Ancient meets modern at Nubian wedding
Know the price for marrying a girl from the Alur or Nubian tribes? Well, it is a truckload of firewood, several goats, chicken, sacks of cassava flour, rice, millet, a box of cigarettes and sh1.8m in cash. It was such, and a whole lot of other items that won Crane Bank’s Ahmad Bongo a Nubian girl
By Titus Serunjogi
Know the price for marrying a girl from the Alur or Nubian tribes? Well, it is a truckload of firewood, several goats, chicken, sacks of cassava flour, rice, millet, a box of cigarettes and sh1.8m in cash. It was such, and a whole lot of other items that won Crane Bank’s Ahmad Bongo a Nubian girl last week.
Not only was it a hilarious bout of eating, drinking and dancing, but it was also a chance for the Nubians to show off their unique culture. Nubian weddings happen once in a blue moon and this was such a spectacle.
Bongo caused a stir when he entered Bombo town with a long convoy of Mercedes Benz led by ‘Big Mama’ (a monstrous black pick-up truck that has wheels of a tractor and ‘Big Mama’ for its number plate). His convoy crammed into former governor Nasur Abdallah’s compound and numerous people dressed up to the nines in kanzus and shariahs alighted. Many of the women wore long colourful underskirts (kikoy or kurbaba). The groom and his bestmen shrouded themselves in jet-black.
Ululations filled Nasur’s house and a queue of Bombo girls in red robes came out to welcome the groom’s party. Sheikh after sheikh from the neighbourhood joined the party. A lot of Asalaam aleikum, alihamdulillah filled the air. As Muslim prayers ensued, orator after orator cursed the Domestic Relations Bill.
“DRB, DRB, to hell with it! Allah created more women than men. So those who marry one woman must end up cheating.â€
But Bongo was not cheating. Nasur’s daughter, 29-year-old Haram Abdallah, was going to be his second wife. And every orator was reminding him to aim at having four women. Soon, the Mataali artistes struck up a hilarious tune. And once again, the air was filled with singing and ululation and there was merrymaking in the courtyard.
Somewhere behind closed doors, women with rings and pins in their noses were busy pampering the bride. They had tattooed Haram’s fingers, toes, nails and the soles of her feet with henna. The stains were so dark you would believe the bride was wearing brick-red crotched stockings on her feet!
“Henna ensures that a girl going away from her mother’s home meets good fortune. The longer it stays on her fingers, the better. That is a sign that her man is not forcing her to do menial jobs,†says the greying Sitna Nobbi, who is famous among Bombo Nubians for initiating girls into womanhood with henna. She makes the dye from leaves of the henna brush pounded with dry tealeaves and water.
Meanwhile, no one else was allowed to look at the bride. Outsiders were thought to be envious and could bring bad luck.
Sitna and the other women in the room also adorned the bride with gold ornaments and beads. The practice dates back hundreds of years to Nuba (‘Gold mine’), the Nubians’ cradle in Egypt. They came to Uganda in the 1880s and have maintained those ancient Egyptian cultures. For example, the ‘Sumuku’, a rite in which the groom touches his wife-to-be’s hair with a mixture of pounded simsim, groundnuts and lemon leaves and he is not allowed to look into the bride’s eyes. He must pass his hand underneath the veils and touch the mixture lightly onto her hair.
Sitna explains; “Sumuku implies that the man has become the girl’s sole provider of the basic necessities, which originally included simsim and groundnuts. But he must put money into the tabaga (a kind of basket) to be allowed to look into the girl’s face.â€
The moment we have all been waiting, the unveiling of the bride arrives. And a stunning beauty was unleashed to the eager eyes! The silken white cloth added uniqueness to her femininity. Her hair was woven into cornrows and topped with elaborate extensions and the make-up was perfect. With a slight twist of her neck, Haram gave the groom a Mona Lisa smile and claps went flying among crowd. For the first time, many overheard that Haram Abdallah was an accountant for Case Clinic.
Then the partying began, as sumptuous dishes of pilao and several meats and vegetables, kicked the eating sprees off. The mataali artistes added to the hilarious mood.
