We’re a big ol’ planet with around 8 billion people and with loads of weird things. The word ‘culture shock’ exists because all the cultures on the planets are so diverse and different that people feel disoriented, especially when they are suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture in a different geographical location. Right from beauty standards to cremation practices, the rituals around the world are very different- same is the case with wedding rituals!
Marriage traditions from around the world can stun you with their downright crazy antics. You’ll be surprised to read about some customs that are the norm in some cultures and how different they are from our rituals and customs. Here’s a list of 13 weird age-old traditions that will surprise you:
Shoot the bride!
The Yugur tribe in China has a weird tradition wherein the groom has to shoot the bride with an arrow 3 times in a row. Even though there are no arrowheads, getting head by the blunt arrow hurts, a lot!
(Photo: The Indian Express)
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Spit it out!
The Masaai tribe in Kenya has a rather weird ritual- before the bride leaves, the father spits on her head and breasts. Would you like to get spat on, especially when it’s your wedding day?
(Photo: The Indian Express)
Human rug:
The French Polynesia, which is home to the famous Bora Bora islands, has very peculiar wedding custom. When someone ties the knot on the Marquesas Islands, the relatives of the bride and groom lay down (facing the floor) and create a human rug. If that wasn’t enough, the bride and groom walk all over them once the wedding is over!
(Photo: The Indian Express)
Nasty weddings:
The Scotts’ like to get down and dirty when it comes to weddings, quite literally! They have a custom wherein the bride and groom are pelted with thrash, spoil food and rotten fish as these disgusting things represent the hurdles life will throw at them.
(Photo: The Indian Express)
No less than a reality show:
The Tujian tribe in China requires the bride to cry for an hour everyday, starting one month prior to the wedding. The other women are encouraged to join in too. Our vidais ain’t got nothing on this!
(Photo: The Indian Express)
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Pesky relative level 100:
Think your relatives are nosy? Well, some African villages follow a tradition wherein a senior family member (usually mom or aunt) accompanies the bride on her wedding night to ‘teach her how it’s done’. Love your relatives now, don’t ya?
(Photo: The Indian Express)
Potty problems:
In Indonesia, the bride and groom are barred from using toilets 3 days following the wedding. They believe this will ensure healthy babies. Whaaat?
(Photo: The Indian Express)
Where’s the bride?
The land of Kazakhstan takes the phrase picking up chicks a little too literally. Young men kidnap women they want to marry (usually by force; rarely by consent) and the woman is declared as his wife after 2-3 days. This practice is shunned by modern day feminists in Kazakhstan as they call it ‘patriarchal’ and ‘ancient’.
(Photo: The Indian Express)
Beat em up
Grooms in South Korea are tied and beaten up with sticks to prove their strength, character and masculinity. What?
(Photo: The Indian Express)
Trees are bae
In India, manglik women are supposedly cursed and have to marry a tree before they can get married to a guy. This ensures that the cursed manglik girl isn’t the cause of his early death. On the other hand, trees would be perfect husbands, right?
(Photo: The Indian Express)
Drinking from the toilet
The French really have a taste for the finer things in life, don’t they? Tradition dictates that newlyweds in France have to drink leftovers from their wedding out of a toilet bowl. This is done to give them strength before the wedding night.
(Photo: Wikipedia)
Chicken dancing all night
Tribals in Papua New Guinea paint their bodies and stick feathers to impress the women before marriage. They literally copy the mating rituals of male birds to show their loyalty and strength.
(Photo: Wikipedia)
Graveside weddings
Russians are pretty badass when it comes to weddings too: though it’s not a hard and fast rule, many Russian couples choose to be married by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.
(Photo: Wikipedia)
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