ABSTRACT
I n Ginukh, like the whole world over, I saw little girls playing 'brides', dressed up in white gauze veils and plaited coloured girdles, jumping a few years, past puberty, to the time of betrothal. Meanwhile in Makhachkala, Patimat was chatting to Niamh, my Irish companion: "You must have a
child soon, 31 is almost too late. Also Robert is old for children - he is nearly 50 [44 actually] and that's bad. Women are considered too old at 30 - because they are tired out by then. Why don't you marry Robert? The wedding is a woman's great day in Daghestan. I now have no more big days to look forward to. Getting a flat will be the last big day in my life ... " From the age of 17 for a girl, and a little older for a boy, all their parents think about is betrothal. The oldest were in the village of Oboda, where brides were up to 25 and grooms five years older.
