Right after son achieves 16 years, father and mother begin to think about his wedding. His future wife, by the rules, should be older than himself, and by the time of marriage she is already 20. Marriage between close relatives is supposed to be a sin (shchylah), only marriage between relatives in seven generations is permitted. From this is the expression “seven times stranger” (shchiche yut), that is used in wedding songs concerning bridegroom, who has no close relationship with bride. Early age of Chuvash fianc? is striking. I. Y. Yakovlev, inspector of Simbirsk Chuvash school, knowing Chuvash traditions very well, explained to me the meaning of this very widespread custom in the following way: when Chuvash father brings home a fianc?e for his son who is just a child, in fact he takes a younger wife for himself. Formerly this was a very widespread Chuvash custom, and it can occur even today.

The following case I have heard from a Chuvash priest. A father comes to him and says that his son marries.
- But your son is too young – says the priest to him, -- why do you take a wife for him?
- I take the wife not for my son, but for myself, -- answers the father.

However as I have heard, this custom was spread even among Russian people.

When a boy chooses one of girls and gets the father’s consent, they ask one of the relatives or the acquaintances to act as a matchmaker (yevche) and to be a mediator between the fathers of the boy and the girl (khata). Because two parties can’t meet each other till the agreement between them is achieved. Not only the father of the girl has the right to choose, she herself also can choose her future husband. When the matchmaker begins to ask in marriage, the girl herself can cut in. If she doesn’t like the future fianc? she begins to object and dispute against the matchmaker. And if she agrees to marry the boy, then she goes out the room right after the matchmaker enters it, so she expresses her consent.

And then the matchmaker, if the girl’s father has nothing against the boy, begins to speak about how much they ask for the girl, because the girl “is bought” and “is sold” (her ileshche – her parashche). Ransom for the fianc?e is khulan that consists of money, means for wedding, skins and textile for the wardrobe of the fianc?e. Namely 100 – 150 rubles, a pood (16.38 kg) of honey, a pound (409.512 g) of good tea, ten pounds of sugar, a bucket of vodka, ten sheep-skins for the fianc?e’s fur-coat, 400 small silver coins (nukhrat) to decorate the fianc?e’s head-dress and cloth for overcoat (khalatlah). The day of the wedding the fianc?’s relatives in addition to the ransom bring three or four buckets of beer and other food (kucheneshch).

However the fianc?e’s father doesn’t give her away empty-handed. Though only a number of dresses the fianc?e should have is stipulated by the deal, her father in addition to the clothes gives an individual of each kind of domestic animals. So, all that is received from the fianc? as the ransom is given back by animals and clothes. Animals are usually given in late autumn. So the dowry consists of a foal (tikha), a milch cow (savakan ene), four sheep (surakh), a goose (khur), a hen with chickens (chepele chakha), a feather bed (tyushek), four – five pillows (minter), three fur-coats (kerek), a sheep-coat (talap), a light chapan, two sukmans, ten – twelve shirts (kepe), the same number of trousers (yem) for the bridegroom’s parents, a huge number of wedding gift kerchiefs (parne tuttari), that are given to the guests by the bride, and, finally, three chests (boxes, archa).

Sometimes the matchmaking takes a long time, especially if the parties can’t come to agreement in separate points. In such a case the mediator goes between the fathers of the boy and the girl and informs one party about the decisions of the other one until the deal is made. When finally two parties come to the agreement one fixed day the fathers meet each other in the house of the mediator (yevche). They discuss the points of the deal once again and finally arrange it orally. Then the father of the fianc? binds a bargain of five rubles. They say, “he gives money instead of whip” (chaparkka vyranne ukshcha parsa khavarat), because formerly by the rules the father of the boy gave a whip as a bargain, but now he gives only money instead of it. So proposing the girl as a wife (kileshni) ends, both fathers, the mediator and their wives “wash off” the event with vodka at once.

