L'chaim!

Salomon came to Agahozo yesterday to pick me up. We then walked down a steep hill…our destination, the wedding of one of the farm workers. I was dressed in a nice long skirt so walking down the muddy slope was not an easy task. The view was beautiful as we walked down. We could see the festivities happening in the distance. When we arrived all heads were turned our way. I asked Salomon where we would watch the festivities from and he said that we would just stand in the back, but that would not be the case. We were soon escorted to the front and given the most comfortable chairs to watch the ceremony. Salomon and I felt like the king and queen at the wedding. We were also both brought beer to drink. Everyone was drinking local banana beer during the ceremony. I was thankful that I was brought a bottle of real beer…that banana beer is strong but you could see that it brought people lots of joy.

The man getting married has been with the bride for probably around 12 years. They even have 4 children together. It’s common in rural areas for people to wait for an official marriage until they are able to save the money for a good wedding. Working at Agahozo has allowed him to save the needed money for the wedding.

The ceremony was very interesting. When we arrived there were 4 men sitting behind tables with 2 on each side. One group was advocating from the groom and the other for the bride. The 2 groups talked back and forth, everyone was laughing at what was said. It was like a Rwandan comedy show. One side kept saying that they have a man to be married and the other said they have the woman. At one point the group advocating for the woman brought out a 12 year old girl and everyone laughed. After some time, the groom was presented and then a little later, the bride arrived. When the bride arrived, she brought gifts for her family and the groom’s family. The groom presented a cow to his father in law. Some woman soon broken into song and began to traditional dance. The bride and groom did not share a kiss but it seemed that the giving each a drink of the beer was the equivalent (it was kind of like the eating each other a piece of cake).

I was introduced by the man leading the ceremony as the honored guest. I even gave a speech. I told everyone what a great worker the groom is and that I enjoy going to the farm to see him. He’s always smiling. He doesn’t speak any English but somehow we’ve become good friends. At the end of my speech, I told everyone that in my tradition when someone gets married, you raise your glass and say l’chaim to the new couple. I told everyone that it’s Hebrew and it wishes the new couple a good life today. All the guests joined me in a l’chaim!