Halfling Handfasting Ceremony

Halfling Handfasting Ceremony is an Official GemStone IV Document, and it is protected from editing.

Halflings as a whole are people of heart; their family is everything to them. It is no wonder that many of their ceremonies are deep-seated with long-lasting traditions that involve all members of the family. One such ceremony is the traditional halfling wedding.

Marriages between halfling couples traditionally take place during the Trine. However, not all halflings choose to wed in the traditional manner outlined below, and if a halfling chooses to wed outside their race, a traditional wedding would not be an option. Special tents known as gers are prepared specifically for this purpose throughout of the year and brought to the Fraelshire. These gers are often very elaborate, as described below, but some families, either by personal preference or financial restrictions, have less elaborate, but no less important, gers.

Traditional Gers

Three gers are used for a traditional wedding, the wedding ger, the bride's ger, and the groom's ger. The groom's family supplies his ger, and the bride's family brings her ger as well as the wedding ger. Each ger has a specific, ritualized purpose during the multi-day ceremony.

The Wedding Ger

Most halfling families have a wedding ger that has been passed down from generation to generation, typically through the oldest daughter. The outside of the ger is a uniform white, its bands and supports crafted of black willow and its entry beaded with bright red jasper beads. The white cloth represents the purity of love, red jasper their commitment to Oleani, and black willow displays the strong yet flexible nature that all should adopt when entering into a marriage. The interior of the ger is adorned with beadwork added by each previous owner, giving it the potential to be touched by several generations of family.

The Bride's Ger

The bride's ger is expected to entertain all of the females of both wedding parties during the first day of the wedding celebration. With that in mind, fresh flowers are brought to the bride starting at dawn by numerous well-wishers. Bright red rugs are spread across the floor of the ger, and dozens of pillows lay scattered about as well. Delicate screens, each painted with various depictions of the Lady Oleani, occupy the back half of the ger to create a crescent shape along the wall, and a small fountain of spring water is near the entry.

The Groom's Ger

The groom's ger is expected to entertain all of the males of both wedding parties during the first day of the wedding celebration. With that in mind, the ger is divided in half by an air-tight wall of elk hides that are painted with images of the Lord Phoen as he attempts to court Oleani. At first light, well-wishers begin bringing heated rocks into the groom's tent, creating a steam chamber near the front section. Hot water is kept in constant supply so that the room is unbearably hot and filled with a ridiculous amount of steam. In the back section of the ger, benches are arranged in a loose circle around a roasting pit. The steam from the front half is mostly blocked by the elk hide separator, and extra ventilation is cleverly worked into the outer, back walls of the ger as well, keeping this section a reasonable temperature.

The Wedding Ceremony

Day One: Claiming the Right

Two hours after dawn, the wedding parties rise, are divided by gender, and take up their positions before the bride's ger or the groom's ger.

The Bride's Rite

The groom's female relatives create a single file line arranged to the left of the door, and the bride's relatives do the same on the right. The lines each start with the oldest family member, followed by the youngest, then the next oldest, and so on. Taking one member from each line, the bride admits family members to her ger. It is her duty to see to the comfort of each member as they pass through the ger's entry, and she is aided by her younger siblings or friends. As each guest enters, the bride or helper removes the guest's shoes and "bathes" her feet, namely a quick brush of a wet cloth dipped in a traditional bowl. She then escorts the family members to the cushions and provides them with a beverage. Within ten minutes of arrival, a relative of the groom begins a traditional song about how wonderful the groom is and how unworthy the bride is. When the groom's relative finishes, a relative of the bride counters with a song of her own, celebrating the worth of the bride and how the groom is unworthy of such a fine young woman. The alternating singing continues until all family members have entered and sung their song. Great fun is had, especially helping the children with their songs.

Once all members have entered, and this can take up to six hours, young children in attendance serve delicate treats and sweet creams to the guests as a show of respect for the elders. As part of the tradition of elder respect, the bride is expected to strictly see to the eldest of the relatives, who will playfully vie for her attention during the process. Throughout the remainder of the day, the bride serves various treats, delicacies, and miniature meals with the help of her younger siblings and friends.

At some point, amid the eating, drinking, and talking, singing starts again. Now, each family boasts not just of their relative's worth, but of their entire family's worth and accomplishments, often dating back to the first halflings.

Though many of the songs are fabricated, it is great fun for all. Some of the songs that are sung are steeped in tradition, while others are new songs that the singer hopes catch on to become part of the family tradition. Each song grows more and more boastful, the mock arguing growing at times heated, until finally at the Hour of Ronan, the bride proclaims that all is over. She informs both parties that neither the groom nor she is more worthy of the other; they are equally as lucky and fortunate to have one another. She then sings her own song proclaiming her love of the groom. As her song finishes, all family members agree that she is right and that they will ensure that the couple is properly married in the morning.