Introduction #2

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the introduction ceremony is the formal meeting of the bride's and groom's families. Of course, in reality the families met long ago. Once a man proposes, or, in more traditional families, once the marriage is arranged, negotiations begin. The bride price and details of the introduction and wedding ceremonies are discussed and agreed upon, and family and friends are asked for contributions. Semei, the groom for who works for EMI, sent his budget around the office so people could pick out what they'd like to pay for.

At the introduction itself, there are all kinds of traditions, only some of which we understood. A man in the row ahead of Paul and me turned around frequently to explain what was happening. The bride’s and groom’s families are seated opposite each other. There is an MC from each side, and they keep up a steady pace of talk. The bride is sequestered through the first half of the ceremony, and the groom is sitting, incognito, in the middle of his family. Eventually the bride’s “aunties” are called forward. Their task is to pick the groom out of the crowd, as shown in first and second photos. This is meant to verify that the groom is known by elders in the bride’s family and thus is approved. He is then seated in the front row and his bride comes out to him.

This is the bride, Winnie, and her brother. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good picture of the bride and groom together. Compared to American traditions, the bride and groom don’t focus much on each other. When they are together, they are often honoring elder family members by bowing or giving gifts. I noticed that even when Winnie was standing directly in front of Semei, she didn’t make eye contact. I think in “real life” they’re more Western in the way they interact, but there was a certain circumspection called for in the ceremony and they complied.