This article explores the folk beliefs and traditional practices surrounding the marriage process in Madaba, Jordan, and compares them with those found in Samsun, Turkey, based on Bekir Şişman’s work Marriage in Turkish Culture (The Last Century of Tradition – The Case of Samsun). The study analyzes the marriage process in three main stages: pre-wedding, wedding, and post-wedding. Each stage includes subtopics such as partner selection, matchmaking, bride price (mahr) and dowry, henna night, groom’s bath, bridal procession (zaffa), wedding gifts (nukût), wedding feast, fertility wishes, and symbolic binding rituals for the bride and groom. The research was conducted using qualitative methods, including fieldwork and interviews with elderly individuals in Madaba. Data on Samsun are limited to Şişman’s study. The comparative folklore approach reveals that in both societies, marriage is shaped not only by religious and cultural values but also by symbolic and ritual elements that reflect community identity. Although similar themes such as fertility, dowry, and ornaments are found in both regions, the way these are practiced varies according to local beliefs and social structures. Overall, marriage emerges as a cultural institution that transcends personal unions, reflecting collective memory and cultural continuity.

Madaba, Samsun, Marriage Stages, Marriage Traditions, Folk Beliefs.