At the same time they appoint the day of engagement (shchurashchma). Usually it is the 5th or the 7th day after the matchmaking. From the boy’s side only his father and mother, three relatives so that they are five in number come. The fianc? stays at home. They bring the sum of money agreed for the girl, about 100 – 150 rubles, in addition to it they bring cheese (chakat), small loaf (khapartu) and 1—2 bottles of vodka. The girl’s parents also gather relatives. The host, the girl’s father, cuts the loaf and cheese and gives a piece of both to each guest. However before eating and drinking everybody stand having bread and cheese in their right hands, open the door and both fathers offer up the prayer of engagement.

Then everybody bow. The fianc?’s father sit down on the best seat at table (kereke), the rest also sit and begin to eat and drink. The fianc?e’s father doesn’t sit with them but only bustles around the guests and entertains with them. Fianc?e doesn’t stay at home this day, she goes to the neighbours where her friends (her shchumesem) gather together and make up the hen-party.

When the matchmakers stop to eat, two women cooking soup (yashka peshchereken aram) go to the house next door and ask the fianc?e to bring some gifts for the guests. The fianc?e gives a shirt, trousers and two kerchiefs. This is the gift or parne. One of the women takes the gifts and put them into a soup cup (salma chashki) then brings them to the engagement party. The other woman carries a jug of beer and a ladle. First they come up to the fianc?’s father, so they drink the first ladle of beer for him, and the first woman gives him a shirt or trousers from the fianc?e’s gifts. Then the guests drink for everybody else, first of all for the fianc?’s relatives, only then for the fianc?e’s relatives. Gifts are given not in hands but they are put on the knees of each guest. For gifts everybody drop some coins into the beer ladle after drinking beer (25 kopecks for trousers, 50 kopecks for the shirt). Finally they give two embroidered kerchiefs (tuttar) to the fianc?’s father and mother but in fact to the fianc?. They give 50 kopecks for each of them. If the fianc? has died brothers or sisters the fianc?e gives half an arsheen of canvas for the died (villi valli), that is due to the fianc?’s grandmother. This costs only 1 –2 kopecks. The fianc?e leaves the money received for the gifts with herself.

Wedding is held the next day after shchimek. A week before it the fianc?’s father pays off his debts on bride-money, all that is necessary for the wedding, honey (pyl-chala), vodka, sugar, tea, and sheep-skins and linen for the fianc?e’s clothes. The fianc?e’s relatives also give agreed gift (parne), shirts and trousers for the fianc?’s father and mother. Right up to the day of wedding the fianc? can’t visit the fianc?e’s house. But because of some superstitions they try to do all to meet each other at another person’s house. The one that succeeds in finding his (her) significant other in another person’s house will be the head of the new family. If the girl lives in another village as a rule they doesn’t see each other till the day of wedding. The day before shchimek the fianc?’s and the fianc?e’s fathers send people to invite relatives to the wedding. It is customary, though not all who are invited come to the wedding. The messenger wearing the same clothes as the fianc? rides and entering each house of relatives tells welcoming speech:

The first day of shchimek invited guests (tuy kurakansem) gather together. The bridegroom’s relatives gather together in his house, and bride’s relatives – in her house.

When guests begin to come to the bride’s house, her friends make her go out the house to the klet (kelet), make her wear a beautiful white dress, cover her head with a bridal veil (perkenchek), so she shouldn’t take it off until the end of the wedding. While dressing the bride pronounces “girl’s weeping” (her yerri). She bids farewell to her parents, to the loved person through short songs.

After the bride her friends sing. But they sing other derisive songs in respect of the bridegroom.

The bridemaids bring dressed bride to her house and make her sit in tepele, opposite the stove, on the seat specially intended for women. She sits on a pillow. The host regales guests, make them eat and drink, and after the feast all guests bow (pushch shchapashche) to the host and his wife. This bow looks like the following: all guests kneel, they touch the host’s foot by one hand, and her wife’s foot – by the other, at the same time their foreheads are pressed to the floor. The bride also performs such a bow, her father gives her a pair of rubles for it and says:

After the end of the feast in the house of the bride’s father the relatives go to other relatives bringing the bride with themselves to make other relatives regale and entertain her. First they go to the house of the brother of the bride’s father, where the bride spends much time right till the bridegroom’s coming. That’s why this house is called vay kile (“the house of plays”).

