The Evening Reception (...continued from previous blog below...)

[N.B. see blog entry below for the 1st installment before reading this!!]

The Evening Reception:

I was a little late for the evening celebrations, as Andrew was held up at work last Saturday when he flew back from the village with a young lad (about 8 years old) who had unfortunately been ravaged by a suspected rabid dog. The boy and his uncle flew with Andrew to Dodoma, the boy's face a real mess of blood -yet he was being so brave. Andrew drove them up to the Dodoma clinic and made sure all was settled before arriving home to "babysit" a little later than planned.

I missed some speeches but the evening was only just getting started at 8:15pm. I was there just in time to see Anna and Lukas cutting one of several of their brightly decorated wedding cakes, before presenting a cake in a basket to firstly the groom's family table- and then the bride's family table on opposite sides of the hall.

After cutting the main cake, they then carried out the Tanzanian tradition of feeding each other a piece of cake, to much applause and with loud appreciation from the guests! The best man and his wife, "the best woman", echo this and then the bride feeds the bridesmaids.
I can only describe the next celebration as like a huge, joyful "conga" dance, where the entire wedding party stands up and snakes around the hall, each person carrying a glass or bottle of soda. Starting with the members at the table of the groom's family, each guest knocks glasses/ bottles  with every one else in turn, in a giant "chinchin". I obediently followed suit but was very conscious of my inadequate dancing skills, as Tanzanian guests seemed to walk with an effortless sway in time to the music, leaving those of us from abroad looking far less at ease!

The buffet was delicious- chicken and chips (definitely a favourite dish here in Tanzania), savoury bananas, a piece of roasted meat, watermelon pieces and wedding cake...

 There was lots of amazing dancing to sit back and watch, right from the tiniest little guest doing some fantastic dance moves...

 ...to seeing the family tribe Lukas comes from carry out their traditional dancing in more of a cicle formation:

The bride and groom also carried out formal introductions to the assembled wedding guests of each member of their family sitting at their respective family tables. Since I was sitting on Anna's family table, with some American friends I knew- the only people I knew at the event- I found myself being asked to stand up and being introduced too! I felt like a bit of a fraud, not being family, but Anna was very gracious and introduced me as her neighbour!
It was a happy evening. Although I left early at about 10:15, I hear that the celebrations continued past midnight. There are definitely many more speeches and formalties followed here in Tanzania and more spectating than I have been used to as a guest at an English wedding. It was fascinating to be there and I really enjoyed myself.
Finally, as I reversed my car out of my parking space to head back home to bed, I couldn't resist a smile as I snapped this sign painted on the car park wall in front of me: