Memories Of A Ugandan Wedding
Since we returned to Australia recently, everyone keeps asking, “What was the wedding like? What do you think of Uganda? As we share our photos and our stories with family and friends the memories of our time there come flooding back.
By Maureen Goldspring
Since we returned to Australia recently, everyone keeps asking, “What was the wedding like? What do you think of Uganda? As we share our photos and our stories with family and friends the memories of our time there come flooding back.
What a change it was, as we stepped off the plane at Entebbe the day after leaving the snow-covered village of Beauvezere in the southern alps of France.
And now we were in Africa. And not just for a visit, but to attend the wedding of our daughter Christie to Richard Ssekiranda, a young man she had met two years before when she visited the market place in Kampala.
As you could imagine, we were very keen to meet him.
The initial meeting was very positive. We all hit it off and the smiles on our faces were broad as we left the airport and travelled to the city, keenly discussing details of our wonderful time in Europe as well as arrangements for the upcoming wedding.When we arrived at Christie and Sseki’s home in Katwe, we were greeted by their neighbours and we met Sarah, Nasuuna and Katie, who were to be Christie’s bridesmaid and flower girls. We were immediately charmed by the smiles on the little girls’ faces and by the hospitality of the people from the neighbourhood. They seemed so pleased to see us and we were certainly happy to be there.
That afternoon I experienced another example of Ugandan hospitality as I waited in a photography store for my family to return from the bank with some Ugandan shillings to pay for our purchases. The line at the ATM must have been long, as 45 minutes passed and it was time for the store to close with still no sign of my family. I stepped outside to wait on the pavement when I became aware of a young man from the shop, who introduced himself to me as Martin. He explained to me that seeing I had been in his shop when it was about to close, Ugandan hospitality required that he wait with me until my family returned. When I demurred, he said he would feel much happier to stay and stay he did. Fifteen minutes later I saw familiar faces emerge from the crowd. As I thanked Martin, I thought to myself, “ I am sure that would never happen in Sydney!â€
On the wedding day our expectations were great. What would a Ugandan wedding be like? Sseki and Christie had sent out 450 invitations, so one thing we knew was that it would be big! After a trip to the hairdressers, we gathered our belongings and set off for Zigoti Entertainment Centre to eat the pre-wedding meal before getting dressed in our wedding finery. There we found a group of women making finishing touches to a wonderful Ugandan feast. After experiencing our first matooke, along with a dozen other dishes, we set off for the church, waving goodbye to a throng of people all wishing the bride and her family well.
The church was full to overflowing. Surely everyone from Mama Sseki’s and Taata Sseki’s villages, Sseki’s market place and Katwe neighbourhood were there.
Many of the women were dressed in colourful zigomesi and everyone looked amazing.
When Father David greeted Nev with the results of the Australia vs Ireland World Cup Rugby match, we had to laugh. I’d been looking forward to experiencing African music and as the nuptial mass began, the beautiful singing of the choir, the rhythmic beating of the drums and the graceful swaying of the dancers’ hips got all our toes tapping. A highlight for me, which seemed to sum up the feeling of the occasion, was the joyful outburst of clapping and cheering when Sseki completed his marriage vows. Hooray and good luck to this young couple and to the combining of two cultures it seemed to say.
It was at the reception that the huge community participation in this special wedding became evident. The three committees set up to organise the wedding did a wonderful job. Taata Sseki’s place had been transformed into a fairy land of roses ribbons and balloons. The pavilion was decorated, the wedding cake a work of art. The dancing of the Ugandan national dances was exuberant and the drums were magic. But above all this, the hospitality of the people shone through. Person after person greeted us and welcomed us to Uganda. After a good night’s sleep in the village, the welcoming spirit continued, as we met more of the local people and enjoyed breakfast, Ugandan style.
Probably, however, my most poignant memory of Uganda would be of the wonderful welcome we received when we visited Mama Sseki at her home in Ndimulaba a few days after the wedding. We were looking forward to meeting Mama Sseki again and to hearing of the progress of the children whose high school education we were sponsoring. It seemed that the whole village had gathered to greet us.
