This past weekend we were invited to a Tanzanian wedding (aka harusi). It was an interesting and delightful experience to say the least. We traveled with our friend Alfred, who has his own safari business, namely Alfred safaris. We were connected to Alfred some time ago through a former IPCR student that spent almost a year here in Arusha. We jumped into his safari jeep and drove about an hour outside of town to a town/village/community that we still do not know the name of. All I know is it was on the way to the airport and then we took a left turn before the gas station by some stores and went up a very bumpy road with patches of green trees and bushes and brown dust.
We passed random houses and kids outside playing and yelling at us, “hi muzungus” before we came to a small village and made a right turn down another bumpy, dusty road. We soon got confirmation that we were going in the right direction when we saw groups of people walking from the church to what ended up being the reception site (the home of the bride and groom). We had missed the ceremony at the church but arrived just in time to see the ushering in of the bridal party.
As the MC made some announcements, family and friends danced around a decorated car that had the bridal party inside. After a few minutes, the bride and groom along with the best man and maid of honor exited the car and made their way through the crowd to join another group of people who were gathered outside of the couple’s new house.
We learned that the couple had built the house (yes, actually physically built the house together, not had the house built for them) and the pastor was now blessing it for their new life together. Alfred had some VIP status so we were able to maneuver through the crowd and sit in the shade while the blessing of the house took place. We watched as the caterers prepared the buffet lines and readied everything for the serving of the meal. We were surprised to see one of the caterers had on a Starbucks apron and wondered where in the world he got that from.
Soon the bride and groom emerged from the house and went to form the receiving line. We again benefited from Alfred’s VIP status and were allowed to eat as hundreds of people bearing gifts took their place in the receiving line to congratulate the happy couple. The meal was delicious consisting of rice, beans, chicken, beef, bananas, and salad. As we ate we watched the people progress through the receiving line. If I ever get married, I would like to have a receiving line like this couple. They were receiving gifts that they actually needed and could use. They received many goats as gifts along with household items such as beds, tables, chairs, dishes, and even some type of metal that I assume could be used to build something if they wanted to. It was a pretty funny sight to see people dragging goats and carrying things like chairs on their heads but it really made sense when you think about it. They wouldn’t have to hassle with taking any gifts back to the store b/c they did not like them or need them and try to exchange them for something else. Even it they got more than one goat, they could make use of all the things they received.
After we ate, we decided to try to get into the receiving line to congratulate the couple considering we had crashed their wedding and already ate such good food. The couple was so busy welcoming their guests that they had not even eaten yet. We managed to get into the middle of the line which was still fairly long at this time and we shook hands with the bride and groom greeting them with “hongera” or congrats. Sensing that it would still take a long time for everyone to make it through the receiving line and eat, we did what typical black folk do and said, “We hate to eat and run but we gotta go!”
On the way out, we passed by what was apparently the outdoor kitchen where all the food was being prepared. The caterers were washing dishes and still preparing food, mainly the “cake”. The Tanzanian version of wedding cake was actually a grilled goat. It reminded me of a pig pickin, except there was a goat instead of a pig. We were looking at 2 whole goats (head, feet, legs and all) with sticks stuck through their bodies being roasted over an open flame. The goat was then wrapped in aluminum foil, placed on a tray and presented to the bride and groom. It was a little shocking and I felt sorry for the poor goat so I passed on tasting some of the wedding “cake”. We loaded back into Alfred’s truck and prepared from the long, dusty journey back home.
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