Week 3, OR Goin' to the Chapel

Hey friends!

My fellow intern, Jeny, and I were invited to a traditional Guinean wedding. It was wonderful, strange, and tasty all at the same time. I definitely have my own opinions about the wedding traditions, but I'll try not to be too biased as I recount some of the highlights. I'll let you decide what you make of it!

The Happy Couple

Only the close family and friends were allowed to participate in the ceremony, and Jeny and I were lucky enough to be included in that small group. The wedding took place at a family member's house, and the ceremony was held in the living room while the other guests celebrated outside with music and dancing. The ceremony began with "negotiators" introducing everyone and talking a little bit about the family. Their speeches were punctuated by dancing and singing among all of the guests.

Every time the music started playing loudly, the grooms family had to go outside and dance until the music stopped. 

After the speeches were done, an older woman came out and began to collect money. Our friend explained to us that they were symbolically paying for the "transportation" of the bride. The woman came out several times, saying things like, "Her taxi broke down! We need more money!" It was purely symbolic and extremely amusing.

When enough money had been collected, they brought out the bride shrouded in cloth on her hands and knees, like an animal going to market. Everyone in the room began shouting, singing, and dancing around her, all the while throwing more money so the maid of honor could reveal the girl beneath the cloth. Alas, the first girl turned out to NOT be the right bride, and she was sent back. This was repeated twice more, the third time revealing the true bride.

When the real bride was revealed, dressed in a traditional gown of aqua silk, the men began to once again yell, sing, and dance upon her. She sat on the floor in the middle of the crowded room (which had to have been at least 85 degrees) while the men negotiated the price of the bride. The dowry was then presented in the form of money and nuts wrapped in banana leaves. The groom's family also presented the bride with a knife, which symbolized her first steps into a life of domesticity and marital bliss. The banana-leaf-packages were wrapped in yards and yards of twine, which the bride struggled to untie as the men stood around her, shouting directions about the best way to do it. She did not seem to enjoy this process and was coaxed with more money, which was either thrown at her or slapped on her forehead.

I'm not making any of this up. 

The bride unwrapping the dowry in the middle of everyone. 

After three and a half hours of shouting, singing, dancing, and negotiating, the groom's family had effectively purchased a bride. It should be noted that the groom was not present for the ceremony.

The rest of the wedding was far more fun and far less offensive. We danced at the ceremony venue for about an hour, during which we took a break long enough to make friends with some of the locals :)

Sorry to turn all "Angelina" on you...

After dancing, we drove to a big house and Jeny and I were given seats of honor right next to the bride while we ate dinner. It was a delicious meal of spiced potatoes, peas, rice, and chicken. AMAZING.

Delicious dinner!

Overall, it was a fantastic experience. It's amazing how welcoming Guinean people are. The family treated us like guests of honor and they were so excited to share their traditions and their home with us. I can't say that I loved every second of it, though. Parts of the ceremony were down-right disturbing to me, but I'm really glad that I went all the same. I'll always be grateful to them for letting me be part of such an important day!

More to come this week, I promise!

-Mandy