Wedding

Well the other day I had the privilege of being able to attend my first African wedding. One thing that someone should know about African weddings is that they are long. This is mostly because no one ever remembers the pastor showing up even an hour within the appointed starting time. This wedding wasn’t too bad, the pastor showed up two and half hours late and we were able to start. The weddings here start with a long march (they don’t march very far it just takes a while) And I really can’t call it marching it is a little like a shuffle where they take steps about three or four inches apart and step on each foot twice before they switch and put the other foot in front. Anyways it takes a long time for the wedding party to march in, then they march out, then they shuffle back in. Finally the bride comes in with the same slow shuffle, but she only goes halfway down the aisle where she is met by the groom who lifts up her veil to make sure he hasn’t gotten Leah. Then together they march to the front of the church and the rest of the wedding proceeds. One interesting thing to note is that the bride and groom are not allowed to show any emotion during the wedding so they tend to look depressed or bored throughout the ceremony. Also something else that is interesting is the sound the women make after the wedding is over; it sounds something like a mix between and Indian yell and calling for cows, quite remarkable. Then after the wedding all the girls dance in front of the couple as they walk to the reception. The whole service is replete with lots of singing, music, and dancing. I was surprised that this is the first wedding where the bride marches into “Power in the Blood”. At the reception all the guest come and present their presents to the couple and congratulate them. Then it ends with a meal of beans and rice. Which, for me, makes a very complete day.