The other side of the sea

As stated in my previous post, I will be gathering research material regarding the subject of ukuthwala and the bridal identity from across the world borders. One of the places which has deep roots of the practice and still practice bridal abduction is Kyrgyzstan, located in Central Asia. I have been watching several documentaries on the subject so as to get a more profound understanding of this subject, here is yet another documentary on the subject.

A summarized version of how it is done in Kyrgyzstan would be: once a man has decided that he is ready to marry and has chosen his future wife, he will then inform his family and friends who would then help him kidnap the young woman. While the groom and is friends kidnap the girl, his family are busy preparing for the arrival of their new bride.  In some cases, they even go as far as to prepare food and invite guests. Once the unsuspecting bride arrives, the women in the groom’s family will then proceed in trying to convince the young lady to marry their son; there is a lot of tears and protest involved from the young lady, however this is all met with the deafened ears and force by the groom’s family. The girl’s family will then be informed of the fact that their daughter has been kidnapped for marriage and the groom’s family apologizes with many gifts.