Fety
In America we think of a wedding as a one day event encumpasing a ceremony and a reception. The truth is, an American wedding includes the dress rehearsal and dinner the day before. Similarly, Malagasy weddings span two days. The first day is for the signing of the marriage certificate or "the fetching of the groom" as they call it. If you are wealthy this includes a whole party and the mayor will come to the house so you can sign the papers there. If you are poor, you sign the papers at the government office the same day as your wedding and there are five other couples waiting to sign in line behind you.
Being with a wealthy family I was invited to join the signing party. At 2:00 in the afternoon the close friends began arriving at the house of the host family. What you didn't see is that behind the scenes the bride was being dressed by the women of the family. Around 3:00 the grooms family arrived. At the end of the processional the maid of honor brought the flower basket.
Then the bride came out. She was wearing a traditional sheet or lamba around her waist and a kind of straw bowl-like hat on her head. The guests were all done up with fancy wedding clothes and curled hair as they listen to a family member pray for the couple.
Once the signing was complete there were drinks and horderve. As I was told by another missionary, they like to make a show of weddings, so there were at least 8 different treats and the same number of different drinks.
After horderves the cake was served followed by dancing. Even after the guests left the family dances for hours.
The day of the wedding the bride gets ready at the host family's house. Everyone dresses like they are in a pageant and drivers are hired to bring everyone to the wedding. If you have ever been to a white party The Malagasy put that to shame. Instead of the bridal party wearing the bride's color all the guests dress in the chosen color. The weeding itself is traditional, but you will find that the bride and groom sit in decorated chairs in front of the pastor. They are not joined on the stage by their wedding party, instead the brides attendants occasionally join the bride and groom on stage to help. Interestingly enough, they are the only ones not wearing the wedding color.
After the wedding everyone goes to the reception. Once the horderves are served comes the dancing. The bride and groom seem to always dance to two songs, the first of which is often in English for some reason. Then, there is a song that signals all the couples to join the bride and groom on the dance floor and they form a snake around the floor. After several hours of dancing the main course is served close to 9:00, which isn't late for the Malagasy since they normally eat around 8:00 at night. After more dancing the desert is brought out. Malagasy weddings often stretch into the morning. Each family gives a donation to the couple, by way of gifts, takes a picture with the couple, and then leave for home.
The Malagasy know how to go all out. There were elaborate touches everywhere you looked, and after a wedding like that it's easy to forget how poor the people of Madagascar actually are.
Sorry there are not more pictures; I forgot my camera.
Being with a wealthy family I was invited to join the signing party. At 2:00 in the afternoon the close friends began arriving at the house of the host family. What you didn't see is that behind the scenes the bride was being dressed by the women of the family. Around 3:00 the grooms family arrived. At the end of the processional the maid of honor brought the flower basket.
Then the bride came out. She was wearing a traditional sheet or lamba around her waist and a kind of straw bowl-like hat on her head. The guests were all done up with fancy wedding clothes and curled hair as they listen to a family member pray for the couple.
Once the signing was complete there were drinks and horderve. As I was told by another missionary, they like to make a show of weddings, so there were at least 8 different treats and the same number of different drinks.
After horderves the cake was served followed by dancing. Even after the guests left the family dances for hours.
The day of the wedding the bride gets ready at the host family's house. Everyone dresses like they are in a pageant and drivers are hired to bring everyone to the wedding. If you have ever been to a white party The Malagasy put that to shame. Instead of the bridal party wearing the bride's color all the guests dress in the chosen color. The weeding itself is traditional, but you will find that the bride and groom sit in decorated chairs in front of the pastor. They are not joined on the stage by their wedding party, instead the brides attendants occasionally join the bride and groom on stage to help. Interestingly enough, they are the only ones not wearing the wedding color.
After the wedding everyone goes to the reception. Once the horderves are served comes the dancing. The bride and groom seem to always dance to two songs, the first of which is often in English for some reason. Then, there is a song that signals all the couples to join the bride and groom on the dance floor and they form a snake around the floor. After several hours of dancing the main course is served close to 9:00, which isn't late for the Malagasy since they normally eat around 8:00 at night. After more dancing the desert is brought out. Malagasy weddings often stretch into the morning. Each family gives a donation to the couple, by way of gifts, takes a picture with the couple, and then leave for home.
The Malagasy know how to go all out. There were elaborate touches everywhere you looked, and after a wedding like that it's easy to forget how poor the people of Madagascar actually are.
Sorry there are not more pictures; I forgot my camera.
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