Wedding no. 2

With Nabou and Khadim; 2 of my neighbours

Saturday was a pretty busy really. I was at the baptism all day and then at home had just enough time to get changed to go to a wedding! One of the girls in my quartier got married a few months ago and had a traditional ceremony at the mosque followed by the legal bit at the town hall. Saturday was a follow up to this - the party element. Rather than do everything at once (cost playing a big role in this), people often have the party a bit later than the official ceremony.

This was almost like deja-vu. My neighbour Yvette again made the wedding cake, and we had a similar comedy mission of treipsing through the dark streets in a long line, each of us precariously balancing a cake in our hands. This time however, I was actually invited to the celebration. There is a local centre attached to a primary school and mosque that has an open-air area for hire. Everyone was sat on neatly lined plastic garden chairs. At the front were tables decorated in lots of fake flowers and netting, with the cake on one table and an increasingly large pile of presents on the other. The bride, Aisha, in another classic meringue number sat at the front and after a few speeches, proceeded to have her photo taken with every guest. While that was going on, we each had a plate of mini cakes and patisseries, followed by a plate of meat kebabs and other savoury snacks, then wedding cake and sugared almonds. Always so much good food here.

The cake made it in one piece...

The husband wasn't there as he was at work. I still don't fully understand the fake husband concept. Apparently, the husband doesn't want to be seen as centre of attention or to be seen to be making a huge fuss and lots of expense. Given that the ceremony with western style wedding dress and cake, is a relatively recent concept, it's not considered strange here that the husband doesn't come to this part; it really is the women's day. I think it's quite a Senegalese way of doing things, as my Cameroonian and Ivoirien neigbours are as puzzled by it as me.

After the mammoth photo session, Aisha threw the bouquet, and then it was pretty much over. None of the dancing that I had hoped for - unusual given the complete love of dancing here. Everything was finished by 11pm. Not quite what I was expecting, but it was very kind of Aisha to invite me and fun to be there with all my neighbours. The outfits were incredible though. Satin in the most luminous pinks and greens imaginable, covered in matching jewels. Photos just don't do it justice. Everyone looked SO glam.

Khadim and Ousmane who live opposite me looking v serious for once!