TwoCents | Culture, Blackening and the Scottish View of Marriage

Blackening is a traditional wedding ceremony that is performed on a bride weeks prior to her wedding day. It is a ritual and also a culture that is usually performed in the rural communities of Northeast Scotland. It is believed that the Blackening ceremony evolved during the 19th century (the period between 1800 and 1899) from a cleansing ritual referred to as "Feet Washing." It is initially a cleansing ritual whose aim was ro get women ready for marriage. During the feet washing, the womens' feet were darkened with Soot that is extracted from Chimney. And by the 20th century (the period between 1900 and 1999), the ritual became an outdoor event especially for couples who plan getting married during summer. This exercise had a lot of couples taking to their heels in rejection but yet, they were apprehended and blackened as the Scottish custom demands. Unfortunately, with the new wave of modernism, the blackening ritual is believed to have lost its relevance as a purifying ritual as it is now more of a dirtying and playful ritual. But on the other hand, it is very important to note that the primary reason for blackening in Scotland is that the people see it as a way of letting the couple know that marriage comes with a lot of challenges and as such, they should be ready to withstand them in order to live peacefully. In Scottish communities where the ritual is performed only on a bride, she is advised not to expect her marriage to be a bed of roses but rather, she should expect having dirt thrown at her. The ritual gives her a glimpse of what circumstances would surround her as a wife. And these circumstances come in form of dirts like rotten foods, dead fish, eggs and other forms of rubbish that would be thrown at her. This is followed by an exposition exercise where the bride will be paraded around the community or tied to a tree for some time. Despite the fact that this ritual is mainly performed on women, there are also Scottish communities where they are performed on both men and women. But in all, the ritual seeks to help the couples understand the realities of marriage and living together as couples so that they would be physically and mentally prepared to embark on such a journey. On the other hand, while most people are of the opinion that the ritual is disgusting and unhealthy, others argue that is gender biased. What is your own take on it?

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