Masaka

May 10, 2009
It is not everyday that one gets to pass over the Nile River AND the Equator in one weekend. Well, that is one of the beauties of Uganda. I did both this weekend, twice. On Friday morning I loaded the van with Mama, Glenn, Sylvia, and Abu (the driver) and headed to West-Central Uganda to a place called Masaka. We were going for a family member’s introduction ceremony (the ceremony that is like a type of engagement party) BUT this time they also did the wedding on the same day. In all honesty it seems like a more convenient and cost effective way- to introduce your fiancé (mostly just a long-term culture) and the actual wedding. But it did make for a very long time.

Of course in Africa, time is always on your side, even if it is an official ceremony. So the morning started off only 3 hours late. After getting ready fully (all dressed up in our gomas) then we drove about 45 minutes to a village where the bride’s family is from to be greeted with music and 3 tents full of people.
The ceremony went on, though it was interesting that this was a Muslim reception so there were lots of Islamic greetings. It was quite a long ceremony (we arrived at around 2 and left at 9pm) but here are some highlights:

- The whole ceremony was in Luganda (language) so I didn’t want to over disturb Glenn to translate for me. But there was a time that Glenn turned to me and said that the entertainer had said he spotted a beautiful girl in the crowd that he wants to introduce to everyone to see if she is worthy to marry. Glenn laughed and said, “Nat, I bet he is coming for you.” I didn’t want to assume, but it was highly likely, seeing that I was the only Mzungu (white person) there. Sure enough he started coming closer and reached my isle. Running through my head I said, “Put your shoes on quickly. Oh no, why me? I wish I just blended in. What am I going to do? And in front of ALL of these people?” Glenn and Mama just laughed as the entertainer grabbed my hand and brought me front and center. I did a little dancing while everyone was laughing, cheering, and doing the African call. I could have been embarrassed but just chose to embrace the situation. There is a custom here that when people enjoy someone’s singing or dancing they will bring that person money, so sure enough, my dancing earned me 5000 shillings.


- Dowery is very real and stills a practice here in Africa. I was so surprised though to see the immense extent of dowry that the groom was paying for the bride… 40 baskets of food, 3 sacks of flour, 10 huge bulls, 25 crates of soda, an entertainment stand, and many other things. Really it was the most I have ever seen. Things just kept coming and coming.

(The cakes were so interesting... shaped like a sause pan with banana leaves covering it and sitting on firewood AND like awomba (the way they boil chicken in banana leaves) )




When it was time for lunch (7pm-ha) I was told not to go through the line to get food with everyone else, but instead I was to be a guest of the groom in the main house. When I entered we sat on mats on the floor (not cross-legged but like drill team girls) and waited for what was next. While I was waiting for food, I got to witness the actual vows of the wedding. BUT, the bride was nowhere to be seen in the room. To my surprise the groom and his groom’s men were on one mat and the brother of the bride and other uncles were on another mat. The Islamic teacher said some customary words and then the brother of the bride and the groom joined thumbs and said the vows. From my understanding, this is because the brother has been having the hand of the sister in the family and now is passing the hand off to the groom. When they finished, the food was served and I was very hungry and grateful.




- We left the introduction ceremony at 8:30pm to head back to Masaka town, change into our party dresses, and go to another hotel for the wedding reception. Needless to say, it was a long night. We arrived at our hotel around 12:30am.

- Random story about Masaka (but not about the introduction): People like to eat grasshoppers. But it is not easy to chase around hundreds of hopping grasshoppers to make some sort of a living. But people have gotten clever. They station large metal drums in an area near a large light. Then they put iron sheets in the drums, so that when the grasshoppers fly to the light, then land among the iron sheets and can’t catch a grip, so they slid down into the metal drums. Clever, I must say.

We had a nice time, all in all. We ate lots of food, got to see relatives, danced, and experienced culture. I was grateful for the safety that the Lord granted. Please don’t forget to continue to pray for safety as I travel on unsafe roads everyday and to pray for my health (seeing as I got mild food poisoning this past week for the second time since I have come back). Thanks for all your support.