National costume for a wedding ceremony is an important and significant component of the material and spiritual culture of the Tatar people. The outfit must be modest, richly decorated, colorful, bright, feminine, elegant - this is a real cultural value. Of course, we are talking about the national wedding dress. Are there any differences between it and the modern variation of the wedding dress? It's worth looking into!
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Previously, according to the peculiarities of the Tatar wedding, it was customary for the parents to present the future bride with fabric for sewing a wedding attire. Or the girl chose the piece of linen she liked from the groom’s wedding gifts, presented a week before the celebration.
The Koran teaches to have only the most necessary things, avoiding excesses, so festive clothes became those that were worn later in everyday life. It could be:
- tunic (sometimes complete with pants);
- loose fit dress;
- traditional national costume, suitable for any occasion - shirt, bib and trousers.
A little later, camisoles and beshmets came into fashion. This is outerwear: a camisole is a fitted short vest, a beshmet is a long coat tapered at the back. It was customary to decorate them with fur, gold embroidery, and silver clasps that replaced standard buttons. The color scheme of festive dresses did not differ in variety; Tatar wedding dresses could be of three colors:
- emerald;
- burgundy;
- bright blue.
In modern Tatarstan, the bride has the right to independently choose the color and style of her wedding dress, as well as the fabric for it.
Wedding preparations
The Muslim wedding ceremony begins long before the official registration. On average, it takes about 2 months to prepare for the procession.
The preparation itself is divided into several stages:
- Bride.
- Story about the groom.
- Discussion of the parties.
With the permission of the mula, the two parties begin to agree on viewings and further events. What is noteworthy is that the bride and groom themselves do not participate in the preparations. Their task is to show their best side, demonstrating their positive qualities.
Matchmakers come to the bride and groom's viewing party. These are relatives who are appointed by parents. Mom and dad are present only at the last stage, having agreed with the matchmakers’ arguments.
During negotiations, close people need to decide where their children will live, what the groom’s financial income is, and whether the bride has a dowry. Only in case of a positive decision, the newlyweds are informed about where and when their wedding will take place.
Immediately before the wedding itself, an engagement party takes place in the bride's house. On it, parents of both parties exchange gifts with each other and agree on where and how the holiday celebration itself will take place.
In the event that the bride and groom have known each other for a long time, mom and dad agree to their union, having matched them since childhood, it is possible to carry out both the conspiracy and the engagement on the same day, eliminating the stage with bridesmaids and matchmakers.
Peculiarities
Traditional Tatar wedding attire must be chaste, covering the entire body of the newlywed: neck, décolleté, arms, legs. Only the hands and face were allowed to be left open to the eyes of the guests.
Tatar costumes are characterized by bright colors, the presence of velvet and patterns, mostly gold. Main features and details of the national wedding dress:
- A floor-length skirt is the main and important element of the image. It is richly embroidered with gold threads, from which the most beautiful Tatar ornaments are “drawn”.
- Stand-up collar covering the décolleté area.
- Long, opaque sleeves – they can be flared or straight.
- Camisole (long or short), repeating the color tone of the dress.
- A fez is a headdress borrowed from the Turks at the beginning of the 20th century, or a kalfak is a national wedding cap.
- Colorful shoes: colored ballet shoes made of genuine leather or pointed-toed Tatar shoes, embroidered with golden patterns. Light openwork boots were also worn.
- Beautiful ringing coins, which the Tatars call solps. They became a mandatory addition to the image of the newlywed. In general, the abundance of expensive jewelry - large earrings, numerous bracelets and other jewelry - testified to the status of the bride in society and the wealth of her groom. Only all this “beauty” had to fit harmoniously into the overall image and festive attire.
At modern Tatar weddings, wedding dresses stylized from European manners are increasingly common, but the special flavor of the national costume is still preserved in them. The traditional headdress is worn less and less, instead they use a hijab, or simply a fluffy veil, emphasizing the beauty of the hairstyle. For footwear, brides prefer low-heeled shoes.
Musical arrangement and competitions
Tatar wedding competitions - or how to cheer up guests? In this matter, Tatars can retreat and rely on the tastes and preferences of the bride and groom. Both modern Russian performers and national Tatar musicians are in fashion.
The ideal option would be to take into account the tastes of all invited guests. For the older generation, you can call a national group that will perform ancient Tatar songs in their native language. In this way, the bride and groom will show respect to their relatives.
For young guests and friends, you can already call a DJ who will play modern dance compositions and a professional toastmaster to hold competitions in the Tatar style.
Styles
The current modernized outfits are somewhat different from the folk ones. Traditional white dresses are predominantly used, which can be complemented with contrasting details made in the three main national colors. Light shades of wedding clothing are also welcome: mint, soft blue, pinkish.
Moral prohibitions have become a little more tolerant of styles - a girl can afford to choose an outfit with open arms or a shallow neckline. The most popular model among Tatar fashionistas was an A-line wedding dress with a full skirt. This is a universal cut that looks elegant and stylish on any body type.
