Welcome back dear readers! I hope that this reaches you in good health and spirits. It’s been quite the journey so far but, today is one of the main reasons that we are here in Africa. This is the second of three weddings that will be covered (The first was a Justice of the Peace equivalent which I didn’t attend so, I don’t have much input.). The wedding that I will be covering today is going to require some detail so, please bear with me…it may be a little lengthy. You’ve been warned.
I’ve been to countless American weddings. From remote destination weddings to my own…which, I have to say, is still one of the best weddings I have ever been a part of. (S/O Wifey!). I have even been witness to other cultural weddings, same sex weddings…etc. The point is, I know weddings…I am a qualified wedding connoisseur if you will. That said, nothing prepared me for the wedding of Mr. & Mrs. Guy Duo.
Up to this point, our curated stay in Africa has provided many amazing memories, I’ve worked to capture the highlights via this blog. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how informative it has been so far. That said, today?…wedding day? Even without any preconceived notions or expectations, I wasn’t reeeeadyyyyyy! Of many highlights in Abidjan, this was the brightest, for multiple reasons. A previous post left us at the mall…Let’s get to it.
11:00AM
After the very short stint at the mall (See previous post) we headed to the locale of the wedding. Upon arriving, it was immediately clear that this was going to be quite celebration. I’m sure that I have mentioned how much I appreciate my African brothers and sisters but, today took it to another level. As we got off the bus, we were greeted by young women (The grooms nieces?) who were dressed in traditional African garb. They were also adorned with traditional makeup which consisted of white circles painted on their face and arms. As we passed the gated entrance, We walked in to smiles, greetings and waves from the guests who were already there. Past the initial guests who greeted us, the entryway led to the open backyard, which was now adorned with white tents and chairs. It was still early so, there weren’t a LOT of people there but, we were a +50 so, needless to say the space wasn’t sparse for long. We were led to and seated around back where the family tents were located.
The best way that I can describe how i was feeling is…that feeling you have right as you sit down to see your favorite artist in concert. You have an idea of what you are about to experience but, there is an unknown factor that leaves you with abated excitement and anticipation.
Just as importantly, there was an amazing smell of cooking food. I smelled some fish, which is my favorite dish, and spices in the air. Someone was throwing DOWN!…and whatever they were making, I HAD to be a part of. FatManFred was NOT going to waste the opportunity to taste even more traditional African food, Believe DAT! 😏🤤
At this point, I wondered where MY wife was. After talking to a couple people, I was told (In so many words) that they were “in the house for a ceremony” and was encouraged to have a seat in our area. Not in a curt way but, in hindsight it was more of a “you’re going to be here for a WHILE Sir, sit yo azz down and relax.”. So, I texted my wife, drank some water since the food wasn’t ready yet and applied copious amounts of bug spray.
I would later find out, as the guests sat and waited, the families were inside carrying out African traditions. There was a formal greeting of the families by the elders, an exchanging of gifts and a game of “who is my wife” played by the bridesmaids on the husband. With this game, The bridesmaids would take turns being completely covered in fabric. They would be brought to Guy and he would have to determine if it was his wife or not. Rumor has it, he was NOT up (“where is my WIFE”) for the games…at all. I hear that there was only one women covered, usually it’s 3 or 4…lol. I only have a few pics from inside the house but, it looked like a good time. Thank you to the group chat for the extra pictures!
Meanwhile…
Family and friends of the groom had been consistently trickling in. It was now 1pm. As more people began to arrive, one of the multiple MC’s for the evening, used his Mic to began salutations for both families. He spoke in both English, French and the local language. He introduced the families, thanked us for being there, told a few jokes and generally kept the crowd entertained while the music played.
I’m not gonna hold you, I was STARVING at this point and as each prepared tray was setup, I made sure that my tactically positioned seat RIGHT NEXT to the food area was secure. After 3 hours, I wasn’t HANGRY, but the hunger contractions felt like they would be arriving at any minute. Yea, I was hungry AF.
The food. Sitting so close…so close…I was still hungry…and the food was literally RIGHT behind me…
As more and more people arrived, there was eventually a woman who I would eventually recognize as the Master of Ceremonies appeared. With he backdrop of the music, played by the music selector (“DJ, COMMAND THE TUNES!!!!”) she walked around with a mic, dancing, singing, cracking jokes, etc. She spoke in the native language of the land but, popped a few English lines in every now and then…usually with a wink 😉. She was a true master of her craft and I was enraptured. It’s amazing to watch someone control the crowd so effortlessly. She definitely warmed the crowd up.
Soon enough, she broke into a song which precipitated the families of the bride and groom taking their seats. Each member of the American family was lead to their seats by the young women of the Duo family. Might I add, they (The American and Duo women) were decorated in ornate circular paintings on their face and arms. I wish I would have taken more pics but, if you look, you will see white paint on the arms and faces of some of the women. Also of note, as you look at some of the pics below, you will also see the women and men wearing outfits from a traditional African garb. Look for the striped fits. I covered this in a previous post but the term for the garb is called ****** When my wife came out, all decked out and adorned with the same paintings/garb…well, I forgot all about my hunger…
Still no sign of the bride and groom but, if the events leading up to the wedding party exiting the house were any indicator, I highly doubted that they would be casually walking out talking about, “we married y’all”.
The Mrs looked hot, figuratively and literally. As she walked over to the “Bride” tent I gave her some water and asked (maybe a lil exasperatedly) “what were they doing in there? Why it took so long? Etc etc.” Yall have to forgive me y’all, I was all the way delusional from hunger by this point…lol. But, In a look that us husbands know so well, let’s call it a glare, I knew that I was asking the WRONG questions at the wrong time. “Well, you look amazing!” Was the follow up…she smiled. Disaster avoided. I clean up nice from time to time 😉
At 1:39PM, the time we were waiting for had finally arrived. My songstress/comedian/MC/host made the announcement and from the front of the house, Mr. & Mrs Douo made their way with a crowd of well wishers, from the front of the house to the back where the special area for the bride and broom awaited. The King and Queen have Arrived!! There were tears, there were cheers, there was dancing…it was awesome.
There is so much more to say but, I’ll save it for the next post. What I WILL say in closing is that I have never seen Kisha more beautiful and happy. She looked absolutely AMAZING! There is a special radiance to a bride on her wedding day and well, she was glowing like Bruce Leroy in the Last Dragon…lol. All jokes aside, there is plenty more to this wedding that I’ll get to in the next post. Trust me, I’m only JUST getting started! Next time, dear reader, next time…
Travel Tip: Do your best to respect the culture and people of the land you are visiting. As Americans, we are so spoiled…people around the world live different lives and have vastly different cultures than we do. Check your privileges at the door and Be Humble. When in Rome…
Raomel's Observations - Rabservations 