So the wedding itself begins after going to relatives, the whole village, especially the street where gusts are received are agitated. The wedding procession has its own traditions, its order. The bride’s father appoints some guests supervisors who keep the observance of all wedding traditions. These are the head of the wedding procession – bridesman (man keryu), the head of the wedding, arm of the law (tuy pushche), gift collector (urtmakhshcha), who brings a bag (urtmakh) for collecting some small gifts (kucheneshch): cheese, bread, legs of goose and other food. They share this food with each other. A harmonist (kupas kalakan) goes with them to amuse.

When the guests together with the bride go out her house one of the male-relatives takes a bucket of beer and one of the female-relatives – a loaf of bread. They stop in the yard. The person bringing the bucket sit near it and other relatives together with the woman bringing the bread go around it clockwise three times, beginning from the east. After the first circle the bridesman asks the person with beer:

The person bringing beer inflates ladle with it and greets the bridesman with the ladle: your health! (tav sana!)

The answer: thank you, drink! (tav eshch!) The person holding beer drinks off this ladle himself, then inflates it again and passes it to the bridesman.

After the second circle he proposes the same toast, but after the third one he doesn’t. After that they go off the yard and repeat the whole ceremony on the street. Then they go to the house of the brother of the bride’s father, to the “house of plays”, where before entering the house they repeat the same ceremony. After that all the guests enter the house and feast. At the same time one of the relatives goes to the house of the bride’s father, harnesses three horses and goes back on the carriage to take the bride. Then they go round all the relatives on the same carriage. They stretch tarpaulin over the carriage (khyume). People shouldn’t sit down there but only squat down. The bride shouldn’t get off the carriage and get in to it herself. So one of the male-relatives brings her from the carriage to the relatives’ houses and backwards. So they go round all the relatives. The bride spends the night in the house of the last visited relatives.

The second day of the wedding passes by the same way. She goes back to the “house of plays” only in the evening and stays there till the bridegroom comes from his village.

We didn’t speak about the bridegroom’s relatives till this time. Now we will speak about their beginning of the wedding.

Their messenger (who asks to come to the wedding) rides over all bridegroom’s relatives and asks them to come to the wedding. The day of wedding in the morning the bridegroom’s female-relatives take him to klet and make him dress. His clothes include white shirt (shur kepe), trousers (shalavar), boots (ata), robe (caftan), cap (shchelek), mittens (alsa). One of two kerchiefs given by the bride the bridegroom binds around his waist (pishchihhi), and the other is sewed to his back. The bridegroom’s wedding attire also includes a small embroidered kerchief with fringe (kachamak) and with a loop; the bridegroom puts his right little finger in the loop and holds the kerchief till the end of the wedding. He holds a wedding whip (salamat) in his hand and puts a cooper ring on one of the fingers of his right hand. During the wedding he doesn’t put off his cap, mittens, kerchief with the loop and whip even when he eats and drinks.

By the time he enters the house just dressed his father and mother and all relatives sit at table. The bridegroom comes to table and bows to his father and mother. He squats before them and other relatives do the same behind his back. His father gives him some rubles and blesses him (pehillet).

Then the relatives sit to table, the bridegroom sits on the bench on the right of the door – the bridegroom’s seat (keryu larna kereke), his friends (keryu shchumesem) sit with him – seven or nine not married male-relatives, corresponding to the bridesmaids. The wedding ceremony itself is the same as in the bride’s house. There is also bridesman, the head of the wedding, gift collector and harmonist among members of the wedding procession, besides there is one more role – khaymatlakh, usually not related married couple is asked to play this role. They bring the bride from her father’s house to the bridegroom’s house.

