Wedding In Russia’s Most TRADITIONAL Republic - Ingushetia

Añadido: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00][music] >> In Russia, kidnapping is generally [music] a crime punished with imprisonment, but in the Caucuses such cases are never reported to police since relatives sort them [music] out between themselves. I saw an English girl who was kidnapped 14 times. You may find her in the internet, very beautiful. I dropped a hint at abduction talking with Ramzan and he suggested that I should first have some fun at an English wedding party and see everything with my own eyes.

[00:00:34]Today, the teips of Yevloyevs and Sodaz are [music] going to intermarry.

[00:00:40]This is the house of the groom, Khamzat [music] Sodaz. He is not among those honored people.

[00:00:45]They are guests, relatives, and neighbors.

[00:00:49]Hello. Hello. How do you do? I am Andrey. Nice to meet you. Well, here are I am Overkon. This is Magomed and this is Kadisi. This man is Hussein. This one is Kosman and this one is Sultan. We are sitting and talking about who was last in Moscow and when where they served in the army, their jobs, and other matters.

[00:01:10]>> [music] >> Elders seem to be benevolent and so I dared to ask them.

[00:01:15]I have one thought.

[00:01:19]>> [clears throat] >> A delicate affair.

[00:01:21]I'd like to kidnap a bride. What? Is it a good or a bad idea? Kidnapping brides is a forbidden practice now.

[00:01:28]Forbidden? Yes, there's a strict ban. In this community, there are strict rules in this regard. They said so to put up a smoke screen because I am not yet trusted in their circle. Meanwhile, in the house of the bride, Zina Yevloyeva, there is a Brownian movement.

[00:01:43]Guests have been waiting since morning for their chance to congratulate the [music] parents and to sit at the table.

[00:01:48]In the bride's life, this is the saddest day.

[00:01:51]She is leaving her parental home and her customary [music] way of life for good.

[00:01:57]Sometimes the bride and groom have not even seen each other before and you know how it's done now. Even when I was a young man and I'll soon turn 80, I never knew such cases when a groom would marry a bride whom he had never seen before.

[00:02:13]Never happens.

[00:02:16]Young people meet each other at school, university, in the street. He sees a nice girl, inquires about her [music] place of residence, tells his sister or brother who then tell the parents and the latter talk with elders. The elders approach the bride's parents [music] and things start moving.

[00:02:35]Can young people see each other prior to their marriage? Yes, they can. Can they go to the cinema together for example?

[00:02:40]Well, that's not our custom. Say, I do not want to go to the cinema, you see.

[00:02:45]These free unrestrained relationships are unacceptable for our culture and for the Caucus civilization in in general.

[00:02:59]What's wrong about going to the cinema?

[00:03:02]Nothing wrong. But they needn't. Strict morals. The groom cannot [music] even take the bride to the cinema. Maybe it's better this way or you may discover that she likes seeing some trash, laughing in wrong places and may change your mind.

[00:03:16]Now the groom's relatives follow [music] the bride in Zamir, a wedding train of several automobiles. There's still a large crowd in the bride's house. You'll have to elbow your way through all the people.

[00:03:40]>> [music] >> How do you do? As-salamu alaykum. So many people, so crowded. [music] What a wedding with everybody.

[00:03:59]I did not hear any songs, dances, or shots at either Yevloev's or Sutuev's places. For [music] shooting people are fined now at the rate of 13 euros per shot. Bride's kidnapping [music] is proclaimed a haram and equated to committing 10 heavy sins. The kidnapper is charged 2,780 euros and each of his friends [music] and accomplices will have to pay 1,385 euros each. For kidnapping another man's [music] bride, the fine is 4,155 euros and if any mullah registers a marriage, he will have to pay another 1,385 [music] euros.

[00:04:27]With such price tags, the passion for kidnapping is quickly cured. Look, and is there any farewell party for girls given by the bride?

[00:04:34]>> No, we don't have anything like this.

