That young man stared straight ahead of him with blood-shot eyes and a dull, half-foolish expression. He did not seem to hear Imos, when he said:
“By the power vested in me, I unite and bind thee, Orondo, and thee, Ildiko, one to the other. Live ye in peace.”
Lifting their veil he anointed their foreheads and wrists with unguent. Then he carefully drew a gold thread from the bride’s mantle and another from the groom’s, and tied them together. He handed the knot to Ildiko, saying:
“Be this always a sign of indissoluble union.”
Picking up a sprig of ivy, Setos bound it across Orondo’s forehead, adding:
“Be this a similar token unto thee.”
Receiving a cup of mead from the hands of an assistant, he blessed it, drank of it, and passed the libation to the newly married couple.
After Ildiko took a sip, she threw the cup on the floor, and as she did so every unmarried man in the temple followed her example by dashing into pieces a porcelain, glass or pottery vessel, as a signal of renunciation.
The bridal party filed out of the temple to the music of harps and flutes. There was an eager wish to witness the leave-taking of the bride and bridegroom, who formally separated at the door and returned to their respective homes until nightfall. Then the bride would enter Iaqua in state, and the matrimonial coronation would take place.