Tags
African bride price, African Culture, African Traditional Wedding, Food, Friendship, Kalenjin Culture, Kalenjin Traditional Wedding, Koito, Marriage in Africa, Mursik
Sam &Beth’s Traditional Wedding
Happy new month precious ones! I hope you all are excited about this final lap of the year like I am…As from my previous post, I promised to share what I was up to in Kisumu, It’s been a long way coming but here we go…
I remember the day I met her like it was yesterday! We first met in 2006 at a uniform shop purchasing uniforms for senior school. I was with my dad she was with her elder sister. Turned out we were buying uniforms to the same school, she noticed. Immediately she said hi and I said hi, and that was the beginning of our great friendship.
A friendship that grew from two strangers who met at a uniform shop…to great high school desk mates…best gossipers (she had the best stories ever)…university mates…house mates and now great adult friends.
Over the years, she has been nothing but a true friend! She has helped me find important things when I felt I had lost them …my smile, my hope, and my courage. She has been the one person that has helped me be the best version of myself. A version that is quick to smile, that is full of hope, and that radiates courage. She has natured these attributes. She has been able to bring those qualities out even when distance has separated us…because she is my good friend, my great friend. Sometimes life has dragged me down, but at the same time she has been right there to pick me back up.
2016, a bitter-sweet year for me I would say. But beautiful things happened in my desk mate’s life. Sadly I missed some, not by choice but by uncontrollable circumstances. Being miles away for quite some time, both us were really sad that I was missing out on major happenings in her life. But there was no way I was going to miss the greatest event of her life…the greatest in every lady’s life perhaps. So I planned to surprise her through the help of my best friend and her elder sister!
10th of September 2016 was the D-Day! My desk mate was looking exquisite. Ready to walk into the next step of her life-It was her “Koito” (the Kalenjin traditional wedding). She had no idea I would show up. I would do anything to replay that moment all over again, her reaction was p-r-i-c-e-less!
The wedding
I have only seven words…. Beautiful, Colorful, Vibrant, Classy, Cultural, Lovely, Warm
Culture
For a long time, I always hoped to attend and share with you a post on a typical African traditional wedding and today I finally get to do it. I have always admired the Kalenjin cultural practices, customs, colorful attire, mannerism and respect for their fellow man and I must admit it was a pleasure witnessing part of their tradition.
Although the bride and groom are from different communities, they did a great job incorporating both cultures- with the attires and decor representing the Kalenjin culture. The wedding was graced with a lot of traditional food from both the groom and bride’s communities. The deal was sealed with the Kalenjin staple ugali, meat and mursik-(whole milk that is fermented and stored in a gourd, which is cleaned using charcoal)-I mean this is how you know you are in Kalenjin land.
The outfits
The bride had three beautiful outfits although I arrived when she was changing into her third one…sad, I know!
Her first dress was elegant traditional Kalenjin attire made from a fabric similar to animal skin decorated with traditional ornaments . Her second one was made from traditional Ankara and the third one was a beautiful white gown with a touch of red,white and gold ankara buttons. All her dresses were paired up with beautiful traditional matching jewelry. The bridesmaids on the other hand wore beautiful custom-made traditional dresses and ornaments that perfectly complimented the bride and groom and represented both cultures. As for the groom and his squad, they nailed it in their well detailed white and red fitting African attires-they were definitely preaching peace and love from a far 🙂
The food
The food was fantastic, traditional and in plenty!
The wedding cake was spot-on (though I didn’t get to taste it) depicting the traditional mursik guard.
What I learnt
The Kalenjin community has at least two or three meetings once a man shows interest in a lady. For the first, her parents are visited by the man, accompanied by his father and uncles, so he can state his interest in the bride-to-be. The second is normally a dowry negotiation. During a final meeting, the dowry is often paid or the wedding plans are gone over.
Any negotiations are usually done by the fathers and uncles. The groom sits quietly and is rarely allowed to talk. Meanwhile, the women cook, serve and wait – and they also don’t talk unless spoken to. The bride remains hidden until she is summoned by the elders to confirm that the groom is ‘the one’. But due to the costs of these feasts, most parents now prefer to fuse all of these different visits into a single ceremony.
My message to Beth & Sam…
I wish you a lifetime of happiness together and a love that grows stronger with each passing day. Be blessed and congratulations!
Lots of Love
XX
“You are officially mine”… and “you are officially mine too” ….yay!!