Tatar wedding salons also offer other styles of wedding dresses that are now in demand all over the world:
- princess ball gown;
- elevated and sophisticated Greek style with a waistline shifted towards the chest;
- graceful silhouettes like “mermaid” (“fish”);
- stylish straight models.
Event decoration
Fortunately for the Tatars, the decoration itself does not play a big role in the celebration itself. This question can be entrusted to the bride so that she can arrange everything to her liking. It is possible to use both national and European elements as decorations.
Wedding scripts in Tatar language.
Often the bride chooses balloons, garlands, and flowers. If you want to add national colors to the interior, then you can pay attention to dishes or tablecloths with embroidered patterns.
Decorators advise choosing based on several colors. For example, opt for bright red and mix it up with white or a muted gold shade.
Muslims are very fond of rich patterns and expensive fabrics. Therefore, it would be good to make the interior made in a noble or royal style.
Fabrics and decor
If previously the most popular material in the costumes of the Tatar peoples was velvet, supplemented by several meters of braiding made of gold threads, today the assortment has certainly expanded. Increasingly, synthetic fibers are being added to natural fabrics to make dresses more practical. Wedding dresses are usually made from satin, brocade, dupont, and jacquard. As throughout the world, the trend is the finest lace, emphasizing the femininity, tenderness and airiness of the wedding look.
Numerous modernized wedding dress design ideas mostly have European roots. Tatar embroidery is something that has remained unchanged in wedding dresses: colorful golden ornaments and floral motifs adorn the sleeves, hem of the skirt, veil or hijab. This distinctive feature gives the bride a special charm, femininity, royal uniqueness, and such decoration looks very expensive and sophisticated.
Tatar wedding and other customs
Every nation in the world has its own special wedding procedure. And almost everywhere you can find such a ritual as matchmaking.
Matchmaking
It all starts with the groom's proposal and the bride's viewing. If both parties agree, then before ransoming the bride, Tatar customs imply setting the size of the bride price, which is paid either on the wedding day or earlier. This can be not only money, but also dishes, gold jewelry, bed linen, and fur coats. After the bride price is appointed, the engagement must take place. It is carried out on the day of negotiations, if the newlyweds know each other well.
How do Tatar weddings take place?
Tatar weddings are a ceremony called Nikah. It is conducted by a mullah - a Muslim priest - in a mosque or at the bride's home. At the same time, besides the young people, only witnesses and the groom's father are present. After Nikah, the ceremony of illuminating the marriage bed is performed. Each guest touches the bed and places coins in the prepared saucer.
Wedding celebration – Tui
After all the traditions of the official part of the Tatar wedding have been observed, a feast begins for the whole world, to which a large number of guests are invited. The celebration takes place for four days in the newlywed's house, then she moves in with her husband. The moving process is of particular importance. In order for there to be a good relationship between the daughter-in-law and the groom's parents, upon arrival they place a fur coat or pillow under her feet, and also treat her with bread and honey. The rest of the relatives offer to dip the girl’s hands in flour for prosperity, then they give her animals as a gift. The party continues. A festive feast is not complete without baked goose. This same dish is also used to pamper guests at Old Russian weddings. They also serve gulbadia - a traditional closed pie with filling, which guests buy. At the end of the evening, according to Tatar traditions and customs, chak-chak, the national wedding cake, is brought out.
But all this happened before, but now the organization of Tatar weddings, as well as their holding, may look different. The groom's parents do not go to the bride's party, but simply meet the bride's parents. The newlyweds organize the engagement themselves and choose the wedding date. Parents discuss financial issues: who pays for what. The celebration is most often held in a restaurant. But what has remained unchanged is Nikah - it cannot be excluded from the Tatar wedding script. By the way, in its rituals, the Tatar wedding is very similar to the Kazakh wedding, read about this on our website.
Wedding traditions of the Tatar wedding
It is impossible to imagine a national wedding without customs. The older generation is trying to preserve and increase them.
In order to officially register a relationship, young people will have to wait several months. This is how long the long marriage procedure lasts. And this is the best case. There may be options in which the wedding itself is postponed for six months or a year (by mutual agreement of the parties).
The Tatar ceremony is strictly regulated ; the following events must take place:
- Matchmaking.
- Kalym.
- Nikah.
- Registration at the registry office.
- Tui.
- Wife moving into her husband's house.
Each stage has its own characteristics and rules that are observed by the people. It is their fulfillment that prescribes for the young family a long and happy life together.
Options for wedding scenarios
Tatar wedding, how to write a script in Tatar? Any national wedding necessarily includes the flavor of its people. These are customs and traditions that are respected and observed.
However, modernity dictates new rules and many Muslim weddings come with a small share of European customs and traditions. Ideally, both rituals should be taken into account.
In order, on the one hand, to please older people, believers, present at the wedding. On the other hand, relax to modern music with friends and young guests of the event.
