Page 117 - The Circle of Life
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any  woman  except  his  wife  naked?  I  find  it  embarrassing  to  be  frank  and  will

               never  allow  myself  into  such  a  compromising  position.  It  will  be  disrespectful
               towards  my  American  Patriot  whom  I  love  beyond  my capacity to put in mere
               words.  What  is  more,  many  clients  had  blackmail  threats  because  of  such

               behaviour  and  you  can  read  about  that  Tricks  of Trade  - Memories of a Rogue

               Lawyer if you wish. This is a big no-no in my book but as said before. What do I
               know?


               In South Korea they have a tradition to beat the husband's tied feet with a fish
               (I hope not frozen) whilst interrogating him before he may run (crawl?) upstairs

               to his bride. I am sure this hurts and proves his toughness to everyone. Is not a
               big deal! I believe in traditional Zulu culture a man had to be a warrior before he

               could  be  married  and  to  become  a  warrior  he  went  through  a  real tough time
               which makes fish beating sound like a Sunday afternoon sport. You don't want a

               weakling  as  a  husband  do  you?  As  long  as  no permanent damage is caused of
               course!


               You leave before the guests because that symbolise the stealing of the bride and

               not because you cannot wait any longer for the honeymoon to begin (I hope). It
               is to whisk her away from her own family and to start a new life as one on your

               own  so  to  speak.  Thus you sneak away after greeting everyone and hope they
               will enjoy themselves. Collecting money too no doubt!


               Would  you  believe  that  in  early  medieval  weddings  some  guests  (very

               unfortunate if you ask me) had to witness the consummation process?  This was
               to  ensure  the  laws  of  succession  I  presume.  Luckily  this  dreadful  practise  was
               soon replaced by the groom removing the garter from his bride's leg and tossing

               it to the eligible bachelors. Same with the flowers from the bride I assume to all

               the  maidens.  On  this  note  I  have  seen some pretty tough lads very red in the
               face of embarrassment whilst struggling with the garter. It is appealing in a way
               now  that  I  am  middle-aged  and  have  better  manners  than  to  laugh  at  such

               embarrassment. My American Patriot also has very sharp elbows I may add.


               There  is  a  tradition  known  as  shivaree  or  something  where  friends  and  family
               gathers  outside  the  newlyweds  home  to  make  as  much  noise  as  possible  to

               disturb the couple. Why this is or to what purpose is anyone's guess and perhaps

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