[00:04:35]When she invites her friends and they Our entire farewell party for the bride will happen today. So, this is your version of a bridal shower?

[00:04:43]>> Yes, it is. Really?

[00:04:45]Interesting. Well, we'll go and have a look at the bride.

[00:04:48]This is not Las Vegas where a rare bridal shower can dispense with a male strip dancer.

[00:04:52]>> [music] >> The bride is placed in the corridor in the morning and she stays there all day long as if she's guilty of something.

[00:04:57]Everybody takes pictures with her, but she hardly talks to anybody, looking at the floor and you cannot draw [music] a word from her. She laments her parental home while others are making fun.

[00:05:07]And where are the newlyweds going to spend >> I am the newlywed.

[00:05:11]>> Where do the newlyweds plan to spend their honeymoon?

[00:05:14]>> Since I'm the newlywed, can I tell you?

[00:05:15]>> Will they travel anywhere?

[00:05:17]>> They'll travel to Dubai.

[00:05:18]>> To Dubai? Of course. They are lucky to travel to Dubai.

[00:05:22]They are in the room. The men are with the mullah reading sutras which are praising the prophet Muhammad. May the prophet be with them. On such wedding celebrations, the parents are looking for the best matches [music] for their children.

[00:05:38]This is also a future bride.

[00:05:40]Do you want to be a bride or not?

[00:05:42]Yes? Do all girls want to be brides? She already has boys. [music] Who's that?

[00:05:47]Already? Yes, one boy of means, another one to help her carry her school bag.

[00:05:52]And the third one she helps with mathematics. Sure, she's such a beauty.

[00:05:56]And who do you like more? The first, the second, or the third one?

[00:05:58]>> her math more.

[00:06:00]The first? The first one with heavy pockets, yes. The boy with lots of money, I see. Is he a good lad? Do you know him well?

[00:06:07]Are you sure he's a good lad? He does not wrong you, does he?

[00:06:13]Will you Will you marry him?

[00:06:18]What's your name? Nayana. Nayana.

[00:06:24]Sounds good.

[00:06:27]With no music and alcohol, everyone is in high spirits nonetheless.

[00:06:33]Smiling. All are smiling.

[00:06:37]Without exception. Without exception, indeed.

[00:06:44]And now the most piercing moment occurs and most tragic, if you please. After hearing from the bride's lips that the marriage is made by mutual agreement of the parties and reading the required suras from Quran, a mullah gives way to the groom's kinsmen.

[00:07:02]One of them breaks a flask of perfume near Zena, >> [music] >> while the other presents her with a handkerchief and sticks a needle into the lower hem of her wedding frock as a safeguard against basilisk glance.

[00:07:20]The groom's relative, normally a lad whose father and mother are alive, reaches out his right arm and leads the bride to [music] the yard and then helps her sit in a car.

[00:07:38]I was told that kidnapping of the bride is a matter of bygone days. But now this tradition is disappearing and may have already vanished. But many of you surely experienced something like that. Yes?

[00:07:54]Yes, we did. We did have this experience. Yeah, you do not look like an unhappy person.

[00:08:00]>> [laughter] >> Feeling depressed is not good either.

[00:08:03]I was never kidnapped. My daughter was.

[00:08:06]How is your daughter now? Is she okay?

[00:08:08]Is everything all right? Yes, she's fine. How many kids does your daughter have?

[00:08:11]>> Three. So both outcomes seem to be good.

[00:08:14]Life is such a difficult matter that you can't even understand what's good for you. But sometimes you feel miserable, right? Did you hear? People start trusting me and tell me the most interesting [music] facts. A family that was started with abduction can be healthier than the one where everything happened according to mutual agreement.

[00:08:32]Maybe they should not find people who follow this ancient custom.

[00:08:41]Many bills flying from an unknown car.

[00:08:43]Greedy teenagers try to grab them from under the wheels risking their limbs.

[00:08:47]This time there was a happy end. [music] The bride is finally led to the sort of house.

[00:08:57]>> [music] >> The bride is brought to the groom's house.

