In the morning of the wedding. The groom’s entourage will bring the Khan Makk to the bride’s family.
The proceedings begin with the arrival of the groom and his entourage at the bride’s home. The group accompanying the groom consists of family and friends, but leading the procession will be drummers and traditional folk cancers, whose lively celebrations announce their arrival to all around.
The entourage or parade consists of :
• A drum band
• The father of the groom
• The groom and Mother of the groom
• A little girl holding the Khan Makk bowl
• A boy or brother of the groom holding a tray of gifts for the bride. (In the tray there will be money and gold jewellery to ensure that the new family will befinancially secured)
• Friends and relatives of the groom holding trays of sweets and fruits. (The sweets using in the ceremony all have names meaning gold, sweetness and good fortune)
• Male friends of the groom holding sugar cane plants and banana trees. These are to be planted later in the new home. To provide food for babies to come.
Banana leaves and sugar cane are paraded like banners by some of the attendants, while others bear the traditional gifts of the Khan Makk, which includes rice, sesame seeds, Thai food for the feast and many Thai desserts, as well as monetary gifts and other precious items, such as gold and jewellery, which will make up the dowry to the Brides Parents later on in the ceremony.
Many of these gifts represent important aspects of the marriage, such as health, prosperity, fertillity, and longevity. The In order for the wedding to continue, the Groom must collect the bride from her room to join him for the Khan Makk ceremony.
Before this can happen however, the groom must successfully pass through a number of obstacles that are put in his way by the family of the bride. Normally there are just three symbolic “door” which can only be passed through once the groom has proved his worth to the keepers of the “locks” These keepers are usually childres holding silver and gold chains. The groom or his gather has to offer some token and negotiate humourously before the children let them pass. This tradition aims for the two families to get familiar with each other.
The Grooms can sometimes be questioned and is occasionally teased during this ritual as the family light-heartedly determine whether he can pass through each “door” but his passage to the next “door” or ultimately to the bride’s room itself, will only be granted once a “toil” has been negotiated with the keeper of the “lock”. The toll for each subsequent “door” will increase as the groom successfully advances.