Wedding Brawl
The bride was short-shrift in her lady defenders, so she resorted to fending off her mother-in-law with a broken chair leg. As was the custom, the groom waited for the battle to finish before crossing the borders and finally kissing his wife. His mother lay on the ground between them, thoroughly unconscious.Of all the traditions of Deorma, the Blar Posaidh, or Wedding Brawl, is by far the most charming. It celebrates a number of the things they culturally hold as virtues, such as chivalry, good fences, and violence.
The Ceremony
Deormic weddings are meant to be held on a boundary. It doesn’t matter whose boundary, just that the ceremony can be split into two halves with a semi-legally binding divide in between. The two sides are divided. It doesn’t matter whether they know the bride or groom better. They just have to be split down the middle, and there has to be a wall between them. The ceremony begins as a typical wedding ceremony. There are some couples who imitate the elegant dignity of a Maraphel wedding, while others the arcane mysticism of Ankhenstrom , and every range in between. The wedding garb can be traditional Deormic clothing, but again, any range of garb can be seen. At the end of the ceremony, where the officiant usually pronounces them married, the newly wedded couple are instead directed to individually go down their side of the screen. This is when they do battle. Anyone who might have objections, anyone who dislikes the bride or groom, anyone who simply wants to get in a fight, all will fight against the newly wedded and their chosen companions. It is up to the individual guest as to whether they wish to fight for or against the married couple. If the bride and/or groom do not both reach the end of the screen, they are not considered to be properly married. They are welcome to try again in a year or so. If they do reach the end, they kiss, and the officiant sounds off on the traditional horn. The marriage is complete, and the happy couple is free to go to their reception.Components and tools
The central wall can be almost as varied as the rest of the ceremony, but in most cases it's a traditional item passed down through families for generations. Some families take the time to carefully craft the wall that they use, making a screen out of wood or even carved stone. Some will make a tapestry stretched in a frame, with the understanding that no one would be so uncouth as to go through the wall during the Brawl.
The only set quality of the wall is that it must be taller than the guests at standing height, and it must be extendable to the back of the venue, whatever that may be.
Participants
Typically, when choosing the bridal party, the bride and groom consider those who might best defend them. While the melee will be chaos, anyone might fight the happy spouses, and anyone might help them, but their chosen companions are meant to remain staunch in the face of battle.
It is frequent that in-laws deliberately choose to fight their future son- or daughter-in-law. Sometimes this is because they wish to test their battle skills. Other times it's because they really want to stop the wedding and this is a legal way to do it.
My Gods, it's absolute anarchy- I love it! This tradition sounds like absolute chaos in the best way possible. The idea of having to fight off all your in-laws before you can be married is absolutely hilarious. Awesome article!
Thanks! I had fun writing it.