Wedding traditions of Oceania
Kava and the tapa cloth, the Maori powhiri and the Fijian lovo, Aboriginal ceremony and the Samoan fine mat. 7 traditions on EveryShaadi so far.
🇫🇯 FijiTabua
A polished sperm whale tooth exchanged as a gift in Fijian weddings and ceremonies.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇼🇸 Samoa and 3 moreʻIe tōga
Prestige woven mats exchanged at Samoan weddings to honor family ties and chiefly status.Attire · The ceremony
🇹🇴 Tonga and 2 moreTaʻovala
The woven pandanus mat worn around the waist for formal occasions and weddings in Tonga.Attire · The weeks before
🇹🇴 TongaLakalaka
A formal Tongan group dance where performers stand in rows and move their arms to express respect.Performance · The ceremony
🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaSame-sex marriage in Australia
The legal recognition of marriages between two people of the same gender in Australia.Modern · The ceremony
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tabua: Hannes Grobe /AWI, CC BY 3.0, source
- ʻIe tōga: Sarah Kelemen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Taʻovala: James Foster, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Same-sex marriage in Australia: Mikeybear, CC BY-SA 3.0, source