Preparations for a wedding (and Passover)

My coworker, Anita, is getting married just before I return home. Weddings are big events here- often many hundreds of people- and are costly. The cost of the wedding is borne by the community so the invitation comes with a pledge card and often a budget. Clothes for the bride and her bridesmaids, food (e.g. one cow, 4 goats, 20 chickens, 30 bunches of matoke, 25 kg of cornmeal, etc.), spices, vegetables, fruits, drinks, decorations, and entertainment are included. I’ve been to one wedding planning meeting so far. The meetings can occur weekly and are attended by friends and family. They are conducted with meeting rules: there’s a chairman, attendance is kept, and minutes are read. The point of the meetings is to collect money. People who have pledged money pay up publicly and more money is collected. A ‘chairman’s bag’ for donations is passed initially and then the meeting goes on for more hours (sort of like a telathon), during which speeches and challenges for money are made. (I was asked to play the part of the village elder at the meeting to inspire all present to donate generously.)

The Introduction and Give-Away will take place the day prior to the wedding. These are traditional events in which the groom and his family come to the bride’s home. Part of the Give-Away involves a bride price, which is hefty. A number of cows are usually part of the deal, though Anita told me that money could be substituted. People wear traditional clothes to the Give-Away and I am very much looking forward to this part. The fabric choices are endless though the dress pattern is always the same. So my current challenge-so tough- is to choose the fabric and then a seamstress will make the dress.

The photos are of Anita helping me at the fabric store and, completely unrelated, my first Passover Seder, organized by my housemate Henry and attended by housemates from across the world.