1. 1. 18-19th Century Turkish Kina Gecesi and Wedding Traditions A sequence of marriage social events extending over a whole week, following the negotiations of an arranged marriage. Virtually every male and female was legally mated, and the unmarried were officially regarded with pity, contempt and suspicion. Before the festivites began ,The men from both families gathered and agreed to a marriage contract in the presence of an imam who had received the marriage permit from the local religious judge.
2. 2. The bride was often very young, as marriage brokers, watched the the public baths for girls who were at the onset of puberty having their first menstrual cycle, and were thus marriageable. Familes with sons contracted them to find suitable girls, and they returned from the baths to say, "the xxx family has a daughter like a full moon, perfect for your handsome son." Other arrangements were through families and friends.
3. 3. Fathers grumbled about expense, weddings were Ottoman womens favorite events, and mothers liked to show off their daughters in the best style possible. They hired musicians, dancers, had feasts, and even threw coins into the street for beggars who gathered for a good marital extravaganza. The celebration went on for a week until the bride was taken to her new husband's house.
4. 4. First of all, the people arround should be invited to the wedding. Another custom that is fading is distributing recited food or gifts to the people in the village. These can be a piece of cloth, a handkerchief, a hand-painted kerchief, or food such as sugar and pastries. As these are distributed the guests are also invited to the wedding.
5. 5. From the 1870s onwards, under western influence, wedding dresses of pastel colors became fashionable, but the first white wedding dress was not worn until 1898, when Naime Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Abdlhamid II, married Kemalettin Pasa. This fashion, which began at the palace, gradually spread throughout Turkish society. In Ottoman tradition young girls generally dressed plainly, it being considered improper for them to wear showy clothing made of fabric with silver or gold thread, sequins or embroidery until they were married.
6. 6. The wedding dress was therefore the first richly ornamented attire they wore. It was distinguished from the costume of other women at the ceremony by a bridal headdress, veil and other accessories.
7. 7. Ottoman wedding dresses made of rich fabrics in the fashionable style of the time were in bright colors like red, purple, blue or pink, while red was the traditional color for the daughters and sisters of the sultans.
8. 8. From the early 19th century onwards the styles called etek and drt etek, with the skirts divided into three and four sections respectively were the height of fashion. At the beginning of the 19th century, dresses known as bindalli made usually of purple or dark red velvet, and embroidered with floral motifs in couched and padded gold work known as dival, were favored as wedding dresses and for other ceremonial occasions.
9. 9. During the night of the henna, while guests celebrated, musicians played and dancers swirled outdoors, the bride went into her homes reception room for her henna. The henna paste was brought in on a tray, with candles placed in the henna. The mother in law hennaed the brides right hand first, then her left hand, laying the henna on thick, and pressing a gold coin into it. Then, each guest pressed a coin into the henna.
10. 10. The brides hennaed hands were completely wrapped, henna, coins and all, her mother in law slid silk embroidered bags over her hands. Then, she hennaed the brides feet in the same way. When the henna was finished, the musicians and dancers came into the reception room to perform of the henna dances for the bride. The entertainers were all women, some with with penciled mustaches to pantomime male roles.
11. 11. The henna was not left in place overnight, because a red-orange stain was good luck. Dark brown or blackish stains were bad luck.
12. 12. Some religious and magical rites are performed to provide the couple with happiness, for a smooth marriage as the bride is leaving her fathers home and as she steps into the mans home. A mirror being held behind the bride as she leaves her fathers home, expressing the wish for her to have a bright life. In the same way, as she is passing through the threshold of the mans home, butter, honey and similar things are spread on the threshold and the door jamb with the aim of providing a sweet harmony between the bride and the people in her new home. People throw out the sweets, coins, dried fruits and nuts over the head of the bride, as an expression of a wish for abundance.
13. 13. The grooms wallet gets snipped too. The barber wet- shaves the groom twice, a process known as sinek kaydi, or the fly slipped, which refers to the smoothness of the skin. And that barber demands a good tip.
14. 14. Avclar Firuzky Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School References: "Home Life in Turkey" by Lucy M Garnett, New York, 1909 The Ottoman Lady: A Social History from 1718 to 1918, Fanny Davis, Greenwood Press Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire by Mehrdad Kia