Kurdish
Jewish
Bride's
Betrothal
Henna Traditions
copyright Catherine
Cartwright-Jones
c 2003
Kent State University
When Kurdish Jewish families
arranged
marriages for their sons and daughters, they celebrated a successful
agreement
with a betrothal party, a qadoshe. The groom's family
prepared
a feast, and took the food to the bride's house on a Tuesday. The
next day, the bridegroom came in a procession to his bride's house, and
sat in a seat of honor. The bride's family brought his bride to
meet
him, and unveiled her, so everyone could be certain that he was getting
the girl he bargained for, and not a substitute! He kissed her
hand,
gave her a ring, and smashed a wine glass as women ululated klilililililililili.
Then,
he went home to celebrate with his friends and dance until morning.
The bride's family
celebrated the
rest of the night at her house, and hennaed the bride's hands, feet and
hair. If fashion or circumstance didn't permit such thorough
henna,
the bride had at least her little finger hennaed. The bride's friends
stayed
with her all night, celebrating her good fortune.
Additional material on Kurdish Jewish marriage traditions is
in "The
Jews of Kurdistan" by Eric Brauer.
References:
The Jews of Kurdistan
Erich Brauer,
completed
and edited by Raphael Patai
Wayne State University
Press,
Detroit, 1993
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