The woman and the rituals of marriage in the countryside of Santiago (Cape Verde)

Abstract

This markedly descriptive study, carried out within the scope of the Bachelor's degree in Cape Verdean and Portuguese Studies, focuses on the rituals of marriage in the interior of the island of Santiago, in the mid-nineteenth century, seeking to understand how marriage, a intimate act between two people, it could involve two families, neighbors or even two communities and what are the steps taken from the young man's expression of interest in the girl, until marriage. Thus, we begin with the contextualization of a traditional wedding, arranged and performed, in the interior of Santiago, going through the different stages, from the request for a bride and the preparations that precede the day of the religious ceremony and a series of rituals carried out in the residence of the bride's parents throughout the day of the wedding and at night before and after the consummation of the marriage. This work aims to contribute to the description of traditional marriage using testimonies of recognized figures of traditional culture and some respected elders in their community, complemented by the review of the scarce existing bibliography on this subject. It was possible, through this research, to conclude that both courtship and marriage, nowadays, are arranged and performed in different ways and that the surrounding rituals have little or no relationship with the events described in this work.marriage. This work aims to contribute to the description of traditional marriage using testimonies of recognized figures of traditional culture and some respected elders in their community, complemented by the review of the scarce existing bibliography on this subject. It was possible, through this research, to conclude that both courtship and marriage, nowadays, are arranged and performed in different ways and that the surrounding rituals have little or no relationship with the events described in this work.