The bridegroom goes with his relatives too, first of all to the house of his father’s brother also known as “the house of plays” (vay kile). Besides the bridegroom visits only two relatives. Then they make back to the bridegroom’s house, harness three horses into carriage and go to see other relatives. All the members of the wedding procession go with them.

When the bridegroom is going to get in to the carriage they put a stub as a footboard and stick a needle into it. The bridegroom should step on the needle. If the needle goes into the stub the family life of the newly married couple will be happy, and if it turns down or breaks they will be unhappy.

The procession passes through village with songs, goes right to nearby field. They stop near embranchment of the road. Here the bridegroom tosses a coin. If head falls the couple will be happy, if tail – it will be unhappy. They leave the coin on the road.

After that they go back to the village and visit in a row those relatives whom they haven’t visited yet. Then they visit relatives in nearby village. But first they stop near the village fence, turn out the gift collector’s bag (urtmakh) and eat the major part of food, but leave a pair of the most appetizing goose legs for the bride’s father. After visiting each related family one more carriage is added to the wedding procession, so that in the end there are about 20 – 30 carriages, this procession is known as “tuy” (the wedding).

The second day of shchimek in the evening the bridegroom’s relatives together with the bridegroom himself go to the bride’s house. The bridegroom’s parents come here earlier to be acquainted with the bride’s relatives. The wedding procession together with the bridegroom comes only in the evening. First it stops near the mediator’s house (yevche), he hurries to inform the bride’s father that the wedding procession has come. Then he leads the wedding procession to the bride’s house. The bridegroom’s carriage is in the head of the procession. Reaching the gates he strikes them with the whip. Then he enters the yard and goes around three times, stops the carriage in front of the hallway. The bride’s relatives welcome them, only matchmakers stay inside. The bridegroom’s bridesman steps forward and makes a wedding speech (man keryu takmake).

After this they are allowed to step into the hut, but it is the wedding head and khoymatlokh (the bridegroom’s father), each of them with his own wife. They stop at the furnace, and the wedding head’s wife also says some words:

They are treated with mead for this. All this time the wedding people stand outside waiting, while the women (tooy aromesem) are singing a song:

When several songs are sung, all the wedding people come into the hut, the groomsman is at the head, then the bridegroom and the others following. The groomsman, having stopped at the furnace, turns to the matchmakers [the bridegroom’s father and the bride’s father] and repeats his wedding speech. While he is saying that, the bridegroom “bows” to the bride’s father: squats before him and touches the father’s right foot with his hand. After that all the wedding people behind squat, only the groomsman stands.

Then the bridegroom and his friends are seated on the right from the door. That’s why a table with food on it is also put here. However, before sitting down at it, the table is turned on its axis by the direction of the sun (khevele muy), from east to west. A pillow is put under the bridegroom. The groomsman treats the fellows with beer, first they drink a ladle of beer for the bridegroom, then for the others in turn.
The old men sit in the honourable place of the hut, eat and drink separately. A fiddle plays, the people sing and dance till the very morning.
The bride and the bridesmaids are still not to be seen yet. They stay this night at “the play house” and also dance to a fiddle and sing the wedding songs:

At daybreak the bridesmaids go to the house, where the wedding takes place, and tease the bridegroom, singing teasing songs for him, dance, clap their hands in the middle of the hut. Young people join them, they dance together, and if a guy catches a girl, he kisses her. After a while the bridesmaids come back to the bride. But after a short period of time they come back here to have fun again, then leave once more. On third time they come together with the bride. At first there is a characteristic for chuvash women headscarf called “soorpun” tied on her head and over it there is a head-dress, decorated with silver coins, called “hooshpoo”. When the bridesmaids bring the bride to the house, where the wedding takes place, they surround her from all sides very close to each other so that she can’t be seen by the bridegroom. If he sees her, then he strikes with a whip. In other regions (in the south) the bride is brought differently, and the bridegroom meets her in the inner porch, here they exchange the rings, then the bridegroom takes the bride by her right hand and brings her to the house. They both “bow” to the bride’s father. And the bride’s father, holding a ladle of beer in hand, blesses them:

