Review article
https://doi.org/10.53745/ccp.46.91.3
Sharia Weddings of Christians in Herzegovina in the 18th Century
Dijana Pinjuh
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Mostar, Bosna and Herzegovina
Abstract
Sharia weddings among Christians were performed for various reasons almost during the entire time of Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Christian couples married before a qadi had to follow the same rules as Muslim married couples, and that had certain advantages in terms of the strictness of the Church's marriage rules. Namely, in this way, Christians could marry their relatives and members of other churches or get divorced, and in the event of a divorce or the death of the husband, the widow could at least for a while freely dispose of her wedding gift, which was arranged before the marriage. Thus, the Church’s strictness regarding wedding customs could be avoided by Sharia weddings. Moreover, this kind of marriage could provide a solution to girls who did not want to marry certain unwanted bridegrooms and fiancés. Sharia marriage provided some pro tection, and it also had advantages: Christians who married before the qadi could divorce without an expensive and time-consuming procedure, and according to the rules of the marriage contract, husbands had to financially provide for their wives, even in the event of divorce or after his death in widowhood. Examples of Christians wedded before a qadi are recorded in sicils [marriage books] but often such records are incomplete and not uniform. Still, these records provide enough evidence to conclude that number of Christian marriages before a qadi was higher than it can be found in preserved records. The reasons for entering into such marriages were different, but despite the advantages of a Sharia marriage, many couples after a Sharia wedding decided to get married according to the Church procedures. This can be concluded based on the analysis of Christian marriage books, which witness that after a certain time, many Catholics decided to repent of their sins due to Sharia marriage, and wanted to obey the wishes of their parents, as well as respect the Church and the entire church community.
Keywords
weddings; Christians; Muslims; sicils [marriage records]; wedding gifts
Hrčak ID:
308514
URI
Publication date:
5.10.2023.
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