After explaining the ceremony in English, the group stands and the 'minister' starts chanting in Dhivehi. Unfortunately for the happy couple, he is insulting them
Exotic weddings abroad are a booming business, particularly in the luxurious surroundings of the Maldives.
But one YouTube film has undermined the entire industry, showing members of staff mocking a western couple during a 'traditional' wedding ceremony at a luxury resort.
In the video, employees at the Vilu Reef Beach and Spa resort perform a supposedly spiritual service in their native Dhivehi tongue, but take the opportunity to abuse the English-speaking couple, calling them ‘infidel’ and ‘swine’ and declaring their marriage 'illegal'.
Oblivious: The couple are unaware that they are being insulted during the ceremony that was conducted in the traditional Maldivian tongue of Dhivehi
According to the Maldive news service Minivan News, the video which was uploaded to You Tube ‘as a joke’ shows an employee named Hussein Didi conducting a service as a 'celebrant' - a person who is empowered to perform a religious ceremony.
The document he uses, of which there is a brief close-up in the video, has absolutely no relation to marriage laws in the Maldives. Words that are legible on the document refer to ‘staff employment’, suggesting that it is a document relating to employment regulations.
Asking the couple and other ‘officials’ to raise their hands as is customary for Muslim prayers, the ‘celebrant’ begins his marriage vows.
‘Fornication has been legalised according to Article six, 1.11 of the Penal Code’, he chants in a tone favoured by religious scholars. ‘That is, frequent fornication by homosexuals. Most fornication is by males,’ he continues.
‘You are swine. The children that you bear from this marriage will all be bastard swine,’ he says to his guests.
‘Your marriage is not a valid one. You are not the kind of people who can have a valid marriage. One of you is an infidel. The other, too, is an infidel – and we have reason to believe – an atheist, who does not even believe in an infidel religion.’
The hapless couple remain oblivious as the ‘celebrant’, surrounded by 10-15 employees, calls for the marriage to be enshrined in Islamic law, followed by further personal insults against the couple.
None of the employees attempts to stop the 'ceremony' and several take photographs.
At the end of the 'service' the couple plant a coconut tree as Hussein Didi - who conducted the ceremony - and his crew make rude remarks about the bride's breasts Various types of insults about the woman and the man, their clothing and demeanour, are spoken throughout in the form of a running commentary in a sports video.
The woman speak English, largely just in reply to the 'officials', and it appears from the video that their surname is Alexander, although one news agency maintains they are Swiss.
As the bride bends down to plant the coconut tree, a man is heard is exclaiming: 'Can see her breasts!' To which the ‘commentator’ responds: 'my beard has gone grey watching those things… I have seen so many of them now that I don’t even want to look any more when I see them.'
A police investigation has been launched into the incident while management at the resort said that the employees have been sacked and evicted from the resort altogether.
But the resort admitted that it does not have a person who is specifically designated to perform the rituals.
Paradise lost: The couple who were renewing their vows at the resort were humiliated by employees during the ceremony
The groom, who is watering the new coconut tree which they have just planted, is totally unaware of the manner in which his wife and her breasts are being discussed by the group of Maldivian men ‘officiating’ at the renewal of their wedding vows.
‘Celebrant’ Didi tells the couple they should return soon to check on the progress of their plant, testament to what had taken place on the island that day.
The video concludes with the ‘commentator’ repeatedly urging the ‘celebrant’ to make the couple ‘suck mouths, suck mouths’ - an expression used by Maldivians to denigrate the act of kissing.
A stay at the exclusive luxury resort can cost £850 per person
In a statement the resort expressed its ‘deep concern and regret’ over the incident. Set on its own exclusive island in the Indian Ocean, the Maldive resort is a popular destination for couples intending to renew their marriage vows.
A stay at the Vilu Reef beach and Spa costs from $1335 per person and it is advertised as a place where couples can ‘celebrate and capture the special moments of your life and mark a milestone in your amazing journey together or wish to rejoice another year of life’.
The video has sparked outrage from tourism authorities in the country. Deputy Tourism Minister Ismail Yasir said ‘we are investigating the matter through the resort management.
'The management informed us in writing that it would send us its findings as the matter involves the company’s employees.’
• Do you know who the hapless couple so cruelly treated in the video are? Contact the Mail Online newsdesk on 020 7938 6011 or email websiteeditorial@dailymail.co.uk Warning: Graphic language (in Dhivehi)
Posts
