Post wedding day

It's Sunday afternoon after the wedding, and the day before we head out on safari. It has been quite an experience, witnessing first-hand the Kenyan wedding traditions.

Thursday was a big day, starting with a bridal shower at noon for the women. The men were kicked out for a few hours - we went over to the guest house that is being rented for the rest of Kevina's family for the week. It's got a nice pool and a huge yard and garden, and we spent a nice few hours sitting around the pool sipping beers and getting some sun. After a few hours we got a call that it was safe to return to the house, and start getting ready for the evenings festivities.

Thursday night was a big dinner for about 35 people, complete with Nyama Choma (bbq) goat. Big plates of meat kept circling the tables for several hours, while the family negotiations were underway.

There was a serious protocol of negotiations between Njoro's family and Kevina's family - an adoptive father was appointed for Kevina as her own parents were certainly clueless about the whole process! In the end she went for the hefty sum of 96 goats - I don't know if that's a lot or a little, but it sure seems like a lot to me!

On wedding day a group of women came to the house to collect Kevina, singing as they came up the driveway. So much singing! More singing as we arrived at the church, and the same group (along with Kevina's parents) walked her down the aisle. All the singing was in Kiswahili, so we weren't really aware of the meaning, but it sounded great. It was a catholic wedding, and the priest was great - joking around and improvising with the couple. There was a photo shoot outside on the steps, and then the bridal party went off to the guest house to relax a bit and take more photos before heading to the reception.

More singing as the newlyweds arrived at the restaurant for the reception, complete with a 5 piece mens choir singing Kiswahili songs for the crowd. There was another big Nyama Choma feast, and we got to introduce a bit of western tradition to the otherwise Kenyan proceedings - the tinking of glasses to have the new couple stand up and kiss! No one knew what was happening as the muzungus tinked their glasses and looked expectantly at the couple. Heh!

There were some speeches, and a group of women presented Kevina with the traditional cooking tools of a Kenyan wife so she can cook for her man! After all the official events had wrapped up, the dj got going and a dance party got into full swing. At one point the younger Kenyan girls were teaching the Canadians how to do the booty dance - crazy! It was quite a scene. There was a good crowd for the bouquet toss, about 20 girls and some fierce competition for the prize. It ended up on top of the tent roof, and when it slid off Kevina's friend Naiomi held up the bouquet! There were some disappointed girls for sure...

So, today we're getting a few final souveniers before heading out of town. No internet access in the Mara! Our next post will likely be from Uganda, at Barb's sister's place.

Sawa sawa!