text HADER GLANG
The 28-year-old groom Muamar Salamaddin
Tulawie, and the 23-year-old bride Nurwiza
Indanan Sahidulla, in a modernized Tausug
wedding ensemble. The bride is wearing a
24 karat golden veil.
Apart from an opulent Christian heritage, the Philippines has an equally rich Muslim culture, perhaps no more pronounced than in the Tausog wedding.
In 1997, when Muamar salamaddin Tulawie, son of a war lord of Sulu province, married Nurwiza Indanan Sahidulla, daughter of an equally prominent family in the southern archipelago that is home to a quarter of a million Tausog, the engagement period and wedding ceremony lasted for days, ending with a lavish celebration higlighted by native music and dance, a feast and a parade.
Muamar is a son of former Jolo police chief Pershing Muhala Tulawie, whose father was the first governor of Sulu. Nurwiza is a daughter of former Tongkil town mayor Abdul Wahi Omar Sahidulla and Nur-ana Indanan Sahidulla, the incumbent vice governor of Sulu.
Prior to the “wedding of the year”, the Sahidulla family asked the Tulawie P500,000 for the dowry, P100,000 for the clothes of the bride and the groom, 15 sacks of rice, seven cows, seven big platters of traditional delicacies, dozens of cartons of cigarettes, and the services of professional Tausug Muslim singers and organists for the feast.
The Tulawie-Sahidulla union is a classic example of the Tausug pre-arranged marriage (pagpangasawa), the other types being marriage by abduction (pagsaggau), and elopement (pagdakup).
When the elder Tulawie decided to ask for the hand of Sahidulla’s daughter for his son, he and several kin brought with them fine gold worth P30,000 to signify Muamar’s honorable intentions for Nurwiza. Later, agreeing to the union, Nurwiza’s parents informed the village headman who relayed the joyful news to Muamar’s parents. The headman then presided over negotiations for the dowry or ungsud, which literally means “that which is given in payment” and included money, clothes and jewelry.
On the eve of the affair and in accordance with Islamic tradition, Muamar and his trusted men delivered the entire bride wealth. This was done to the beat of native percussion instruments such as gongs, “kulintang” and “gabbang”. Everyone in the village, young and old alike, was invited.
Preparations for the marriage began very early the next morning in both houses. Kinsmen, friends, and guests of the couple gathered to slaughter the cows and roast or cook them. The menu also included beef black soup, curried chicken, rice, vegetables, fish, noodles, sweets, fruits, and coffee. The musicians performed as guests talked, ate, and laughed. Visitors included not only the immediate kinsmen and neighbors of the couple but also political and military allies.
In 1997, when Muamar salamaddin Tulawie, son of a war lord of Sulu province, married Nurwiza Indanan Sahidulla, daughter of an equally prominent family in the southern archipelago that is home to a quarter of a million Tausog, the engagement period and wedding ceremony lasted for days, ending with a lavish celebration higlighted by native music and dance, a feast and a parade.
Muamar is a son of former Jolo police chief Pershing Muhala Tulawie, whose father was the first governor of Sulu. Nurwiza is a daughter of former Tongkil town mayor Abdul Wahi Omar Sahidulla and Nur-ana Indanan Sahidulla, the incumbent vice governor of Sulu.
Prior to the “wedding of the year”, the Sahidulla family asked the Tulawie P500,000 for the dowry, P100,000 for the clothes of the bride and the groom, 15 sacks of rice, seven cows, seven big platters of traditional delicacies, dozens of cartons of cigarettes, and the services of professional Tausug Muslim singers and organists for the feast.
The Tulawie-Sahidulla union is a classic example of the Tausug pre-arranged marriage (pagpangasawa), the other types being marriage by abduction (pagsaggau), and elopement (pagdakup).
When the elder Tulawie decided to ask for the hand of Sahidulla’s daughter for his son, he and several kin brought with them fine gold worth P30,000 to signify Muamar’s honorable intentions for Nurwiza. Later, agreeing to the union, Nurwiza’s parents informed the village headman who relayed the joyful news to Muamar’s parents. The headman then presided over negotiations for the dowry or ungsud, which literally means “that which is given in payment” and included money, clothes and jewelry.
On the eve of the affair and in accordance with Islamic tradition, Muamar and his trusted men delivered the entire bride wealth. This was done to the beat of native percussion instruments such as gongs, “kulintang” and “gabbang”. Everyone in the village, young and old alike, was invited.
Preparations for the marriage began very early the next morning in both houses. Kinsmen, friends, and guests of the couple gathered to slaughter the cows and roast or cook them. The menu also included beef black soup, curried chicken, rice, vegetables, fish, noodles, sweets, fruits, and coffee. The musicians performed as guests talked, ate, and laughed. Visitors included not only the immediate kinsmen and neighbors of the couple but also political and military allies.
In the afternoon, amid raucous yelling, the groom was carried on the shoulders of friends and relatives to the house of the bride, the guests following in a large procession. The marriage ceremony, consisting of prayers and rituals in both Arabic and Tausug, took place afterwards. Nurwiza was secluded while the ritual was conducted between Muamar Tulawie and Abdul Wahi Omar Sahidulla. Marriage, according to Islamic custom, is a sacred contract between the young man and the girl’s father.
Following the ceremony, Muamar was led to Nurwiza, whom he touched on the forehead to formally seal the marriage. In the ensuing festivities, husband and wife sat together stone-faced as dictated by tradition. The warm glow on the faces of their rejoicing family, relatives and friends however told the bigger story – one of a celebration of love, and life itself.
Among Tausugs, the bride wealth has several constituent parts, which are often negotiated separately, and have different meanings:
Dalahan pagapusan (valuables for the offspring). Money of animal intended for use of the couple, which must not be slaughtered at the marriage feast. It will not be returned on divorce if children have been born.
Dalaham hus a tawid (valuables dropped in the ocean). Valuables intended for the girl’s father.
Basingan. Intended as an explicit payment for the transference of kinship rights to the male side (usba) preferably an antique gold or silver coin.
Sukawin baytal-mal (payment to the treasury). A payment to the legal officials and religious leaders who sanction the marriage. In the past, a part was delivered to the Sultan.
Specific demands for particular members of the girl’s kindred. In richer and less traditional families, this may involve modern times such as guns, radios, vehicles, appliances, television, etc.
Musicians and entertainers for the wedding. Sometimes, specific performers are requested.
Cost of the wedding feast: rice, animals for slaughter, cigarettes, candy, traditional delicacies, etc.
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