Who doesn’t love a good wedding? After all, it’s a ceremony to celebrate the joining of two families in the presence of their loved ones. Each wedding is unique to the individuals involved. But, these newlyweds in particular wanted to pay homage to their heritage.
A Malay couple from Tawau, Sabah, recently held their wedding banquet at the Tawau City Hall. It’s not unusual. However, this couple went all-out to celebrate their Chinese heritage as well! The duo apparently hired a local lion dance troupe to entertain their guests and wore traditional Chinese clothes as their wedding outfits.
The couple, Fizha and Fikri decided to do so as one of their mothers is apparently of Chinese descent. The couple wore traditional Chinese wedding outfits, the Qun Kwa (裙褂) at their banquet. Their bright vivid red clothes had beautiful embroideries, depicting dragons and phoenixes, common symbols of good fortune and blessings in Chinese culture.
As for the lion dance troupe, it turns out that the couple personally approached them to ask the troupe to perform! The lions performed and welcomed the couple when they arrived at the venue. They also led and followed the couple as they walked down the aisle. Needless to say, the whole scene attracted a lot of attention and was a crowd-pleaser.
Fizha and Fikri’s plans for the banquet were well-received by their relatives. One relative admitted they had never expected to see a lion dance at a Malay wedding banquet. However, they believed that as long as the families were accepting of each other’s culture, it was fine. Another relative added that the couple were not showing off by hiring the lion dancers. Instead, to them, they saw it as a way for everyone to see “real Malaysian culture”.
It’s definitely heart-warming to see difficult cultures merging during a special occasion, such as a wedding. We’re sure the couple’s banquet will be a good memory in years to come!
Sources: China Press, Facebook
