Indonesia - A Village Wedding

One day in Sumatra, Indonesia a young man invited me and a handful of other travels to a wedding. Honestly I was not sure if he was telling the truth. There are always merchants or unscrupulous people who try to lure you away for money or sex or some scheme. To attend the wedding we would have to pay a couple of dollars. I asked the man, "Why do you need a couple of dollars from each of us to view the wedding?" He said the money goes towards gas in the van and a small wedding gift for the bride and groom. This seemed reasonable. A group of 7 of us piled into the van and away we went.

Before we arrived at the wedding the van made a stop. I asked the driver why he was stopping. He said he needed to go buy the gift for the bride and groom. About 10 minutes later he came out of the store with a package. I asked what was in the package. He said he bought some cloth for the bride to make some clothing with. I saw the material and thought this was a very nice gesture. This made me feel that this little adventure may actually be legit.

We pulled up to a big outdoor meeting place. I can not remember if the structure had a cement foundation or just dirt tightly packed. There were no walls but an extremely large wood and tin or aluminum roof. This must be where the village goes for meetings, celebrations, and other important gatherings.

There were hundreds of people of all ages there. They were all dressed in their finest clothes. I asked the driver where we were supposed to go. He said to follow him. Honestly, I felt like a wedding crasher. I wasn't sure this was such a good idea. We did not get kicked out so that was a good sign. Now I was especially glad that we stopped off to buy a wedding gift.

As I mentioned, the villagers were all dressed in their finest clothing. The funny thing is that many of the women had red teeth - bright red teeth. They like to chew on beetle nut, which turns their entire mouth red. The women had on very beautiful clothes and then they would smile with bright red teeth.

By the time we had arrived, the ceremony had already begun. The bride and groom stood in the middle of the wedding hall along with several VIPs. At one point an older man got up to speak and he began to cry. Most of the people in attendance were crying as well. I did not know what they were saying but my eyes became watery. I asked my guide what the older man was saying. He told me that the groom's father had passed away. The older man was a close friend of the groom's father. The older man was saying how the groom's father would have cherished this day and would have been so proud of his son. Now that I had a better understanding of what was being said, a tear dropped from my eye.

At the end of the ceremony it was time to give the bride and groom their gifts. The older women lined up with gifts in hand. This by far was my favorite part of the ceremony. In the picture to the left you will see some of the gifts. One woman is carrying a large weaved mat on her head. Another woman has a teapot in hand. If you look closely at the woman in the blue blouse on the far left you will notice a chicken in her hands. Several women are holding pots and one woman has a lantern. In this Indonesian village there is no Williams Sonoma gift registry. The village women are responsible for furnishing the items needed to start a home. I can only imagine that the men help build the hut. This was something very special to see.

Once the formal ceremony was over it was time to eat. The people formed groups of about 25. The women dished out rice from large containers and placed small portions in a bowl. After everyone had some rice, meat and vegetables were added to the dish. Everyone sat on the ground as they talked, ate, and were merry. The food, dishes, and other items needed for the wedding seemed to be brought by all the villagers. Instead of the bride and groom putting on a wedding for the villagers, the villagers put on a wedding for the bride and groom. This is what I found to be so very special about this wedding, and I was privileged to be a part of it.