Afrocentric Weddings -Tasting of the Four Elements

Afrocentric Weddings -Tasting of the Four Elements

May 14th, 2009 @ 2:25 pm by Mrs. Swan
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Why not incorporate culture and food right into the ceremony? Here’s a description of the tasting of the four elements:

In a ritual adapted from a Yoruba tradition, the bride and groom taste four flavors that represent different emotions within a relationship. The four flavors typically used are sour (lemon), bitter (vinegar), hot (cayenne), and sweet (honey). By tasting each of the flavors, the couple symbolically demonstrates that they will be able to get through the hard times in life, and, in the end, enjoy the sweetness of marriage.

(source)

I love that this ritual gives us a physical reminder of the various aspects of married life. I can imagine that it must be quite a shock to the palate to taste these elements in succession.

I guess that’s how relationships are in a way: The hot will follow the sweet, which can turn sour at any given moment. When you’re sharing forever together as a couple, I guess it’s good to expect the unexpected.

Will food or any uncommon object or practice be incorporated into your ceremony?

Tags: ceremony, cultural, traditions |

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14 Responses to “Afrocentric Weddings -Tasting of the Four Elements”

Pro

Jessie Blum @ Eclectic Unions (message) 360 posts, Helper bee

This is one of my favorite wedding rituals, and I hope I get to officiate a ceremony where a couple chooses to do it one day!

A colleague of mine did a ceremony recently where the couple shared sushi! The officiant talked about the meaning behind the various elements (rice as nourishment, sesame seeds as symbols of growth, fish as being plentiful, soy sauce as tough times, etc). It was really cool, and VERY much in the vein of their relationship

My fiance and I were considering including a variation or adaption of this into our ceremony, but for a variety of reasons, have decided not to ;(

5/14/09 @ 2:31 pm (reply)

Member

amysue (message) 1,492 posts, Bumble bee

We’re going to share wine from a glass that we can both drink out of at the same time.

5/14/09 @ 2:38 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Perfume (message) 2,253 posts, Buzzing bee

Oh, what a fantastic ritual. Yes, indeed a physical reminder! As I food lover, I think this would be really amazing to incorporate into the wedding ceremony!!!

5/14/09 @ 3:15 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Beagle (message) 1,380 posts, Bumble bee

What a unique idea! Have you decided what foods you will use if you do this?

5/14/09 @ 3:25 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Peep Toe (message) 1,804 posts, Buzzing bee

That’s cool. Yes, what foods do you actually use?

5/14/09 @ 3:59 pm (reply)

Member

FlipFlopBride (message) 1,437 posts, Bumble bee

What wonderful symbolism! I love this!

5/14/09 @ 4:19 pm (reply)

Member

Josalyn (message) 358 posts, Helper bee

We planned on doing this too!
Miss Peep Toe, if you look at the post she says what foods are usually used but you can opt for whatever you want really. I think cabbage patch kids would be better than lemon- maybe we can share that with out guests, a couple fire balls instead of tabasco…..

5/14/09 @ 4:35 pm (reply)

Hostess

MightySapphire (message) 7,632 posts, Bee Keeper

We’re doing the polish salt-bread tradition, which is kind of the same. We also were going to do the Brautbecher, but decided it would be too much. I love the four flavors though, that would be cool to watch (and photograph!) at a ceremony! I feel like a wedding twin…are you stalking us?

5/14/09 @ 4:51 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Swan (message) 1,046 posts, Bumble bee

Just to let you know…this was all part of my research. I won’t be doing this tradition, but I do love it.

5/14/09 @ 9:51 pm (reply)

10.

Member

mrspaetz (message) 3,805 posts, Honey bee

This is really interesting, because there’s a Chinese custom with the 4 exact tastes too.

In fact, during the ‘gatecrashing’ games (when the bridemaids make the groom/groomsmen do dares before reaching the bride), the guys are commonly made to eat stuff of the 4 flavors!

5/14/09 @ 10:38 pm (reply)

11.

Member

Tstew (message) 109 posts, Blushing bee

This was really interesting. We were looking for Afrocentric and symbolic items to incorporate into the ceremony.

5/15/09 @ 8:34 am (reply)

12.

Guest

Miss Altman

My fiance and I will be adding this to our ceremony! I opted to do this instead of the combining of the sand. I love the symbolism and Afrocentric rootss.

6/8/09 @ 8:10 pm (reply)

13.

Guest

Minister Hobbs

We married in 2004 and did a similiar ritual with the added element of water–an essential element for all life. We had my grandchildren and two neices each carry one of the elements down the aisle then to the family members after we tasted them. It was a beautiful to incorporate all the family into our ceremony.
(We are both very middle aged (55) at that time.) We plan to do it again this year for our 5th anniversary ceremony.

7/14/09 @ 8:57 pm (reply)

14.

Member

MissPrecious (message) 4 posts, Wannabee

We’re looking to include this ritual into the reception before we cut our cake and after the toasts. We’re going to use a Scottish quaich for our toasts as it’s a symbol of the shared love and partnership we have.

10/8/11 @ 12:26 pm (reply)