Phase two of the party was at Speke Resort Munyonyo where a typical modern-day reception was held. Many of the guests let loose their own Duluka dance, though the likes of Mesach Semakula were booming in the loudspeakers.
Know the price for marrying a girl from the Alur or Nubian tribes? Well, it is a truckload of firewood, several goats, chicken, sacks of cassava flour, rice, millet, a box of cigarettes and sh1.8m in cash. It was such, and a whole lot of other items that won Crane Bank’s Ahmad Bongo a Nubian girl last week.
Not only was it a hilarious bout of eating, drinking and dancing, but it was also a chance for the Nubians to show off their unique culture. Nubian weddings happen once in a blue moon and this was such a spectacle.
Bongo caused a stir when he entered Bombo town with a long convoy of Mercedes Benz led by ‘Big Mama’ (a monstrous black pick-up truck that has wheels of a tractor and ‘Big Mama’ for its number plate). His convoy crammed into former governor Nasur Abdallah’s compound and numerous people dressed up to the nines in kanzus and shariahs alighted. Many of the women wore long colourful underskirts (kikoy or kurbaba). The groom and his bestmen shrouded themselves in jet-black.
Ululations filled Nasur’s house and a queue of Bombo girls in red robes came out to welcome the groom’s party. Sheikh after sheikh from the neighbourhood joined the party. A lot of Asalaam aleikum, alihamdulillah filled the air. As Muslim prayers ensued, orator after orator cursed the Domestic Relations Bill.
“DRB, DRB, to hell with it! Allah created more women than men. So those who marry one woman must end up cheating.â€
But Bongo was not cheating. Nasur’s daughter, 29-year-old Haram Abdallah, was going to be his second wife. And every orator was reminding him to aim at having four women. Soon, the Mataali artistes struck up a hilarious tune. And once again, the air was filled with singing and ululation and there was merrymaking in the courtyard.
Somewhere behind closed doors, women with rings and pins in their noses were busy pampering the bride. They had tattooed Haram’s fingers, toes, nails and the soles of her feet with henna. The stains were so dark you would believe the bride was wearing brick-red crotched stockings on her feet!
“Henna ensures that a girl going away from her mother’s home meets good fortune. The longer it stays on her fingers, the better. That is a sign that her man is not forcing her to do menial jobs,†says the greying Sitna Nobbi, who is famous among Bombo Nubians for initiating girls into womanhood with henna. She makes the dye from leaves of the henna brush pounded with dry tealeaves and water.
Meanwhile, no one else was allowed to look at the bride. Outsiders were thought to be envious and could bring bad luck.
Sitna and the other women in the room also adorned the bride with gold ornaments and beads. The practice dates back hundreds of years to Nuba (‘Gold mine’), the Nubians’ cradle in Egypt. They came to Uganda in the 1880s and have maintained those ancient Egyptian cultures. For example, the ‘Sumuku’, a rite in which the groom touches his wife-to-be’s hair with a mixture of pounded simsim, groundnuts and lemon leaves and he is not allowed to look into the bride’s eyes. He must pass his hand underneath the veils and touch the mixture lightly onto her hair.
Sitna explains; “Sumuku implies that the man has become the girl’s sole provider of the basic necessities, which originally included simsim and groundnuts. But he must put money into the tabaga (a kind of basket) to be allowed to look into the girl’s face.â€
The moment we have all been waiting, the unveiling of the bride arrives. And a stunning beauty was unleashed to the eager eyes! The silken white cloth added uniqueness to her femininity. Her hair was woven into cornrows and topped with elaborate extensions and the make-up was perfect. With a slight twist of her neck, Haram gave the groom a Mona Lisa smile and claps went flying among crowd. For the first time, many overheard that Haram Abdallah was an accountant for Case Clinic.
Then the partying began, as sumptuous dishes of pilao and several meats and vegetables, kicked the eating sprees off. The mataali artistes added to the hilarious mood.
Phase two of the party was at Speke Resort Munyonyo where a typical modern-day reception was held. Many of the guests let loose their own Duluka dance, though the likes of Mesach Semakula were booming in the loudspeakers.