The Hawiye are the most prominent clan in Somali. Members of this ethnic group traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, and Ethiopia (Somali, Harar, Oromia and regions stretching to the North Eastern Province in Kenya.
They are also the majority in the capital city, Mogadishu. Like many Somalis, the Hawiye clan trace their ancestry to Irir Samaale, speaking the Somali language.
Hawiye Marriage Custom
Marriage is a highly valued and fundamental culture of the Hawiye. The roles of every member of society as regards marriage are clear. Marriages in the Hawiye culture are often arranged and occur at age 15 or 18.
In the Hawiye culture, a woman not married by age 16 is often considered flawed and harbingers lousy luck for her family.
The elders are the ones who ask for the hand of the bride during the Nikah, marriage contract, or sometimes in a preliminary meeting, dadabgal, for negotiation between the intermarrying families.
Among the Hawiye, the general manager of a wedding ceremony is usually the work of the bride’s family. It takes weeks or even months of painstaking labour to fine-tune the different aspects of an event.
The bridegroom’s family is generally confined to the financing aspects of the new family wedding.
Yarad (Bride Price)
Before the conclusion of the nikaah (marriage agreement), the families negotiate the bride price known as ‘Yarad’, which is the central subject of Hawiye marriage tradition. The groom’s family pays the yarad to the bride’s family.
The bride price is usually determined by criteria such as the the family’s economic situation, age, beauty and reputation – in both Islamic and Somali contexts. The price ranged from three to forty camels.
A bride price of three camels was undoubtedly a sign of people from low social strata. The bride price can also be paid in cash or jewellery.
The bride’s family also gives gifts to the groom’s family. In the countryside, among both nomads and farmers, the bride’s family will ensure that the couple gets housing and necessary household equipment.
Dowry (Meher)
In addition to the bride price paid to the bride’s family, the woman has the right to claim a dowry (meher) from the spouse according to Islamic tenets. The dowry is determined in the marriage contract and is a precondition for a valid marriage.
According to sharia, the woman will be given the dowry in connection with the nikaah, and the dowry will remain her personal property, which she has complete control over. Among the Hawiye, it is common for the meher to be paid only upon divorce or the husband’s death.
Only then is it believed that the woman is entitled to the meher. The cash amounts of Meher may vary and sometimes can be given as gold jewellery, a Koran, camels or cattle.
Wedding Ceremony: Hawaii traditional wedding
The women elders are usually with the more significant part of the wedding celebration among the Hawiye clan, particularly getting the bride ready for the ceremony. The bride’s makeup and dress also fall on their shoulders.
Traditionally, the bride was washed in a basin full of a watery fluid of dates and other scents mixed with water to make her skin shine. But modern-day makeup needs her to be taken to a beauty salon for a hairdo and hand and leg henna.
They’re also tasked with making sure the couple has a comfortable home, at least for the first few weeks or the honeymoon as it is called in the modern world. So they acquire and set the home furniture and decorate the house.
Hawiye wedding is an elaborate event that often lasts for a few days. Most wedding celebration last for seven days, the first day is for the wedding and the next three days called “Sadexda” (means third) are for dancing and celebrating in the bride’s house.
The last three days are dancing and celebrating in the grooms’ house called “Toddobada” (the seventh). These nights, women and men do not celebrate together; the celebrations start in the afternoon and go on till midnight.
Conclusion
After a successful wedding, the episode is ended with a farewell session called shaashsaar, which is strictly for women. This is the equivalent of being inducted into motherhood.
All the women who visit her during the shaashsaar must come along with a presentation, including a headscarf for the bride. Some bring dozens to be distributed among all the visitors.
Following the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom must stay indoors for the first seven days and enjoy an intimate couple’s life. Any venture outside is frowned upon and may connote that there is something wrong with the lady.
The groom’s family is obsessed with the bride’s virginity, and they are waiting for a signal from their son. An early exit of the groom is sometimes used to indicate there is some complaint on his part.
