I have been excited to see a Tanzanian wedding as I have heard they are extravagant affairs here. So I was excited even late Wednesday night when I arrived to find out that there would be a wedding on Saturday. I also found out yesterday that there would also be a funeral on Saturday.
At breakfast I related the information to Bishop and Mama Kweka, there will be a funeral at Nkiraawanga today at 1 pm and then a Wedding at Uswaa at 3 pm. They shook their heads with wonder about how this would be accomplished. I was skeptical myself, but this was the plan that was reported to me.
Here’s what actually happened.
11:30 a.m. Confirmation has ended and we take tea. I ask when we will leave for the funeral and I am told
12:30, we three pastors will ride together.
12:15 p.m. I quickly run home to get my jacket, it’s a little cold out and the funeral will be outside. Pastor Mmanga is there having tea with the Bishop, he is in no hurry. So I wait and walk back with him, we arrive at the church just a little before 1 p.m. He hands me a paper and says he will meet me in the office shortly.
1:05 p.m. Pastor Mmanga arrives in the office and says it is time for lunch. (so much for the 1:00 funeral). We eat lunch and Joyce Makyo arrives to bring her greetings and eat with us.
2:00 p.m. Pastor says that he will leave me here to meet with Joyce and he will go to the funeral. Pastor Shao will stay here to do the 3:00 wedding. He says he will be back in 1 ½ hours.
2:05 p.m. Joyce receives a phone call and needs to leave. I move a chair outside and work on a sermon for next week.
2:45 p.m. I go back to the office to see if the wedding is getting started. Pastor Shao is working on a sermon and picking out hymns. I sit down in the office and continue working on my sermon.
3:30 p.m. Pastor Shao and I start talking about weddings when I ask him about the number of guests that will be expected. He says that this will be a very small wedding. These people have already been married, he struggles to find the word in English. I suggest that perhaps they are renewing their vows. This is not it. These couples couldn’t afford a wedding when they were young. So they have lived together, raised children, and now they are getting married. When he says “these couples” I realize that there is more than one marriage taking place, 3 in fact.
4:00 p.m. Pastor Shao is robed and ready to go, but Pastor Mmanga has not returned from the funeral yet. He hesitates just for a moment and then decides to begin the service.
4:15 p.m. Pastor Mmanga arrives and enters the sanctuary mid-service. No problem, people are getting up throughout the service to go and take pictures.
6:30 p.m. Back in the pastor’s office, the day is done. I have observed much and I must say that this actual itinerary for the day has been far more interesting than the original plan could possibly have been!
I have since learned more about this particular type of wedding service, but that is for another post. I continue to anticipate a wedding that is a full-blown celebration! For those of you who know me well … are you surprised that I’m using the word “anticipate” in the same sentence as the word “wedding”??
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