Feb 22, 2008

Brunei Malay Wedding Traditions

To go with our flair for the international, I am spotlighting an article I found on Bruneiforever.com. It has some wonderful pictures that I hope you avail yourselves of.

Brunei Malay Weddings consist of several events that usually performed in a week or two timeframe. There are also pre-wedding customs that we all had to go through. Below are steps that usually performed for a couple. These steps are that I know of from experience, please correct me if I am wrong or I miss some points here and there

Pre-wedding

  • Berjarum-jarum. This is where the parents first meet each other and the guy's parents will asked whether the girl is still available for their son. Then they will decide when they will send proper entourage for official engagement between the twos.
  • Bertunang. Groom side will send 2 rings. One is for what we call "pembuka mulut" and the other is the official engagement ring. Parents also discussed on the upcoming wedding. When will be the wedding be held. Also discussed are the "hantaran" (lists of requests) by the groom's side. These requests are not requested by the groom by herself but mostly decided by her parents.
  • Megantar Berian. There are no time frame on how long the engagement period should be. Some people prefer it short. I have seen as short as 2-4 weeks and as long as 5 years. So, after the "Bertunang", its time to get serious. Megantar Berian simply means delivering gifts. These includes all the requests that were stated during the Bertunang discussion earlier between the parents. Mengantar Berian itself is an article long. Perhaps I will cover it up in the near future.
More Wedding Traditions

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