The bride is seated on the women’s place called “tepel”, and a pillow is put under her. The bridesmaids around her sing several songs:

The bridesmaids don’t stay with the bride long, they leave the house and go to the cage and begin packing the bride’s dresses, the chests are put on the bridegroom’s carriage. The bridegroom’s relatives also start harnessing the horses, as they are going back home, the wedding is over, and the bride is to be driven to the bridegroom’s village. When the carriages are ready, the bridegroom thanks the bride’s father for the hospitality:

The bridegroom sits on the carriage and is going to drive off, when somebody of the boys grabs the bridle rein and doesn’t drop them until the bridegroom gives him ten-fifteen kopecks. While they are leaving the village they sing and whoop, but as soon as they left it, they stop in the field and wait for the bride. Until her arrival they drink beer from the supply, which the bride’s father has given them for the trip.
Khoymatlokh accompanies the bride on her trip to the bridegroom’s village. Among the bridegroom’s relatives he stays here and waits for the daughter-in-law, while she is saying good-bye to her relatives. The bride presents small gifts to her wedding people. She gives “soorpun’s” to her female-relatives and the bridesmaids and linen for shirts (kepe-pyulekh) to her male-relatives.

The three horses, which are harnessed to the bride’s carriage, are also decorated, they are tied with scarves near ears like flags.
When leaving the girl “bows” to her parents, and the father gives her fifty-hundred roubles as a gift and blesses her:

The mother says the same words. Then they kiss, weep, and one of the relatives lifts her up on the carriage, and all the relatives, except for the bride’s mother and father, also sit down next to her, to say more correctly, they squat. Then they follow the bridegroom. Khoymatlokh goes with them on a separate carriage. The bridegroom, having noticed the coming bride, hurries to meet her on his own carriage and drives three times around her carriage at high speed, though her carriage goes very fast as well, until both of the carriages stop. After this khoymatlokh brings the bride to his carriage and after this heads home at high speed, at the head there is the bridegroom, then khoymatlokh with the bride. The bride’s relatives return to the house, where the wedding took place, and the bride’s father treats them once again. This is how “the maiden’s wedding” (kher tooye) ends.

In the bridegroom’s village the wedding first takes place at khoymatlokh’s house, where he treats everybody. They sing and dance and leave only after midday. Only the bride stays, and khoymatlokh will bring her home. When they enter the bridegroom’s homestead, they drive around it inside and stop by the inner porch. A boy-relative climbs up on the carriage, and as the bride is sitting, lifts her right leg. Then a bridled horse is brought, and the bridegroom takes the bridle with the corner of his clothes and hands it over to the bride this way, who is standing up on the carriage at that moment. And she takes the bridle with the corner of her clothes, and this is repeated three times. Then the horse is released. In this time a bucket of beer is carried out of the house, the bridegroom fills a ladle and greets the bride. According to chuvash tradition he drinks this ladle himself and gives her only the second one, which she drinks in his honour. After this khoymatlokh takes the bride from the carriage, carries her to the hut on his arms and puts her opposite the furnace on the women’s place (tepel), on a bench, on which a pillow is put. After a while the bride is placed near the furnace facing the main place of the hut with a female-relative on the right and the bridegroom on the left. The heads of all the three are covered with felt (kechshe). A dish with milk, boiled dumplings and bread are put on the table. A threetooth fork with its handle down is stuck into the bread, and three dumplings are pinned on the prominent teeth. After this “the treatment of the bride with dumplings” (inkene salma chshiterni) begins. A fiddle plays necessarily, and the bride with the bridegroom dance in the middle of the room. During the dancing a guy takes the fork out of the bread and lifts it up to the bride, singing:

