There is man who gets shipwrecked on a faraway island and taken in by a cult who want to marry him to a donkey to appease their island's deities. I need help thinking of old and unusual wedding rituals or traditions that I can mix and incorporate into my story, something kind of eerily. I have a few ideas already, the cult exchanges gifts using their hair, giving the man clothing sown with the hair of his bride's brethren and a bridle for the donkey using the groom's hair. Having the man carrying the donkey or vice versa to their wedding location. I need help thinking of more ideas. Thanks.
Is it an adult donkey? It's unlikely the average man would be able to carry it without assistance unless it's a very tiny donkey, and even then it would be hard. Actually, there's quite a few 'customs' I'd want to avoid if I were the shipwrecked guy, but maybe the sharing of cake (maybe coconuts?) might be a tolerable one.
Check out Book Ten in The Golden Ass of Lucius Apuleius for the sideshow scenes. No wedding took place, but that didn't stop the night's festivities.
Totally! That tradition is like a common one across countries and cultures. Do we toss and catch the bouquet at U.K. weddings? Absolutely.
I like the tradition of tossing the coffin flowers into the crowd after a funeral to see who will be the next to die.
https://www.brides.com/gallery/wedding-traditions-around-the-world https://www.theknot.com/content/wedding-traditions-superstitions-facts-trivia
There are a few that are dependant on whether the bride is pregnant or not. And whether the groom is the father or not.
The male will warily approach the female, putting on a complex display of motion and vibrant colors. If the female approves of the mating dance, she will allow him to copulate with her. Once copulation has concluded the female promptly devours the male still alive starting with the head. I'm pretty sure marital practice is pretty universal where both parties exchange vows, and a mutual symbol of their union under the eyes of a deity or law (sometime both). But that is kinda boring to stick to traditions like that in fiction, when you can simply make the whole affair and ritual(s) up as you go along. After all their have been more marriages in history. https://thefw.com/weirdest-marriages-of-the-world-photos-videos/