Sunjata

Outlandish superstitions give rise to bizarre behaviors. In the Sunjata the origin of the ritual carrying of the bride in West African culture is described. Sogolon Conde has a twisted foot and the dust of her awkward tread is in some sense objectionable to the wedding party. A bevy of co-wives therefore carry off the bride and escort her in this way to her husband, embroiled in odd diabolis of his own.



In a like spirit one fascinating, if  revolting, ritual practice is the Scottish blackening of bride and groom: A nauseating ceremony where family and friends douse bride and groom in disgusting concoctions---rotten eggs, treacle, feathers and flour--and making as alarming a ruckus as possible parade the happy couple through town in ritual humiliation. While the origins of this bizarre convention are obscured by centuries of cultural metamorphosis, it may once have served as a kind of defensive rite against trows and fairies--mischievous spirits fond of wedding-day kidnappings.

"Sunjata." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Third ed. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton, 2013. 1514-1576. Print.