Traditional Malay Weddings – ‘Spying Custom” – Asking ceremony (Adat Merisik)

Traditional Malay wedding follows the Adat Merisik (“Spying custom” / Asking Ceremony) for arranging marriages.

For the ceremony, the man’s family will engage one or more representatives (wakil)
to visit the woman’s family. In the past, this is a “Spying” visit,
where the visitors would investigate the woman’s suitability for the
man’s future wife.

These days, it is a formality for the families to know one another, and to fix a day for the engagement.