(Many people have a religious--typically Christian--ceremony or go to a local court for a civil ceremony after the traditional wedding.) The traditional ceremony was first and had several parts. It began with the procession of the groom and his family. Next, the negotiation (“gusaba” in Kinyarwanda) took place between several men representing the two families. They sat at two long tables at the center, facing one another. Most of the negotiation was in Kinyarwanda, with the Master of Ceremonies providing short summaries in English. Since the parents of the groom were German, one of the bride's friends sat next to them to translate from Kinyarwanda to English--it was a beautiful cross-cultural moment. Throughout the negotiation, several professional dancers performed the intore (traditional Rwandan dance). After much witty banter and storytelling between the two spokesmen of the families, the presentation of gifts (gukwa) by the groom’s family to the bride’s family occurred. Once the bride’s family had accepted the groom as a candidate, the procession of the bride and her family began with more music and dancers. The ceremony ended with an elder blessing the union.
After the traditional ceremony, we had a big feast for lunch. Then, all the guests changed out of their mushananas into dress clothes for the Christian ceremony. As the music began, it started to rain slightly, but that only added to the beauty--though many people did flee to the gazebo. Throughout the ceremony, some of the bride's friends sang songs in Kinyarwanda and English as the officiant told us the couple's love story. The day ended with another delicious buffet and a super-fun dance party!
