THE 'DEVER' (THE BROTHER OF THE GROOM) AS A MEDIATOR IN THE RELATIONS BETWEEN TWO FAMILIES WHICH ARE TO BECOME BLOOD RELATED

Abstract

The 'devers' or the 'pobratimi' or 'bratimi' play an important role in the wedding ceremony. Whereas the role of the 'devers' in the contemporary Macedonian wedding ritual is designated to the biological brothers of the groom, in cases where he has brothers, and only in isolated cases the role is designated to his close relatives, in the past this role was performed by close relatives of the groom, but not by his biological brothers.