The groom’s representatives also brought cash, to give directly to the bride, not her father. Religious authorities in Chechnya regulate the sum, to keep a check on bride payment inflation. Still, it went up last year, rising from the ruble equivalent of about $470 to $780.

After the marriage ceremony in the bride’s home, Ms. Bashayeva, strangely, was married to Mr. Arsanov while he was not yet married to her. A procession of honking cars carried the newlywed to the groom’s home.

Soon enough, the crack of gunshots rang out. A noisy, mock skirmish erupted. Along the way, young men and children in the village pretended, as is expected of them, to try to halt the procession. They blocked the streets with parked cars. Engines revved, cars swerved. In a show of heroism to protect the bride, the groom’s men leapt from their cars, fired a pistol into the air, and challenged those who would block the way.

Once at the groom’s house, Ms. Bashayeva stood silently in a corner throughout the hourslong party, her gaze trained on the floor. (The bride is allowed to nibble on some food and bathroom breaks.) The tradition signifies rebirth into the groom’s family.

Asya Mishiyeva, a journalist living in Grozny, was twice married after being kidnapped, a practice that is now legally banned in Chechnya. In these instances, the man “just comes with his friends and throws you in a car,” she said. “Before, it was on a horse.”