A Real African Wedding.

Today was wedding day!  Or rather, it was introduction day. 

   

Oh my word, it was so fun and such a cool experience.  We got up decently early in the morning and got all done up for the day.  It was really fun.  I honestly looked good for the first time this trip I think.  We were such girls today, again, probably a first.  My hair was honestly straight, even in the humidity, and I got to do other people's hair and make-up, which was really fun.     We left around 11, which was about an hour later than we had planned, TIA.  (This. Is. Africa.)  Our car ride was about two hours long from Ntinda to Jinja.  Jinja is the city where the base of the Nile is, and it is where Sarah's family lives.     

The introduction ceremonies are always held at the bride's house and hosted by the groom’s family.  The bride’s family sits in two tents (depending on how many people attend) and the groom’s family gets the center tent.  The parents of both the bride and groom sat on some couches in the first row of the tent and seriously got star treatment.  They were served water, soda, and food, everything they wanted throughout the 4-hour ceremony.  We were all wearing a sheet of red, gold, and black striped fabric wrapped in the fashion such as a toga, but with a little extra flair to it.  We then got a black sash with silver fringe that they tied in a certain way around our waist, and we all wore big, black, chunky, African necklaces.  The boys wore trousers and a dress shirt underneath a full-length tunic that made them look like prophets from Jesus’ time, all with a suit jacket over top of it.  They were really hot.  

In order to enter the ceremony, we had to dance our way in, while in a straight line of girls and boys separated.  The girls all kneeled in straight lines on the mats, while the boys stood behind us.  We repeated a greeting speech in Luganda that was taught to us beforehand.  This gave many of the Ugandan attendees a good laugh.  We were then ushered to our seats in Sarah’s tent where we watched other people enter the ceremony.  Throughout the entire ceremony there were a bunch of little traditions that I couldn’t really understand because the entire service was read in Luganda.  However, from what I understood, the bride and groom sat in the tents “hiding” from each other.  The groom’s family asked one of the aunts of the bride about how they knew Sarah.  They were making jokes about her age and other things, which is apparently part of the tradition.  Then Sarah and her wedding party entered the ceremony and recited the greeting to the groom’s family.  However, the bride is not allowed to say one word throughout the ceremony, her family or wedding party always speak for her.  Then Sarah’s “maid of honor” had to take a rose in a basket and go through the groom’s tent and find him.  This tradition just proves to the family that Sarah’s close friends and family actually know who he is and that they have known him for a while.  Once she finds him, she pins the rose on his suit jacket and then he gets to sit with his parents and Sarah on a couch in the groom’s family’s tent.  

I didn’t understand many of the other things that happened, but we got to witness the giving of the dowry, which was actually hilarious.  The family got a sofa set amongst probably 50 baskets of various fruits and other gifts.  They were also given a cow and some livestock, but we didn’t get to see that.  Then the groom had some presents specifically for Sarah’s parents and for Sarah, and at the end of the ceremony, Sarah’s fiancé gave her the engagement ring.  Sarah cut the cake and we had cake and dinner before leaving her house.  

It was so interesting to see a little bit of their traditional culture, and actually be a part of it.  They were all so appreciative that we would take the time to come and abide by the cultural traditions.  When Sarah came back after a few days, she said that she really genuinely loved that we came and that we just made the ceremony for her and that we all looked really good.  

For once, we actually did.