Bröllop som arena för konflikter. Exemplet brudskådning som fest och protest

Abstract

Wedding as an Arena for Conflicts

This article focuses on the tradition “skåda brud” (lit. viewing the bride) in the western parts of Sweden. Rural weddings during the 19th century were often visited by uninvited guests. A large number of young people, sometimes disguised, could gather outside a wedding house to view the bride. Often, the bride was called out, whereupon “skådarna” (lit. viewers) shot with rifles or made other kinds of noises. In return, the young people were usually given something to drink and sometimes also food. Other bridal watchers could instead break into the wedding house, to dance with the bride or to provide themselves with food and drink.

The uninvited guests were often regarded as flattering. A large number of bridal watchers were a sign of high social status. For the young people who visited the wedding houses the tradition was an occasion to celebrate. An alternative wedding reception was sometimes held in the courtyard. But the tradition was not unproblematic. Excessive drinking, violence and vandalism were common parts of the tradition.

In this article the tradition primarily is analyzed from a conflict perspective. The violence and vandalism are interpreted as protests against what the uninvited and often poor youngsters, who visited the large rural weddings in the 19th century, perceived as a social injustice. In short, weddings clarified social differences. The article also demonstrates how the leading men of the local communities tried to reform the tradition, either by prohibiting it altogether or heavily regulate it.