I have just experienced my first Ugandan wedding celebration! Though many aspects are similar to what I’ve seen in the States, there were some interesting differences that I hope will come out in my description.
“The Pre Wedding”
On Thursday night I went to the Kasiki (bachelor’s party). You might be thinking, “KC, why did you go to a bachelor’s party?” But here, both men and women go to the Kasiki. In fact, it seemed like only the bride and her friends weren’t there. The party started at nine, so we showed up around 9:45. Of course, the wedding party didn’t arrive until around 10:30 and I heard that it was most lively between 11:30 and 1:30 a.m. (I only heard about this because I left just before 11). The Kasiki was held at Heartbeat, a local disco that only opens on occasion. I felt like I could be at any nightclub in the States, except that everyone there was African and the only drinks you could get were beer, beer, beer, or soda.
What struck me was the dancing. Most of the time I was there people were sitting along the edges and watching the football game between South Africa and Guinea (I think). Before the wedding party showed up, the DJ told everyone that we couldn’t let the groom see us like this and that we all must start dancing. Directly after that, people got up and danced! I was amazed at this in reflecting about how painful that would have been to accomplish in the States. Also, men love to dance! I tried to explain to someone that, in the States, it is not considered “manly” to dance. They couldn’t believe it! They just laughed and got back on the floor. How refreshing!
“The Wedding(s)”
Mary and I arrived at the church (see church photo from my first post, I believe) around 12:30. The wedding started at noon. We sneaked in quietly and took a seat towards the back. We looked for the groom, a partner of CRS named David, but couldn’t see him. Also, we kept hearing the names Augustine and Beatrice. It wasn’t until we saw the groom and knew that he was in fact the Augustine we kept hearing about and not David, that we realized that we were at the wrong wedding! That’s right, Mary and I are wedding crashers!
As it turns out, we were in the right place at the right time, but the first wedding of the day had gone long and ours hadn’t yet started. Though I had already been to one, the second wedding was much more enjoyable than the first and didn’t seem as long as it actually was. Some differences that I really enjoyed were the full choir, the dancers and that the wedding was intertwined with Mass (which does happen in the States, but I haven’t been to one like that before). Some differences that were just plain differences were that they signed the wedding certificate during the ceremony, the bride and groom sat in separate pews nearly the entire time, and they hug in the traditional way (on both sides) instead of kissing each other.
After the ceremony, we went to a lodge for the reception and after party. Here’s the short list of what happened:
Reception:
1.Site
2. Watch the wedding party in another procession (that is much much MUCH slower than what I’m used to)
3. Listen to many speeches (some good, some bad, and Ugandans love to give them)
4. Dinner (traditional foods – they ran out of forks so I got to eat with my hands for the first time here!)
5. Cake (they cut the cake into bite-sized pieces and the bridal party brings them around to the guests … cake here is ridiculously dry and we rated this one an 8 out of 10, 10 being super dry)
6. Gifts – everyone brings up their gifts
7. The bride changes dresses (interesting note, the bride rents a dress and the groom buys his suit – opposite from what I’m used to and, I have to say, makes much more sense)
After Party
- Dancing!
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