[00:09:15]She's a wearing a very long veil. [music] This must be the groom's kin, right?

[00:09:26]How do you do?

[00:09:28]Should I take off my shoes here? No?

[00:09:33]The girls again placed like [music] a sculpture for everyone to see.

[00:09:37]She's approached by new neighbors and relatives from her husband's teip with love sash or good wishes.

[00:09:46]I wish happiness to this young couple.

[00:09:50]Zina Yevloyeva now belongs to [music] the Zog of teip, but she does not change her name. Islam forbids that.

[00:09:57]Yet their kids will bear the name of Zog of and will also belong to their [music] teip.

[00:10:01]A boy and a girl are led to the bride so that she might have more children.

[00:10:07]Will the bride find some work or will she sit at home washing dishes?

[00:10:11]>> They are people of means. People of means can stay at home giving birth to kids, right?

[00:10:15]>> Of course.

[00:10:15]>> Bring them up, tend to them. They are well-to-do. That's good. Fine. Praise God. And when will the newlyweds finally meet?

[00:10:24]Newlyweds? Groom and bride. Bride and groom?

[00:10:28]Only on the third night only. They can see each other in the daytime and go and lay with the kids. Why wait so long?

[00:10:36]It's the custom. Why that long?

[00:10:38]>> We have such customs. Very strange customs. Well, we are happy with our customs. [music] They suit us. Oh, yes.

[00:10:44]I see.

[00:10:46]Can you imagine waiting 3 days?

[00:10:50]And they cannot even hold each other's hands prior to marriage.

[00:10:54]Do you know why they began kidnapping brides? One of the reasons is that they did not have enough money to pay the ransom for the bride, which now range from 450 to 690 euros. But now fines are way higher, so kidnapping does not pay off.

[00:11:12]Can I find the groom here? I'd like to have a look at him. Yes, he's here. He's in this room.

[00:11:17]Yes.

[00:11:21]How do you do? How do you do?

[00:11:23]I am Andrey from the teip of Pankratovs, not Zog of's. Welcome here. Hello.

[00:11:28]Sorry, but I'll first shake the groom's hand.

[00:11:32]We [music] were at the bride's farewell party and here's how an English guys only party looks. Modestly, [music] no alcohol or music, unhurried conversations. It turned out that the groom and bride did not pay much attention to each other at school. They did several years after [music] school and 3 months prior to their marriage.

[00:11:49]Mr. Groom, what do you feel now as you have already bought your bride here [music] and you cannot even look at her, meet with her, or exchange a couple of words?

[00:11:56]Oh, wait.

[00:11:57]Not a problem?

[00:12:00]No?

[00:12:02]What? You have to just wait a couple of days, that's all. There's a long life ahead. We'll have enough time for everything. Yes, yes, a whole life together can be boring. I see. Let's have some lemonade, maybe. Maybe have something to eat. Well, do not mind against [music] eating. Yeah, let's eat.

[00:12:20]One day a boy kidnapped a girl, brought her home, and she was so angry at the kidnappers [music] that she did not want to talk with anybody. Then the groom's kin decided to appease the bride with gifts. Her heart softened, she cheered up, and began answering [music] questions. This was the mot bastar right, loosening the tongue.

[00:12:42]No, she won't say anything? She will.

[00:12:44]No.

[00:12:45]Groom's kin and friends are sitting and the bride is standing. Men making fun, commenting on what they see. It seems that the bride seems to want to crawl into a hole.

[00:12:55]Groom's bride offers money in exchange for what is in the box.

[00:12:59]The bride keeps silent. Guests joke, "The bride must be either deaf or dumb."

[00:13:06]May I have some water here? To your health.

[00:13:15]Look.

[00:13:21]If you now say thank you, I'll put one more.

[00:13:25]Thanks.

[00:13:27]Well, let's wish the newlyweds' love and patience, and I set out for my journey [music] in the hope for adventures. I am a guest, so can do whatever I want within certain decencies, to be sure.