Today we went to church and heard a good sermon about the importance of a life devoted to God and not to other things like television or money.
After coming home from church Mikah and I went to a wedding reception being held at the bottom of our hill. The entire RT was invited as the bride is the daughter of the RT head. So Mikah and I went with one of the other MAF wives to check it out. There was a couple canopies set up for shade and under one of them was a stage with two sets of enormous speakers on it. On the stage was a young woman singing her heart out but the sound wasn’t that great as the speakers were cranked to maximum volume and therefore rather crackly. In front of the stage under the second canopy were rows of chairs for guests to sit on. Upon arrival you are shown to a table where you sign your name and receive a thank-you gift (a key chain with a thank-you note attached). Then you enter the tiny house and go to the back and give your congratulations and put your envelope with money (no toasters or kettles please) into the fancy box with a slot on the top. The bride and groom are very elaborately dressed and have powdered faces (to look more white). Then you go back to the front room and get some food from the buffet there. Upon exiting the house you receive a cup of water (these are presealed cups of clean water-very popular here) and a plate of fruit (a tiny banana, mandarin and a rambutan (a redish hairy looking fruit that you break open and inside is a white slippery fruit with a pit in the middle)). Then you sit down and “enjoy” the music and dancing. The singer was fairly provocatively dressed and was dancing in a very provocative manner. At one point she invited two guys from the audience to come up and dance with her. Even though this culture is very muslim, they still try to be western and a blind eye is turned in situations like this. Anyways, you eat your food, it’s almost impossible to talk with each other as the music is deafening, and then you go. I don’t think people here really go to wedding receptions to share in the couple’s joy, they come for the food. For some of the families down at the bottom here it is the only good meal with all the food groups that they’ll have for a while. Here divorce is extremely common and polygamy is becoming more and more common as well. Apparently the Koran allows for up to four wives, if you should so desire....
It was another unique Indonesian experience. And the families of the bride and groom were very excited that we buleh’s came…
After coming home from church Mikah and I went to a wedding reception being held at the bottom of our hill. The entire RT was invited as the bride is the daughter of the RT head. So Mikah and I went with one of the other MAF wives to check it out. There was a couple canopies set up for shade and under one of them was a stage with two sets of enormous speakers on it. On the stage was a young woman singing her heart out but the sound wasn’t that great as the speakers were cranked to maximum volume and therefore rather crackly. In front of the stage under the second canopy were rows of chairs for guests to sit on. Upon arrival you are shown to a table where you sign your name and receive a thank-you gift (a key chain with a thank-you note attached). Then you enter the tiny house and go to the back and give your congratulations and put your envelope with money (no toasters or kettles please) into the fancy box with a slot on the top. The bride and groom are very elaborately dressed and have powdered faces (to look more white). Then you go back to the front room and get some food from the buffet there. Upon exiting the house you receive a cup of water (these are presealed cups of clean water-very popular here) and a plate of fruit (a tiny banana, mandarin and a rambutan (a redish hairy looking fruit that you break open and inside is a white slippery fruit with a pit in the middle)). Then you sit down and “enjoy” the music and dancing. The singer was fairly provocatively dressed and was dancing in a very provocative manner. At one point she invited two guys from the audience to come up and dance with her. Even though this culture is very muslim, they still try to be western and a blind eye is turned in situations like this. Anyways, you eat your food, it’s almost impossible to talk with each other as the music is deafening, and then you go. I don’t think people here really go to wedding receptions to share in the couple’s joy, they come for the food. For some of the families down at the bottom here it is the only good meal with all the food groups that they’ll have for a while. Here divorce is extremely common and polygamy is becoming more and more common as well. Apparently the Koran allows for up to four wives, if you should so desire....
It was another unique Indonesian experience. And the families of the bride and groom were very excited that we buleh’s came…
This is the result of a buzzer-happy mom....
1 comment:
gaeradpnYou sure were a BUZZ happy mom!!!!!!The boys look good tho'.Yes,I know how those type of weddings go since I clean for Muslim people.Pretty interesting .So all ready for school?????Here school resumes tomorrow also.Moms and children are ready for it too--back to routine again.Hope all continues to go well with youse.Luv youse and God Bless
Aunt Frieda
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