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Weddings in Simakiyya
Weddings are an important part of life in Simakiyya that integrate the families and the church. So it is appropriate to give a brief description of the events surrounding a typical village wedding.
We were fortunate to attend two weddings this summer
(2001) in Simakiyya: one in the Melkite Catholic Church and the other in the Latin Church. The ceremonies differ according to the rite of each church, Byzantine and Latin, respectively, but the events leading up to the wedding day ceremony are essentially the same for both churches.
When a man wants to get married in Simakiyya, he will first work hard to establish a home. This may take several years. Consequently, many men do not marry until their late twenties or early thirties. Typically, a man will marry a woman that is some five to eight years younger than himself. New homes may be built as separate structures from his parent's home on the same or different property, or the man may add an additional story to his parent's home . Couples that move to a major city, like Amman, may rent an apartment.
A man who is interested in an eligible woman will approach the woman and talk to her. If the woman is interested in marriage also, the parents of the man and woman will meet and discuss the possibility of marriage between the two. The opinion of the parents in the matter of marriage is highly respected and it would be difficult to get married without their blessing.
If the families agree, a formal announcement of the engagement is made. A party, where the prospective groom goes to the prospective bride's home and serves coffee to her parents, accompanies this announcement. Engagements are usually about a yearlong and involve lots of preparation for the wedding day.
The wedding day will be announced three times in the Latin Church prior to the event, and announced twice in the Melkite Church. The day before the wedding, there will be separate parties for the bride and groom.
 On the day of the wedding there is dinner at the groom's house. Mansef is the traditional dish, consisting of cooked rice, with a cheese sauce made from jamiid, cooked goat meat, and shrak-a paper-thin bread-all served on a huge platter and eaten with one's right hand .
 On the day of the wedding, the groom will be led through the streets to the center of the village to meet his bride. Men will walk backwards in front of the groom, beat on drums, and sing. The singing involves compliments to the bride and a request to open the church. Large numbers of people turn out for this procession. Some of the men often fire guns into the air during these processions.
 The groom meets the bride and the procession continues on to the church where the priest performs the ceremony. After the ceremony, the bride and groom leave on their honeymoon, which will vary in length and destination according to the wealth of the families involved.
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