on weddings

imagine with me one of the most joyous days of your life. you are woken up early and help to clean the house in order to prepare for guests. after eating a hurried lunch, you begin to prepare for the evening, when all the fun commences. late afternoon, you put on a somewhat uncomfortable outfit and are painted with bold makeup. then you are whisked away to sit in a chair for hours and have your hair pulled into an extravagant mound above your head while even more makeup is layered onto a face that has scarcely been acquainted with the substance before. late that evening, you return to throngs of people stuffed like vienna sausage into a small, hot room with music playing that threatens permanent eardrum damage. throughout the rest of the evening, you are subjected to continued loud music, furious sweating when inside, chills when escorted to the brisk mountain air outside, maddening hunger that is finally requited around 12 am, 3-4 more clothing changes of hot, heavy gowns, and drooping eyelids from unmet sleep requirements - you wont go to bed until after 6 am. in addition, you endure this with someone you will be with for the remainder of your life, but probably barely know, or maybe have never even met. this is your wedding day. granted - weddings in morocco are intense whatever the circumstance, but not all commence in the exact manner i just described. i was recently able to participate in a wedding for a close friend of mine and while it was all of the aforementioned, it was also celebratory because the bride and groom want to be together and have been waiting 3 years to get married. it was a privilege to join the family and friends in granting a happy future to the young couple. but the vibrancy of it all - whirling dancers in elaborate gowns, the house saturated in foreign music, scents of a 3 course meal that refuses to accomodate needs until salivating sets in, sugary tea, damp hairlines, twinkling stars, meshing of fabrics, jovial singing, hushed glances. due to the overstimulating plethora of sounds, sights, aromas, and conversations, weddings require much patience in order to endure until morning, but are usually worth it when the night ends (or morning begins) with a newly wed couple separating from family and starting a life of their own, excited at the prospect of making their journey together.

*according to one of the new moudwana laws in morocco, girls younger than 18 can no longer be married and they must give their consent. however, in small villages girls as young as 14 continue to be married off, having little or no voice in the matter. i was blessed to witness a wedding between two mature, willing individuals with the blessing of their families.