Wedding traditions with swords and daggers

The sword and the dagger are wedding objects in many parts of the world, as symbols of protection, honour and the groom's role. They are carried in the procession, used to cut a cake, or placed beside the couple.

Swords in the procession

In Rajasthan and among Sikh and Rajput families the groom may carry a sword, talwar or kirpan, and in Rajput custom a sword stands in for a groom who cannot attend. In Egypt and the Levant the zaffe sometimes includes a dancer with a sword or a stick. In Yemen and Oman the jambiya dagger is a part of the groom's dress, and Gulf grooms may carry a sword in dance, as in the ardah.

Cutting and crossing

In Europe, military weddings include an arch of swords, and a sabre is used to cut the cake or to open champagne, as in the French and Napoleonic custom of sabrage. In Scotland, a ceremonial dirk or sword is part of the Highland dress, and in the Philippines the groom may wear a barong with a ceremonial bolo in some regions. The meaning is less about violence than about guarding the household.