This is day 14 of 32. Throughout April, we will be posting daily. We invite you to learn about Chinese Muslims and pray with us for God’s glory to be made known among them. If you would like to read other posts in this series, you can find them here or download the prayer guide here.
Old men with grey beards and white hats hurry to find seats around tables filled with nuts, dried fruits and candy. The groom enters the room with his father and best man. The men rise to “dress the groom” by wrapping pieces of cloth around him until his arms are tightly bound. Then the groom enters a small room with his father, the bride’s father, his best man, the matchmaker and the imam. Chanting from the Qur’an, the imam leads the groom in reciting his wedding vows.
Sitting quietly in another small room off to the side, the bride waits, dressed, veiled and adorned. Her wedding ceremony is taking place without her.
Hours later, the groom returns to his family’s house and the bride is escorted back to her family’s house. The first day of the wedding is over.
As the sun rises, the groom’s female relatives scurry back and forth in the kitchen. Fish, mutton, breads, vegetables and soup, ready to be cooked and devoured. Around 9 a.m., friends, neighbors and relatives of the groom arrive, their hands piled high with gifts for the new couple. Tables are set in the rooms and courtyard and the guests sit down to eat. Six courses, each overflowing the table with food. The groom’s father makes his rounds encouraging the guests to “eat, eat!”
Crying and wailing, the bride walks backward from her home into the waiting car that will take her to the house of the groom’s family. Her oldest brother carries her into the wedding chamber where she stands and waits. All day, the bride faces the corner of the room as the family comes in to admire her. As evening falls, the bride is allowed to turn around, eat, and greet close female friends and family. Then they trickle back to their own houses and the bride waits for the groom to come. The groom’s brothers and friends escort him with loud laughter and bright firecrackers.
The bride and groom are left alone. The wedding celebration is over.
Prayer Request:
- Pray that as Chinese Muslims come to believe in Jesus, God will provide them with believing spouses who are also either Hui, Salar or Dongxiang. Pray that they will be able to have a traditional ethnic wedding (though with minor changes).
Did You Know? Beginning in 1368 in the Ming dynasty, the word Hui (“Hway”) meant Muslim, so every Muslim in China was Hui. For example, the Salar were called Sala Hui. Many Salar or Dongxiang may say they are Hui, assuming a foreigner would never have heard of their people group.