Our sister's wedding

Plates and cuttlery, tabels and casseroles, blankets and cushions, soap and water in big quantities were just some of the things that were brought to our family’s house the days before the wedding of our sister, Fatimatu. The Saharawi traditional wedding celebrations are unique and absolutely amazing. Being a part of the family that organizes the wedding, we were able to get a wole new impression and a better view of this special event.

The Saharawi wedding celebration is held at the house of the bride and her family. In Saharawi tradition the freshly baked husband and the wife will move to a house or tent near the wife’s family after the wedding. The wedding will last for two or three days. The first day is the day of the bride and the second day is the day of the groom. These two days are held for the family, extended family and friends who come as guests to the big tent that is put up near the bride’s family. The bride and the groom are themselves not present at this big celebration. The third day the bride has a seperate, small party with her closest friends and the groom does the same with his friends.

Every wedding is slightly different, but this is what we experienced at our family’s celebration.
The first day of our sister’s wedding was a Wednesday, so Tuesday afternoon and evening we were busy helping the family cutting vegetables, puting up the tents and organizing things for the next day. We also had our henna made on our feet and hands. Our sister, Fatimatu, spent the day in Tindouf, going to hammam, getting henna and braids. Wednesday morning Maria and I met with some of our student at the school where we teach English. We did not meet to have an English lesson with them, but to pick them up and take them to the wedding together with the goat that Maria and I bought for Fatimatu as a gift. Its Saharawi tradition to bring gifts to the wedding accompanied by hunking cars and lots of noise. When we arrived to the family, the goat was tied to the big tent and our students were invited in to make tea. At noon lunch was served to all the guests and the camel that was killed the same morning served its purpose.
In the afternoon more cars loaded with gifts arrived to the family. Typical gifts are things that are useful for the house of the new couple such as blankets, tea sets, cushions and sofas. In the evening more guests came to celebrate, drink tea and have dinner.
The next day the bride stayed in the house of her sister, which is close to the rest of the family. Her she was visited by her friends and later on by her husband and his family. At noon a band consisting of four musicians and a singer came to perform in the big tent. The people formed a circle around a free space in the middle of the tent. This free space was used as the dancefloor and as the brides sisters, of course we had to spend a couple of songs trying to imitate the Saharawi dance style.
After the music celebration, the lunch (a second camel) was served and the guests returned to their homes.

To us the wedding celebration was a great experience. To be able to contribute and actively take part in the activities here is what brings us the most joy. We feel that as every day goes by we become a greater part this society and Sahara becomes a greater part of us.