Welsh Wedding Traditions Curious wedding customs still prevail in Wales, especially in the western counties. Marriage by capture, even in the near past, is particularly popular in Cardiganshire. On the morning of the wedding day, the bridegroom and his friends proceed to the brides home. They find the door locked, and the relatives and friends of the bride prepared to resist the bridegrooms entry. Considerable scuffling, merriment, and horseplay occurs, until order is restored by a spokesman from each side, who, in old times held an animated dialogue, chiefly in verse. The bridegroom is then admitted, but although he searches, he cannot find the bride who is disguised. The bride is eventually discovered disguised, either as an aged woman knitting in a corner or as an old crone nursing a baby boy (regarded as a symbol of good luck, and promise of sons rather than daughters). The wedding party goes to church or chapel, as the case may be. As soon as the bride reaches the church, she is seized by her father and brother or other relatives, who ride or drive off with her. A chase ensues, and when the bridegroom catches the party, the bride is delivered into his keeping. They return to the church, and the wedding ceremony proceeds in the usual manner. In the old marriage customs of Wales, there were the Bidding or invitation to the wedding; the Gwahoddwr, or Bidder, whose duty it was formally to invite the guests; the Ystafell, or brides goods and presents; the Pwrs a Gwregys, or purse and girdle; the Pwython, and the Neithior. The bidding is a general invitation to all the friends of the bride and bridegroom, to meet either at the houses of the parents, or any other place appointed. If strangers chance to be in the neighborhood and wish to attend, they are warmly welcomed. At the Bidding, a voluntary contribution, no matter how large or small a sum, is expected from each guest, in order to make up a purse for the young couple. It was the duty of the Gwahoddwr to go from house to house to invite the guests to the Bidding. He carried as the staff of office, a willow wand stripped of its bark. The wand and his hat were gaily decorated with bright colored ribbons, and a lovers knot, or white favor, was fastened in the button-hole of his coat. The Gwahoddwr knocked at the door of each guest, and, once admitted, he would strike the floor with his staff, and announce the date of the wedding. Sometimes, the invitation was made in rhyme, but more frequently in prose. As a rule, the Gwahoddwr was a boisterous fellow or bard, who prepared a rhyme for the occasion. In the present day, the services of the Gwahoddwr are generally replaced by a written note or circular that is sent out to the wedding list. This is to be regretted, since it robs the marriage custom of its ancient character. The Gwahoddwrs circuit was one of the most pleasing and enjoyable features of the rural Welsh wedding of the past. On the Friday before the wedding, the Ystafell, or household goods, were brought home. This included one or two feather beds and blankets, and an oaken chest, probably an heirloom in the family of the bride. Then, according to custom, the bridegroom sent bedsteads, tables, and a dresser. Whatever was necessary for house-keeping came in, some of the goods being supplied by the parents of the young people, and others by relatives and friends. Meanwhile, the young man was busy at his home receiving money, cheese, bacon, and other things from his friends. These gifts sometimes included a cow, a horse, a pig, geese, ducks, and other gifts of a similar nature if he intended farming. At the same time, the bride in her home received the Pwrs a Gwregys, or purse and girdle. These presents included money, and all articles necessary for a housekeeper. On the wedding morning the invited guests paid their Pwython, or presents for those which they had received at different weddings. Thus, the future bride or bridegroom had perhaps attended five or six weddings before their own marriage and to each young couple they had given presents. Now, they required and expected those young married folk to bring a gift in return. After depositing their Pwython, refreshment was offered, and then ten or twelve of the bridegrooms friends mounted their horses or rigs, and went to demand the bride, in whose home the Gwahoddwr was located. When the bridegrooms procession halted at the house of the brides parents, one of the party, generally a harpist or bard, delivered lines appropriate to the occasion, and these were responded to by the Gwahoddwr, who remained within. Search was made either then or in the evening, after the wedding festivities, for the bride, who ultimately was discovered under the disguise of a granny. After that, refreshments, consisting of bread and cheese and beer for the men, and cakes and wine for the women, were served. At first, the wedding procession went at a moderate pace, but slowly the bride and her escorts went quicker, until, at length, they either rode at a gallop or rode off as swiftly as possible. Then the fun really began. The bridegroom and his party pursued the bride and her friends, and everybody did their utmost to chase and catch the bride, because whoever caught her would be married for certain within a year from that date. When the mirth subsided, the wedding party would quietly entered the church. Once the knot was tied, the harpist seated in the churchyard, struck up a melody appropriate to the occasion. It would be Merch Megan, Men tra Gwen, or any other charming song, the words of which were sung by the assembled spectators. The bride and bridegroom mounted their horse, or walking, led the way to the house of the brides parents. In their progress, they were chained by ropes of evergreens, and the boys and men would not allow them to pass without paying their footing or toll. In the present times, rice is thrown at the happy pair, but this is a modern innovation, for in the old days, they were pelted with flowers. The invited guests assembled at the brides home, where a substantial dinner was served, after which the bride and her girl friends entered the parlor, and the bridegroom and his companions headed to the village inn until tea-time. Dancing filled the evening, when reels, country dances, and jigs were indulged in up to a late hour. For perhaps a second time, the bride is hidden from the bridegroom who must seek for his wife everywhere. After a few songs with harp accompaniment, the wedding party would depart, and the bride and bridegroom quietly proceeded to their new home. On the Neithior, or first Sunday after the wedding, the newly married pair always stayed at home to receive their friends, and thus conclude the marriage customs.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 15:34:12 +0000
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