September 14th Celebrations continue.

The wedding.
The Saturday before last saw us leaving early for an unknown destination. We did not even know the name of the village we were going to. Kevin was appointed as driver and even though we had two teachers and the Anglican minister  with us ,we still got lost.
 Just a few pictures of the countryside on the way.

Sunrise over Lake Victoria

The Valley as we climbed to the Village

Looking out over the valley.

Add cSaturday Morning market in a Village.aption

After about an hour on the main highway to Dar Es Salaam , we turned off for a thirty kilometre  drive along a very narrow, winding and at times very steep road ( more like a rather wide motorbike track). The views were rather spectacular if you weren't watching the road.
We had to turn around  (a feat in itself)  and go back a little as we missed the turnoff to the village. It was bush and rocks and all of a sudden you rounded a corner and came into a big clearing with a huge church. There were people everywhere and as we were early, the white people drew a lot of undesired attention.  Most of the children in this village had never seen a white person and some were rather apprehensive. If we walked towards them to talk , some of them would back away.  Kevin put out his hand and one young boy shook it. Well that was the cue they wanted and we were mobbed. They all wanted to shake his hand and touch him.  It was really quite funny.

Meet and Greet

I had a seamstress make me an African dress the day before the wedding. I'm glad I did as it made it easier to fit in . They really appreciate it if you try to identify with them. It fitted perfectly without any try on during the sewing process.
The female relatives from each  family all wear  dresses made from the same coloured material. It certainly helps to identify who is related.

Relations

Hiltrudis - a lovely student from the school.

About a week before the actual wedding , there is a ceremony in the bride's village. It is a separation ceremony from her family and then the marriage ceremony is in the groom's village.
In true Tanzanian style nothing happens in a hurry and the wedding got under way about 40 minutes late.  The bride and groom enter the church together, followed by the choir and then all the guests form a line behind them and everyone "dances" (more like a rhythmic shuffle) their way into the church For about  the first thirty minutes, the choir sang.  The building which would seat about 1,000 people had concrete walls, timber trusses and an iron roof and the acoustics were spot on . The singing was magnificent as the choir just sang praises to God.

When the actual marriage ceremony was over , before the signing of the register  all the congregation stood and did the shuffle again to the front of the church to greet the newly weds. Once outside the church , the wedding cars and anyone else with a vehicle form a cavalcade led by a host of piki pikis (motorbike taxis)  and escort them right round the village twice complete with horns blaring, lights flashing and everyone waving and cheering.

The Bridal party with some of the school staff

The guests then went about 4km (we didn't walk ) to the groom's parents' home and were served lunch. From there we drove along an unbelievable track to greeted by literally thousands of people. Everyone from the village joins in the celebration. There were about four thousand people, as many outside as inside the shelter. Of course the foreigners were escorted to the front row of seats where the speakers were set at about a thousand decibels.

A small section of the crowd.

A group of school children danced up the aisle, followed by some of the teachers from Katoke and then the newly weds. After the groom and the bride spoke and acknowledged all the families ,the cake was cut.  The cake consisted of 7 individual cakes. The floor (actually a part of a farm-red dirt) was covered with dry grass and when the cake was cut sparklers were lit. The sparks were falling on the grass in front of us and I couldn't help thinking the whole place was likely to go up in smoke and with all those people a mass stampede would ensue. But hakuna matata all was well.

Cutting the cake.

Both sets of parents, the grand parents and Katoke school were presented with a cake. The couple took the cake and knelt before the parents and received their blessing. The remaining cake was for the bride and groom. All the while the music was going full blast.
A group entertained with a number of traditional dances and then the gift giving ceremony began. The parents give their gifts first. The couple kneel and the gift is displayed (held above your head for all to see) and then presented to them. It is a very traditional procedure and takes a long time. The gift from the school had to be presented by all of us and of course everyone made us go at the head of the line and do the "shuffle" out to the front. I really haven't got the knack of it and will definitely have to practice more.
That ended the formalities and after eight hours the party was only beginning. All the people were fed. ( The groom told us before the wedding that they were expecting about 800 and was going to cook over 300 kilos of rice.) and then there would be singing and dancing all night.
The minister wanted  to get home to prepare for Sunday and some of the families with young children were ready to go, so we brought a carload home with us. it was a two hour drive and Kevin didn't want to be driving after dark as it is very dangerous on the roads at night. As it was we didn't make it in daylight because some of them wanted to buy fish in one village and then go to the market in another  to get food.
All in all it was a very interesting and enjoyable experience.

 Saturday is entrance exam day for grade 7 students who want to enroll for next year. There is a selection process as the demand for getting into an English Medium school far exceeds the places available.
 Even though it has been school holidays,this week has been a very busy one. A new Principal has arrived and no doubt there will be changes. I have been pouring over figures all week ,trying to get some semblance of order into the building accounts. Records of materials used are kept but all the
record keepers have a different way of counting accurately.
Hakuna matata, we'll get it sorted one day.