Wedding introduction

In Rwanda there exist traditional customs in connection with weddings. I learned of this firsthand this past Saturday when attending the wedding "introduction" of Aurore and Innocent. (Aurore is a pioneer sister in my congregation.)

The "introduction" is somewhat like a reception, where everyone dresses in their finest and there is music, dancing, and plenty of food. The event includes a dowry payment, though in this case the payment—by the groom to the bride's family—had already been made earlier. Traditionally, the dowry is in the form of several cows, depending on the groom's means, but since this is a big city AND it is the 21st century, usually the monetary value of the cows is given. Based on the varying opinions of several I talked to, a cow may be worth anywhere from 60K-100K Rwf ($80-$130US), so five cows, for example, is quite a tidy sum for a groom in this country. He would need to have a fairly good job, and—based on the prevailing views of people (especially the ladies) in many countries of the world—a decent house. And a car, if you're talking about China. (Which may explain the high rate of singleness among young men and the rate of depression among young women in that country.)

Traditionally, the order of events is: the "introduction," arranged by the bride's family, usually held on a Saturday afternoon; registration of the marriage at the appropriate governmental office; the talk at a Kingdom Hall the following Saturday; and, finally, the reception, arranged by the groom's family. Between the introduction and the reception, the former is generally the bigger and more elaborate event. And, indeed, Aurore's family did go all out on this.

What I didn't realize—or else I would have eaten something before coming—is that the introduction consists of about two hours of speeches by various people in Kinyarwanda, as well as traditional dances and songs, and then the entry of the bride with fanfare as she is brought to her husband-to-be. (Note: Non-Witness introductions can go on for four or five hours of speeches. I wonder, what could they possibly have to say in that much time?) In any case, I managed to chug down three sodas, which managed to stave off the hunger pangs and keep me reasonably alert during the long stretches of nothing but Kinyarwanda.

Anyway, it was a very fancy event, which you may judge for yourselves from the pictures and video clips that follow. (By the way, in the second video, the men are doing dance movements that imitate a cow.)