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Traditional Weddings In Malaysia

Traditional Weddings For The Three Main Ethnic Groups : Malay, Chinese, Indian...


a) Malay Wedding
Early in the morning of the wedding day, the bride and groom will perform a special ablution bath as requires in Islam. The focus of a traditional Malay wedding is the akad nikah or marriage vow, which is overseen by the imam in front of witnesses. Then, the imam will confirm with the witnesses if the vow was clearly heard and once they confirm this, he will lead the congregation with a doa to conclude the ceremony and ask for blessings from God.





b) Chinese Wedding
Chinese prefer red colour because they believe these colour is symbolising prosperity to the Chinese - fills the house of the bride. The central act in a Chinese aside from the wedding act itself, is the tea ceremony. This is a ritual that places the parents, above all else. The ceremony is also a symbol of respect. Before the arrival of the groom, the bride offers tea to both her parents in way of thanks for having raised her. This is done on her own without her groom or the bridesmaid. Once this ceremony is completed, the groom will arrive and with the help of his best man, plead, pay, haggle, sweet-talk their way into the bride's house with much merriment and teasing from relatives and friends.







c) Indian Wedding



The Indian wedding ceremony is most strict compared to Malay and Chinese wedding. Strict wedding customs require that the bride and the groom (and at times, their immediate family members) keep to a strictly vegetarian diet several days before the wedding. This is in respect to the Hindu religion practised by the majority of Indians in Malaysia. Before the wedding, the mehndi or henna is applied onto to the bride's hands and feet to ward off evil. The bride then dons the sari and jewellery, gifts from her future husband on the day of their engagement, and makes her way to the temple. Bright hues of yellow, red, orange, peacock blue and green are favoured as they are believed to bring good luck and blessing to the occasion, while white and black - considered to be mourning colours - are generally avoided. Steeped in ancient Vedic customs, a traditional Hindu wedding involves extensive prayers and ceremonial acts. Elaborate in rituals and prayers the actual wedding ceremony itself comprises some ten rites. The completion of this agni parinaya is concluded with a prayer that the marriage is indissoluble and the groom ends the ceremony with the tying of the thali on his bride's neck, an act greeted with loud traditional music, clapping and congratulations from the guests. The bridesmaid plays and important role in an Indian wedding, thus she is one of the individuals to receive a gift from the groom's party. The priest is given a gift of a dhoti (a traditional suit for men) and fresh vegetables by way of thanks for his service. A unique aspect of Hindu wedding is the post-wedding games engaged by the bride and her new family to break the ice and make her feel belonged with her new family.  

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