Jordanians, visitors treated to array of Asian wedding ceremonies in one night

AMMAN — Jordanians and visitors from several countries had a chance on Saturday to attend an array of Asian wedding ceremonies and learn about their unique features, songs and traditions during a fund-raising event.

The "performers", including students, members of the diplomatic corps of Asian countries and their ambassadors' wives, presented enactments of bridal festivities that won the audience's admiration.

India’s Ambassador to Jordan Radha Ranjan Dash and Malaysia’s Ambassador to Jordan Dato Abdul Malek Bin Abdul Aziz took part in the event, along with company managers and employees who played the role of grooms or best men in Asian Splendour 2014: Nuptials and Customs, held at Al Hussein Cultural Centre and organised by the Asian Ambassadors' Ladies in Amman (AALIA).

Celebrating romance, Malaysia's ambassador sang an oldie, “The Love Boat”, at the end of his country’s wedding ceremony.

The event's youngest groom, a 14-year-old Malaysian student, said his family urged him to participate, but he also had fun.

“It is for fun and charity at the same time,” Mohammad Farhan said.

The bridal enactments drew cheers, whistles, screams and applause from the audience, several of whom tried to capture video footage with their smartphones.

The Indian wedding featured one groom and six brides from six of the country's 28 states, showcasing their traditional costumes and beautifully crafted jewellery, leaving the groom bewildered and unable to make up his mind. 

“Everything is so strange in an Indian wedding,” the groom, an embassy employee named Vimarsh Aryan, told The Jordan Times.

“An Indian wedding is the longest. It lasts for four days or more because there are different ceremonies and rituals which take place at auspicious moments when the gods will bless you, and the main ceremony lasts almost all night,” he said.

“In a Hindu wedding, the bride and the groom walk around the fire seven times during which they pledge to remain husband and wife for the next seven lives,” Aryan explained, noting that each state has particular unique traditions.

“We have our own colours and costumes,” one of the Indian brides noted. India’s ambassador and his wife, Rita Dash exchanged floral garlands on stage, announcing the start of the Indian wedding, which concluded with a Bollywood dance that prompted other girls to get off their seats and join in, with the performance welcomed by several rounds of applause.

Other wedding performances were joyful, especially the Pakistani one.

“Happiness” is the main feature of a Pakistani wedding, according to Arooha Majed, daughter of the defence attaché at the embassy of Pakistan. 

“Everybody is happy, everyone enjoys themselves,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan wedding reflected respect and strong family ties.

The bride and the groom kneel down and pay respect to their in-laws and other elderly relatives during the nuptials, according to Mahendra Adkari, a Sri Lankan company manager working in Amman, who acted as the groom.

Afterwards, the bride’s mother invites everyone for lunch and the groom carries at least seven boxes of sweets to the bride’s house, Adkari told The Jordan Times.

Sporting a short-sleeved, golden beaded blazer, he said the traditional costume dates back to around 1815, but nowadays some grooms may choose to wear modern clothes while the bride’s jewellery should consist of seven pendants.

“In the past everything was gold; they would be gifts from the parents, uncles and relatives,” Indrani Rajapakse, the wife of Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Jordan and AALIA secretary, pointed out.

Bangladeshi, Indonesian, Philippine and Bruneian weddings were also enacted during Saturday's three-hour event.

Organising activities since 2004, AALIA is a group of volunteers composed of the spouses of ambassadors of Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand. 

It also includes among its members women ambassadors who are themselves accredited to Jordan, such as Philippine Ambassador Olivia V. Palala.

The proceeds of the fundraiser will go to charity organisations in Jordan and other countries that might have experienced natural disasters such as floods or tsunamis, according to Datin Jamilah Talib, the wife of the Malaysian ambassador.