Balinese wedding ceremonies can be fun and interesting to experience. Most people who have attended this ceremony will remember that there is a lot of sitting around and waiting, chatting and generally letting the priests get on with their official duties. This is not much different from an American wedding, except that guests usually squat on native mats on the floor. The bride wears gold leaf ornaments and glamorous accessories in addition to her ornate skirt and top glistening with beads of various colors. The groom wears a sarong with gold thread, a sash, Balinese jacket and udang or head-wrap. The Hindu ceremony is officiated by a white-robed pedanda or a Balinese high-priest. After giving the couple a wedding blessing, guests are then asked to give their personal comments on the couple. Afterwhich, marriage documents are signed by the bride and the groom. If one of the parties is a foreigner, the pedanda gives him (or her, for that matter) a Balinese name. Sometimes, the adopted name borders on the humorous to make the celebration happy albeit a serious one. The whole affair lasts anywhere from 30 minutes up to more than an hour. An invitation for a sumptuous feast comes after the ceremony. In more elaborate celebrations, the reception area is festooned with
banners and
feather flags of various colors. Guests are usually treated to a buffet selection of standard Balinese fare, including sate lilit, sate babi and lawar.
Balinese wedding ceremonies have evolved in recent years with the influx of inter-racial marriages. Most customs and traditions are still observed in the ceremony. However, there have been some notable changes in wedding costumes, most specially for the groom. They sometimes include a special pocket to accommodate one of the most famous gadgets of our present time which is the cellular phone. Despite this change, a Balinese wedding is still an amazingly unique and exotic event to experience.
by:
The Flagman
