Prenuptial Rituals in Scotland
Blackening the Bride and Decorating the Hen- Authors:
- Publisher:
- 2019
Summary
The hen (or bachelorette) party, with its groups of visible, raucous women on trains, planes, and in public spaces is ubiquitous throughout the English-speaking world. The practice of the blackening, a unique form of kidnapping and “punishment” ritual, is limited to North Eastern parts of Scotland and to specific sectors of the population. Both are prenuptial rituals enacted by women. In Prenuptial Rituals in Scotland, Sheila Young produces a thorough description of how these two rituals were and are enacted and analyzes the ways these practices have changed through time as a social commentary. Young’s study provides valuable insights into identity, gender, social class, contemporary attitudes to ritual, and what it means to approach marriage in the twenty first century.
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Bibliographic data
- Copyright year
- 2019
- ISBN-Print
- 978-1-7936-0386-9
- ISBN-Online
- 978-1-7936-0387-6
- Publisher
- Lexington, Lanham
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 209
- Product type
- Book Titles
Table of contents
- Contents No access
- List of Figures No access
- Acknowledgments No access
- Introduction No access Pages 1 - 24
- 1 Origins of the Blackening and the Hen Party Rituals No access Pages 25 - 38
- 2 Blackening the Bride No access Pages 39 - 62
- 3 Decorating the Hen, Part 1 No access Pages 63 - 90
- 4 Decorating the Hen, Part 2 No access Pages 91 - 118
- 5 Decorating the Hen, Part 3 No access Pages 119 - 138
- 6 Meaning, Purpose, and Broader Insights No access Pages 139 - 176
- Appendix 1 No access Pages 177 - 180
- Appendix 2 No access Pages 181 - 182
- Appendix 3 No access Pages 183 - 184
- Glossary No access Pages 185 - 186
- References No access Pages 187 - 202
- Index No access Pages 203 - 208
- About the Author No access Pages 209 - 209