The bride takes one dumpling from the fork and eats it together with the bridegroom. The guy sticks the fork into the bread and pins another dumpling on the free tooth. Again he comes to them, singing, but this time the bride takes two dumplings, she eats one herself and the other she gives to the bridegroom. The guy treats them once more, the bride takes all the three, she eats one herself, the second one she gives to her bridegroom and the third one they eat together. After this the felt is taken down from their heads, the bridal veil (perkenchek) is also taken down, and one woman waves with it and carries it to the cage, in the place, where they will be locked soon. And this woman says:

Then this woman lays the bridal veil over a chest with flour in the cage. She takes a handful of the flour, brings it to the hut and spreads it there. Then many young people leave the house unnoticed and repeat this action. After this the bride, the bridegroom and the woman go down to the river to fill a bucket with water. A girl-relative with the bucket and a beer ladle goes together with them. There the girl fills the bucket with the ladle and when it’s full, the bride overturns it with her leg. It is repeated twice more. On the fourth time the bride lifts the bucket and carries it to the house herself. Here she puts it on the table and lets all the wedding people make a drink out of it. Everybody pays several kopecks for this. This tradition is called “the beginning of stagnant water” (shoor shyve poochshlama).

When the bucket is empty, the bride presents shirts, headscarves and the people pay her money for this depending on the present.
This is how the wedding ends, and the relatives leave after a while. This is how they say good-bye to the host:

When the evening comes, the family stays alone. The bed in the cage is laid for the married couple, drinks and food: small loaves, cheese, butter, mead, beer and vodka are put there. All this is prepared for them by married couple of relatives, who live in harmony and love. They stay with the newly wedded couple for a minute, eat with them and then leave them alone. When leaving, the woman-relative, joking, addresses to the bridegroom:

When the young couple stays alone, they eat and drink till they are drunk. When they take off their clothes, the bridegroom puts a silver rouble into a top-boot and makes the bride take them off. The laid-down silver rouble will be hers. When they go to bed, each of them tries to hug the other first, because that person will be the head of the family.

***

On the third day after the wedding the bride’s father, mother and relatives are invited to the bridegroom’s house, “they go to the new matchmaker” (chshene khotana kayachshe).

And on the third day after this the bridegroom’s parents and relatives go to the house of the bride’s father, “they go backwards” (tavornana pirachshe) and “having shaken hands, they eat honey” (al titsa pyl chshiechshe). Here they usually sing and dance, only the bridegroom is forbidden to sing and dance. He also may not eat a ram’s head or its legs, if the skin is not removed from them. On his plate pieces of meat are put without skin. When the bridegroom gets ready to go to the house of the bride’s father, he ties thirty-forty copper coins into a kerchief and when he enters his house, he hangs it on the wall of the room opposite to the door. Leaving, they bow to the bride’s father, and he takes the kerchief and gets a couple of kopecks out it, but puts here more kopecks, than it were. When leaving the bride gives several beads to everybody, and the bridegroom gives one-two kopecks. Having gone into the homestead, the bridegroom doesn’t get into the carriage, but runs a while nearby along the street, then jumps in it on the move.

***

This is approximately how southern chuvash-heathens celebrate wedding in normal circumstances.

But it happens that a guy can’t get married due to some reason, either he has a bad reputation because of some fights, or he considers the girl’s “price” too high. In this case, according to an ancient tradition, he steals a wife for himself. They go for the chosen girl on a carriage, wait for her somewhere, then put a handful of flour in her mouth so that she can’t scream and drive her away. Then they celebrate the wedding secretly. Naturally, the father and the relatives of the girl follow the thieves with sticks in their hands. Such thefts often result in a fight with blood, but where possible they come to an agreement, and the guy pays the “price” and they celebrate the wedding together. Sometimes, though rarely, it happens that a girl runs away from home to her beloved. It happens when a father resists her marriage. It is not customary to divorce, only if the stolen girl doesn’t return secretly to her father. Somewhere, though extremely rare, polygamy takes place among chuvash-heathens.

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