A Burundian Wedding Part 1: the ceremony

Well, after eating a yummy lunch, I found out that it was time for the wedding! Weddings here don't begin until the bride and groom arrive…and sometimes people have been known to be late to their own weddings. This bride and groom appeared to be punctual people.

So, I put on my African dress and headed down to the Mission Chapel. The music was loud, so loud that I could make it out clearly from the other side of the compound. Naomi, Alphonse, and I found seats near the back and settled in to observe the ceremony.
The church was decorated with ribbons. Outside of the door sat a black car covered with bows and ribbons
Over the doorway, there were arches made out of banana leaves. The aisle was sprinkled with purple flowers. The church was crowded, and everyone was dressed in their finer clothes and nice shoes.
A note about shoes:
Shoes are a status symbol here. They make or break an outfit.

I guess it doesn't matter the continent, shoe fetishes abound.
My Burundian friend was telling me that muzungus (white people) just wore comfortable shoes and that pretty shoes didn't matter so much to them.
hahaha
I think this misconception stems from a simplicity in packing. When an American packs for Africa, they don't usually think about bringing cute wedges. In face of the poverty one encounters here, it seems downright vain to pack pumps. But it has given the idea that white people wear only tennis shoes or flip-flops all of the time (I say this, because that is what I brought). But I know a few people who are convinced that Americans don't care about shoes. 

Back to the play-by-play:
At the front of the church sat the bride and groom side by side. The bride had her veil covering her face. The couple was flanked by family members.
A few groups of ladies got up and sang wedding songs. Then a man spoke for 40 minutes or so about the finality of marriage. He stressed that divorce was not an option and neither were multiple spouses.
Another lively song was sung.

The couple signed their marriage document, and everyone whooped and cheered.
The vows were made.

Then came that moment that everyone awes over:

...the hug.

The veil was lifted and the couple embraced for a moment.

No kissing.

I have learned that here, PDA is frowned upon. It's taboo. You may see two men holding hands or walking with their arms around one another (this took me time to get used to) or two women doing the same. It is more rare to see a romantic couple doing this. Interesting to know. Even at weddings, no serious PDA.

After the couple embraced, more songs were sung. Then the bride and groom exited the church, and everyone lined the walkway to cheer the new couple on.

I was informed that there were vans and buses to take the wedding attendants to a few different places. Where these places would be and what  adventures they'd hold was a mystery to me. So Alphonse I jumped into a van, and off we went, a caravan of cars snaking through Bujumbura.

Where we went and what we did, I shall leave for the next post.