Wedding Ceremony

The most important part of the Melanau marriage is surong brian (literally 'the bring toward of bride wealth). The surong brian is Melanau words is ' work of old and great '. 
Following the feast the groom's father will ask his selected family representative to present bride wealth (brian) to parent of the bride.
 The ' wakil ' also advice on how the different part of the ' surong brian ' should be allocated, and who will present on that. In order to achieve this end, the 'wakil' must be well-verses in traditional customary ritual and be able to speak elegantly and convincingly.
 A weight of gold valued must be placed in wooden receptacle according to the social rank of the bride.
In fact, the gold in the  'ulou brian' often has the value of more than on pikol of brass cannon.



Wedding day

The relative from both side will busy inviting the village folk to attend the wedding ceremony. In olden days, the invited visitors will bring forward gifts in form of chicken and rice but nowadays wrapped up gifts and cash are common.

About 10 o'clock, the bride and the entourage will first visit the groom's house. The groom parents herald the arrival of the bride and entourage and will be given a warm traditional welcome.