Carsic Wedding
The current celebration is a revival of an ancient custom that characterised weddings from the second half of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century. The tradition of the Carsic Wedding was revived in 1968 by the Naš Kras cooperative, with the participation of the inhabitants of the municipality of Monrupino, who today take care of the entire event.
The “Kraška Ohcet” take place every two years in the last week of August and re-enact the most important moments of marriages in a ritual typical of the “Carso” of the time.
The celebrations begin on Thursday evening. The groom offers his friends a bachelor party dinner in Repen. The bride gets together with her friends for a hen party in Col. After the respective refreshments, the bride and groom and their entourage gather in the Repen square and dance one last time, as unmarried couples.
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This type of pre-wedding celebration belongs to more modern times (second half of the 20th century). In fact, it is such an established and popular custom among the Karst people that the organisers considered it unique and therefore worthy of inclusion in the pre-wedding festivities.
Friday night is the turn of the serenade. It is an ancient Slovenian custom of marriage and evening socialising for young people. The groom-to-be sings to his fiancée in front of the window in the company of his friends. The girl in the room listens attentively to the boys’ song echoing through the village and naturally wishes the chosen one would come to her. The groom tries to get closer to her with the help of a ladder, but sooner or later he has to face his future mother-in-law, who is implacable and repels and hinders him in every way.
Saturday evening, the eve of the wedding, is dedicated to the transport of the dowry. The bride’s family and the young bachelors gather at the symbolic house number in Col to organise the arrival of the dowry. The youngest brother of the bride sits on the cart. Two boxes are placed on the wagon, which is decorated with embroidered bales with the names of the bride and groom.
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When the wagon arrives in Repen in the courtyard of the groom’s house, it is the child who assumes a key role. At first the parents evaluate and check the newly arrived dowry, then the bride’s little brother refuses to hand over the hen before it is well fed. The mother-in-law has to redeem the bird by giving the little boy some kind of compensation in food and drink. Only then is the dowry handed over and she can proceed to unload it.
It is Sunday, the day of the wedding, and in the early hours of the morning the bride and groom and their procession arrive at the bride’s house. At home, the groom, dressed in a black suit, with a red ribbon on his shoulders, is presented with cakes and snacks, and the most important task awaits him: putting on the groom’s shirt. The groom makes his way to the bride’s house and the day is filled with touching moments.
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From the centre of the village, the groom’s in-laws arrive at the bride’s house with the gifts (scarf and stockings) and make their way to the bride’s house, from where they make their way to the church. There, the unmarried girls and young men fight over the wedding potion. After returning from the wedding (the bride’s father takes the oath), a feast for young and old starts in Repen. The wedding ceremony ends with a dinner, feasting and revelry that lasts until the early hours of the morning.
Register of the married
1968 september 21-22
Mira Piščanc – Angelo Kermez
1969 september 08-14
Irma Križman – Božo Sedmak
1970 september 07-13
Mirjana Persič – Bogdan Kosmač
1971 september 06-12
Majda Briščik – Emil Škabar
1972 september 06-12
Nataša Čevnja – Rado Andolšek
1974 september 10-13
Violetta Finotto – Edi Bukavec
1978 october 28-1
Gisella Dose – Stojan Prašelj
1979 august 30-02
Graziella Luin – Marjan Krpan
1980 august 27-31
Tatjana Miletič – Peter Suhadolc
Nadja Lazar – Robert Stranščak
1981 august 26-30
Nevenka Kozina – Zvonimir Kalc
1983 august 24-26
Romana Maiano – Sergij Štoka
1985 august 28-01
Morana Sosič – Franco Simonettig
1987 august 26-01
Anamarija Baša – Pavel Purič
1989 september 23-27
Dunja Sosič – Davorin Smotlak
1991 august 21-25
Martina Lozej – Gorazd Pučnik
1993 august 25-29
Mirijam Maver – Davorin Gregori
1995 august 23-27
Nevenka Marušič – Peter Kuk
1997 august 27-31
Nataša Rebula – Adriano Poljšak
1999 august 25-29
Alenka Pahor – Luca Violini
2001 august 22-26
Ginevra Kocjan – Igor Tomasettig
2003 august 27-31
Tanja Kermez – Niko Golemac
2005 august 24-28
Martina Krapež – Dean Stolfa
2007 august 22-26
Jana Ban – Tom Oberdan
2009 august 26-30
Ivana Škabar – Dean Furlan
2011 august 24-28
Martina Sossi – Aleš Gregori
2013 august 21-25
Neža Milič – Jernej Kapun
2018 august 23-26
50th Anniversary of the First Karst Wedding
2022 august 24-28
Dana Purič – Ivan Kerpan
2025 august 27-31
Tina Forčič – Thomas Velikonja
ZADRUGA NAŠ KRAS COOPERATIVA CARSO NOSTRO
Repen 31, Repentabor – Monrupino, 34151 TRST-TRIESTE.
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