Feudal Realm of Sgili

Matrimony is one of the most important occasions in the Sgili tradition - an event in which all are invited, no expenses are spared, and much feasting and merrymaking takes place. It is held in glory and distinction, for it is the most conspicuous of all occasions and is celebrated in the presence of a fairly large assembly.

The Three Letters and Six Etiquettes are an important part of the culture and protocol of the Sgili matrimony, and while variations have been passed down from Ancestral Years, the basic principles rigidly adhered to the more traditional of marriages.




There are three letters that must be written. These are documents that will be formal markers of the marriage that is to take place. Without these letters, the marriage will not adhere to the traditions and customs that have been laid out since before the Sgili Empire.

The Betrothal Letter is the first of the correspondences, an essential marker of the engagement between the two parties/families. It is a formal and technical document which establishes the intent of the couple to marry and sets out the vows and undertakings of both parties to the Aroosi.

The Gift Letter is sent to the families of each party. It outlines the specific type and nature of the gifts that the couple are requesting for their wedding day once the marriage has been officially accepted. This is to address the tradition of buying gifts and to ensure that the gifts bought for the day are appropriate.

The Wedding Letter is drafted after the previous two letters have been produced. This is the formal letter that is presented to the bride’s parents on the day of Aroosi, and marks the official welcome of the bride by the groom into his family circle. This also marks the completion of the letters phase of the Aroosi custom.




Proposal

In traditional Aroosi, marriage is negotiated by the parents of the bride and groom. This is the first step in the process. After an unmarried boy’s parents find a potential daughter-in-law, they would locate a matchmaker** whose job is to assuage the conflicts of interest and general embarrassments when discussing the possibility of marriage on the part of two families largely unknown to each other. At this stage, the parents can refuse the marriage, in which the process can come to a halt, or they can accept the proposal with no objections.

**Matchmaking is a process of making matches of unmarried men and women by a matchmaker or a marriage introducer.

Birthday Conciliation

If the proposal was accepted, an astrologer is called in to match up the birthdays of the bride and groom astrologically. It is designed to see if there are any conflicts between the birthdates of the bride and groom. At this stage, the marriage can and will go no further if the dates of birth will clash with the stars, or if there is some other astrological reason that points towards disruption and disharmony in the relationship. However, assuming that the dates are compatible,the marriage will Progress further into the next steps.

Bridewealth (Betrothal Gifts)

If birthday conciliation is successful, betrothal gifts are presented and exchanged. The matchmaker will exchange gifts between the groom and bride’s family, along with the betrothal letter to the bride’s family as a formal register of the intention to marry. At this point, the bride’s family can still refuse the marriage and halt the process, and there is no guarantee that the marriage will go beyond this stage of the process.

Wedding Gifts

When the betrothal gifts and the betrothal letter have been accepted on the bride’s side, the next step is to send wedding gifts. The groom's family would usually send an elaborate array of food, cakes, and religious items to the bride's family, in recognition of the forthcoming wedding.

Arranging the Wedding - Choosing a Date

The is a strong belief in the Sgili Empire that astrology and fortune are intertwined that even the date of the wedding is subject to astrological approval. Like the birthday conciliation process, the date of the wedding must be compatible for the couples, and is chosen for its ability to give good fortune rather than any more practical basis.

Aghd (Wedding Ceremony)

When the three letters and six etiquettes process is all but completed, the final step of the wedding ceremony itself takes place. There are countless customs governing how the ceremony takes place and how it should look – from the clothes worn by the bride and groom through to the running order of the day. Traditions include musical Accompaniment for the bridegroom towards the bride’s home, which signals to the public that a wedding is about to take place and celebrates with joyous melody the forthcoming marriage.



Wedding Procession

The wedding procession from the bride's home to the groom's home consists of a traditional band, the bride's sedan, the maids of honor's sedans (if there are maids of honor), and bride's dowry in the forms other than money.

Welcoming the Bride

The wedding procession of the bride's family stops at the door of the groom's home. There are ceremonies to be followed to welcome the bride and her wedding procession into the groom's home, which varies from locale to locale.

The Ceremony

Exchanging vows, the couple would pay respect to the Sgili Emperor, the patron family deities, paying respect to deceased ancestors, the bride and groom's parents and other elders, and finally paying respect to each other.

Wedding Banquets

In Sgili society the wedding banquet is sometimes far more important that the actual wedding itself. Wedding banquets are elaborate and consists of 5 to 10 courses that are chosen by the mothers of the groom and bride. Each dish is meticulously chosen to symbolize fertility, and local delicacies. Traditionally, the father of the bride is responsible for the wedding banquet hosted on the bride's side and the alcohol consumed during both banquets. The wedding banquets are two separate banquets: the primary banquet is hosted once at the bride's side, the second banquet (smaller banquet) at the groom's side. While the wedding itself is often based on the couple's choices, the wedding banquets are a gesture of thanks and appreciation, to those that have raised the bride and groom (such as grandparents and uncles). It is also to ensure the relatives on each side meet the relatives on the other side. Thus out of respect for the elders, wedding banquets are usually done formally and traditionally, which the older generation is thought to be more comfortable with.

From the wedding ceremony to the wedding banquet, the bride is to wear a veil that will only be removed once the couple is inside the privacy of their nuptial chambers.