test almost similar to that undergone by the legendary William Tell. But here, the target was a one foot long bamboo tube held under the armpit of the prospective bride. The man had to shoot the arrow through the narrow hole of the bamboo tube. Should he fail or injure the woman, he would be beheaded, but if he passed that test, he would undergo another test, this time, he had to go headhunting and present a human head, complete with drying blood in it. And finally, to seal the marriage rites, the couples' index fingers must be sliced with a knife.