After enjoying the meal prepared for us, we took our seats as guests of honour for a program that humbled us. As we sat holding our gifts of chickens, saplings, eggs, a watermelon, baskets and woven mats, the words of the primary children’s song captured the essence of our short but memorable time in Uganda: “We are glad you are here, welcome...â€
Ends
Since we returned to Australia recently, everyone keeps asking, “What was the wedding like? What do you think of Uganda? As we share our photos and our stories with family and friends the memories of our time there come flooding back.
What a change it was, as we stepped off the plane at Entebbe the day after leaving the snow-covered village of Beauvezere in the southern alps of France.
And now we were in Africa. And not just for a visit, but to attend the wedding of our daughter Christie to Richard Ssekiranda, a young man she had met two years before when she visited the market place in Kampala.
As you could imagine, we were very keen to meet him.
The initial meeting was very positive. We all hit it off and the smiles on our faces were broad as we left the airport and travelled to the city, keenly discussing details of our wonderful time in Europe as well as arrangements for the upcoming wedding.When we arrived at Christie and Sseki’s home in Katwe, we were greeted by their neighbours and we met Sarah, Nasuuna and Katie, who were to be Christie’s bridesmaid and flower girls. We were immediately charmed by the smiles on the little girls’ faces and by the hospitality of the people from the neighbourhood. They seemed so pleased to see us and we were certainly happy to be there.
That afternoon I experienced another example of Ugandan hospitality as I waited in a photography store for my family to return from the bank with some Ugandan shillings to pay for our purchases. The line at the ATM must have been long, as 45 minutes passed and it was time for the store to close with still no sign of my family. I stepped outside to wait on the pavement when I became aware of a young man from the shop, who introduced himself to me as Martin. He explained to me that seeing I had been in his shop when it was about to close, Ugandan hospitality required that he wait with me until my family returned. When I demurred, he said he would feel much happier to stay and stay he did. Fifteen minutes later I saw familiar faces emerge from the crowd. As I thanked Martin, I thought to myself, “ I am sure that would never happen in Sydney!â€
On the wedding day our expectations were great. What would a Ugandan wedding be like? Sseki and Christie had sent out 450 invitations, so one thing we knew was that it would be big! After a trip to the hairdressers, we gathered our belongings and set off for Zigoti Entertainment Centre to eat the pre-wedding meal before getting dressed in our wedding finery. There we found a group of women making finishing touches to a wonderful Ugandan feast. After experiencing our first matooke, along with a dozen other dishes, we set off for the church, waving goodbye to a throng of people all wishing the bride and her family well.
The church was full to overflowing. Surely everyone from Mama Sseki’s and Taata Sseki’s villages, Sseki’s market place and Katwe neighbourhood were there.
Many of the women were dressed in colourful zigomesi and everyone looked amazing.
When Father David greeted Nev with the results of the Australia vs Ireland World Cup Rugby match, we had to laugh. I’d been looking forward to experiencing African music and as the nuptial mass began, the beautiful singing of the choir, the rhythmic beating of the drums and the graceful swaying of the dancers’ hips got all our toes tapping. A highlight for me, which seemed to sum up the feeling of the occasion, was the joyful outburst of clapping and cheering when Sseki completed his marriage vows. Hooray and good luck to this young couple and to the combining of two cultures it seemed to say.
It was at the reception that the huge community participation in this special wedding became evident. The three committees set up to organise the wedding did a wonderful job. Taata Sseki’s place had been transformed into a fairy land of roses ribbons and balloons. The pavilion was decorated, the wedding cake a work of art. The dancing of the Ugandan national dances was exuberant and the drums were magic. But above all this, the hospitality of the people shone through. Person after person greeted us and welcomed us to Uganda. After a good night’s sleep in the village, the welcoming spirit continued, as we met more of the local people and enjoyed breakfast, Ugandan style.
Probably, however, my most poignant memory of Uganda would be of the wonderful welcome we received when we visited Mama Sseki at her home in Ndimulaba a few days after the wedding. We were looking forward to meeting Mama Sseki again and to hearing of the progress of the children whose high school education we were sponsoring. It seemed that the whole village had gathered to greet us.
After enjoying the meal prepared for us, we took our seats as guests of honour for a program that humbled us. As we sat holding our gifts of chickens, saplings, eggs, a watermelon, baskets and woven mats, the words of the primary children’s song captured the essence of our short but memorable time in Uganda: “We are glad you are here, welcome...â€
Ends