One day, our friend called and said, “When you come next week, I’ve got some good news for you.” She sounded very happy and excited. And the news was indeed good news: “My daughter is having a “Traditional African Wedding.” Baba and I were both very happy and puzzled at the same time because most weddings in the towns, as opposed to the villages of Liberia, are either Christian or Muslim – not traditional. She lives in Gbanga town and she and her family are Christians. So Baba and I asked ourselves, “Did we have anything to do with it?”
Before we moved to Shabuta permanently, we had very little cultural impact in the community because we spent all our time building the center. Now, we promote African culture all day, every day. Our friends come to Shabuta to get their African spirits revitalized. We felt, just maybe, some of our cultural seeds were beginning to sprout already. Our friend then asked us, “Have you ever seen a traditional African wedding before?” My mind went straight to Baba’s and my wedding almost 50 years ago in East Africa. And we wondered what this “traditional” wedding would be like in 2011.
We suspected some non-traditional Christian elements would be present, just as some Muslim elements were present in our wedding. Ours was in Temeke, a small community near Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. And sure enough, our friend’s ceremony was officiated by their church minister (even though he removed his collar), just as our wedding was directed by the community sheik (religious leader). A sizable group of the community came to celebrate with us in Temeke. We were all seated on colorful mats with Baba, the sheik, and I in the center. It was inside a cool mud brick building.
The Gbanga celebration was outside in the family yard with everyone seated on chairs facing the minister. A group of village elders were all in a row behind a table. And after family introductions, the husband’s father gave a history of the groom describing his carousing bachelor days and admonishing him to forego all that for his new chosen life as a married man.
Elders, Groom's Father, and Minister
In Temeke, Tanzania, long ago, the sheik sat the two of us down before the real ceremony began and gave us a long counseling session. It was long partly because our Swahili was very poor at the time and he was determined that we understand everything before embarking on our new life together and partly because of the matter of cows. He asked Baba, “Where are your cows?” Since Baba had no cows, he decided 2800 shillings or $700 would suffice. Being almost completely unfamiliar with African customs we thought the wedding itself cost $700. But when Baba gave him the money, he turned it over to me!
Money was also a big factor in the Gbanga ceremony. As the father of the groom continued to talk about his son, he described a certain “bird” his son had seen and been attracted to. He spoke of how that “bird” had led him to a particular house. It was this very house that the young man had approached trying to seek out this beautiful “bird” at all costs. Well, the minister told him that he wasn’t sure the “bird” he was looking for was in that house. “What did it look like?”
“Oh, it had many beautiful colors that were shining all in the sunlight.” So the minister sent someone to look for the “bird” of many beautiful colors. When the person returned, she said, “Oh, there are many “birds” inside this house with beautiful colors. How will we know which one you want?” So the father said, “Bring them out and we will know.” Then we heard some beautiful singing and a whole group of women came dancing out surrounding a woman covered in many colorful lappas (cloths). When they reached the groom’s father, he reached out to take off the cloths and they stopped him, saying, they needed some “incentive” to remove the “feathers”. And so, the man had to pay for each cloth they removed. And, to the enjoyment of all, several “birds” had to come out before the real “bird” of his choice was unveiled.
"Bird" Covered with Many Lappas
The groom’s family was prepared for this and started out giving small denominations of money. I thought, “Oh, this is nice. It will only be token payment for ceremonial purposes.” Little did I know that as each “bird” was unveiled, it became more and more expensive to get those cloths removed until I was shocked at the amount of money paid out that day. And there were also gifts of traditional garments given to all family elders.
Elder Receiving a Gift Shirt
Although most of the Gbanga wedding party was already dressed in traditional-styled African garments, the father of the groom, minister, and most guests were in western attire. It gave a mixed modern/traditional air to the event. The bride and groom, however, were in spectacular African attire.
Bride and Groom
In 1960’s Temeke, I wore a garment I made by hand from some beautiful African cloth Baba selected at the market in Dar es Salaam. He wore his newly purchased African shirt. The sheik and all the community were dressed in African-styled garments.
East African Celebration
Maybe that was because there were no second-hand clothes blitzing across Africa as there are today. Tailors did a good business in those days and cloth with African-style designs was pervasive all over Africa. However, by the 1960’s, too much of the cloth was already produced in Europe.
Our ceremony in Temeke consisted of listening to verses read from the Koran. And the most beautiful part was when the sheik asked us for our commitment to each other. We confirmed several times, after which, he took a cord of sisal and tied one of each of our wrists together. He then led us outside to the court yard where everyone was singing and dancing a greeting to us and giving us congratulations. After the live music, we all had food together.
The ceremony in Gbanga was similar in that the minister put on his collar and began reading from the Bible. Then the music, dancing and food began. However, the music was recorded music with an MC and a PA system.
Elders Dancing
So what isa “Traditional African Wedding?”
Zulu Wedding Dance
What were the traditions like before Islam and Christianity were forced on our people? What do Baba and Mama mean by “Our Traditional African Culture?” Who remembers the ancient ways anyway?
Come to Shabuta and see!
Shabuta
