Wait, this is a Guinean wedding?: Week 10

WEEK 10

April 10, 2012

I spent the weekend in Boke with Marissa and Stephanie and a bunch of education volunteers who are on spring break. It was a lot of fun and we made some awesome meals. The first night was just the three of us so we made garlic bread and mozzarella sticks again. The next day, before the education volunteers arrived (they were all coming from a vacation on the beach) we made brownies with caramel and mango jam. For dinner that night we had sag paneer (an Indian style dish made with spinach and cheese) with homemade cheese and flat bread. It was delicious and the ed volunteers were very grateful because they hadn’t planned anything for dinner.

Yesterday we made pancakes that we ate with mango jam and bananas. That afternoon we lounged and watched movies and just talked. It was a really relaxing day and it was great spending time with the other volunteers, getting to know them better. For dinner that night we made pasta salad, deviled eggs, and garlic bread and Cisse (regional coordinator) brought us half a watermelon.

Today the ed volunteers all went to Kamsar and Steph went back to site, so Marissa and I organized the library, alphabetizing and dusting the shelves. Later the two of us ventured into the market where I bought two new fabrics for clothes (one is white, blue, and red with umbrellas and the other is maroon with white parasols) and Marissa bought screens for her windows/door. On our way out I saw a kitten in a gutter of the market and we brought it back to the PC house to clean and feed it. After de-fleeing it and whatnot, the kitten was very lively and Marissa decided to name it Maakiti (ma-KEE-tee), which is Susu for market. Marissa took Maakiti back to site with her, as I plan to get a cat from one of the PC APCD’s at our next training session in May.

April 13, 2012

Today I went to a marriage for someone in my extended family. This was the first actual ceremony I’ve seen here (besides that weird thing for the funeral) and it was very strange. I don’t quite know how to describe what happened; it was extremely awkward and unexpectedly informal. For the wedding, woven mats were placed in a square on the ground and the Sage all sat around the square. Two white plastic chairs were placed facing the square for the bride and groom. All the people attending the wedding sat in plastic chairs in a circle surrounding the couple and the Sage. The bride came out first; she was very young, no older than 16. She walked into the circle from her house with a woman (I’m assuming her mother) and the woman placed in a chair and arranged her veil so it covered her hair. I felt bad for this girl; she looked terrified, and not just pre-wedding jitter, more like she would burst into tears any moment. I asked Kadiatou if this girl wanted to get married and she said of course, and it was normal for her to be scared (but it was not normal, I can assure you). Then the groom (probably about 24 years old, maybe older) entered the circle from the other side where he had been standing with friends; he sat in the chair next to the bride and the mother of the bride placed a white sheet over both of their heads. Then the chief Sage started speaking in Susu with another Sage echoing him, like at the funeral.

This continued for a while and then all of a sudden people started running up to the bride and groom throwing money at them and at the Sage. I was taken aback by this interruption of the ceremony, but no one else seemed surprised. Once everyone returned to his or her seats the Sage resumed his speech, but only to be interrupted a short while later by more money tossing. This happened three or four times by the time the ceremony was over. After every time money was thrown at the couple, women, like bridesmaids I guess, took the money away and gave it to the family of the bride.

In the middle of the wedding, a random woman (maybe related to the bride?) pulled a chair up next to the groom, sat down, and placed a white cloth over her head and his. Everyone thought this was hilarious (except the bride), but I didn’t understand what she was doing.  When I asked Kadiatou what was happening she said the woman was just joking, but it was very strange. She remained sitting there for a while, almost the rest of the ceremony, before the Sage told her to leave. During the whole service, the bride sat mannequin-like; she didn’t move at all, and I don’t think she ever smiled. Even when it was over and people were getting ready to head to the fête (generic word for any kind of celebration, in this case it was the wedding reception) she looked scared and unhappy.

After the wedding, I was walking home with Kadiatou when she pulled me into the village taxi along with 4 other people and the driver. I thought we were just getting a ride back to our houses but it turned out we were in a parade of sorts, comprised of motorcycles, cars, pick-up trucks, and children running and screaming alongside the vehicles. The “parade” ended at the house of the groom, where the reception took place. Once here, everyone began dancing and taking pictures of the newlyweds, who were placed on a couch in the middle of the yard. All in all, this was a rather interesting, and a little disturbing afternoon, and I look forward to attending more weddings to see if this one was, in fact, typical.