Sanjuta

When a born-and-raised American thinks of a wedding, our mind will automatically think of big white dresses, bridesmaids and groomsmen, churches, and elaborately-decorated reception halls with too much food, too much imbibing, and very often, families that do not mingle so well. This is not an indicative view of marriage customs found around the world, especially throughout the ages, and definitely not in parts of the world other than ours, namely undeveloped countries. Evidence of this can be found in literature.

One such example can be found in the West African Epic entitled Sanjuta, a story of the Mande Peoples. The first chapter, "The Search for a Wife of Destiny," foretells the subject of the chapter-- the King, Maghan Konfara, is searching for his bride. Maghan Konfara was a king who seemingly had it all-- wealth, power, and popularity (1518). Unfortunately, what he wanted more than anything else was a child. For this to happen, he needed to find a bride.

Amidst this, he hears that a nearby village is suffering at the hands of a woman (Do Kamissa) who has transformed herself into a buffalo. An award for her death had been offered-- three girls that the victor may choose from to be his own (1519). Maghan believed that it was a suitable way to find a wife. However, when Maghan is set to kill Do Kamissa, she instructs him to not choose from the girls given as reward, but instead marry her sister, Sogolon, insisting that his reward would be great, despite her renowned "ugliness" (1525). 

Because she had several issues barring her from easy mobility, she is unable to make her grand bridal entrance. The women of Maghan's village pick her up, instead, singing a motivational song to ease her discomfort: "Walk well,/Bride of my brother,/Walk well./Do not put us in the dust." (1536). The song, though seemingly sort of self-serving in nature, was meant to dispel the uncomfortable notion of having to be carried by strange women to Sogolon's own wedding, also showing her that she is not just marrying Maghan, but essentially marrying the whole village. This is stated to be the first ever occurrence of the bride-carrying custom and song practiced by the Mande People.

In searching for more interesting wedding ceremonies and customs from around the world that are also still practiced at present, the one that I found most intriguing is the "blackening of the bride" ceremony in Scotland. The bridegroom is also a target here, and it is not practiced in every part of Scotland, though it used to be a wide-spread ritual employed to rid the couple of evil spirits that might destroy their marriage (Emerson). 

The bride, groom, or both, would either be "kidnapped" and coated in a mixture of soot, flour, feathers, and other odd items. In earlier times, they would then be tied to a lamp post or tossed into a shallow part of the sea for all to see, very likely inhibited from struggling through intense inebriation. This, of course, is unheard of in a modern USA-style wedding, where our biggest "before the wedding" custom is the bachelor/bachelorette party. Talk about culture!  


Emerson, Stephen. "Scottish Word of the Week: Blackening." The Scotsman: Scotland's National Newspaper. Johnston Publishing Ltd., 27 Mar. 2014. Web. <http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/people-places/scottish-word-of-the-week-blackening-1-3356224>.

Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande People. C. 13^th – 14^th c. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Martin Puchner, et al. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2013. 1517-1596. Print.