Rwanda Wedding

It has been some time since I have posted, but I promised that I would add a post about the wonderful wedding that I was honored to have attended during my brief stay in Rwanda.

I served as an English/French Teacher at the Teacher Training College in Kabarore, Rwanda.  At one of the staff meetings, the Principal invited the entire staff to the wedding of his brother and although I was so very new there, I jumped at the opportunity to attend such a unique ceremony honoring the culture of Rwanda.  

One of the first things I needed to know was what to wear to a wedding since I really had not brought a fancy dress with me for my Peace Corps service.   Fortunately, I had a Rwandan friend in the States who indicated that it would be a wonderful experience for me if I wore the traditional Rwandan wedding dress: imishanana.  After checking out all of the little boutique shops in Kabarore, I found one which rents the dress, and I cannot tell you how much fun the two clerks had dressing me appropriately until I found the one I liked.  What do you think?

The first part of the wedding was a gathering of the wedding party and all family and invited guests at the venue.  There was little ceremony as we all gathered together; it was a time of greeting each other and reacquainting ourselves with our loved ones.  I was eager to observe so my Principal asked his aunt to accompany as she mingled with a group of "older" women.  I was honored to be by her side, but I could not resist taking pictures of the wedding party. 




From there, we moved inside the tent where the bride and groom were presented to the congregation.  Each family "offers" the marriage partner to the other family. One of the very special traditions in Rwandan culture is that the parents of the bride and groom are presented with a gift, in this case the Dad received a hat and the mother, a smaller item (I could not see what was given to her). 




 
 


There were many speeches and lots of clapping and I must admit, since I do not speak Kinyarwanda, I had a hard time paying attention.  I was, however, treated to these two little cuties who had as much of a struggle to be attentive as did I.  The little girl promenaded around the ceremony with my hat on.





Following this part of the ceremony, a beautiful meal was served, with all of the traditional Rwandan foods, including bananas (they aren't really bananas because they are served as a vegetable, and I cannot get enough of them), rice, salad, peanut sauce (it is pink, and DELICIOUS), cake and a number of other delicacies.



We then all departed the ceremony to head to the Church for the religious ceremony.  I was delighted that the two ministers alternated speaking/translating in Kinyarwanda as well as English.  There was a wonderful band with lots of expressive, joyful singing.  Notice that the bride and groom changed into what one might consider more bridal attire, and notice how beautiful they are.  The ceremony lasted about an hour and once again, we all gathered in the courtyard following the ceremony.  It was an opportunity for me to interact with the family and share some of the differences between American and Rwandan wedding culture.



Once again, we returned to the original location to follow up with even more traditions including presentation of the gifts to the bride and groom, the couple's toast, and lots of dancing.  I have to share that I was put on the spot a bit during the presentation of the gifts.  According to tradition, the wedding helpers approach the wedding couple with the gift while announcing the name of the person who gave the gift. That person then joins the couple, literally presents the gift to the couple while touching both the bride and groom, and then has a picture taken all together.  I, of course, had no idea what was happening and just barely heard my name called when it was time to present my gift.  Thank goodness, my Principal joined me and explained to me what I needed to do.


It was a remarkable day and I cannot express enough how grateful I was to have been invited to my first (and perhaps only) Rwandan wedding, and to share the joy with this wonderful family.




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