NUBIAN WEDDING

Men did more dancing than the women

Only the married women can dance

Women had their own area, away from any men

On the first night moored at their village (BanBam, approx 10,000 people) for a wedding that did not start till midnight (goes till 5am) .... they took me to their family home (they all really live in abject poverty, in primitive houses where whole family resides, with only electricity and TV as any signs of 21st century) .... very humbling .....and then later we sat around the bank of the Nile ..... talking about life !!!

Mushawee was telling me about this girl he fancies ... to put it into context ....they are Muslim, and the women do not have pre-marital sex and when it comes to courting ...they are still extremely traditional.... they cant even meet the boy without a chaperone ... and he once touched her hand, and she got very upset that he was out of line... they haven’t even kissed ... that is for the wedding night.

He hopes that she will merry him .... he’s 25, and worries that he will not have enough wealth to attract this girl ... and the ring she wants is US$100,and he hopes to get a government job, so that he has some social status, rather than being a felucca sailor..... it really hits home how lucky we are in western world, where we take the basics for granted!!!! ... he told me that having US$800 would be enough for her to marry him .. and it was in no way directed at me to illicit any cash ... it was a truly genuine conversation about his dreams and aspirations ... again, very humbling

The wedding was not a formal ceremony as we know it, but a feast/dancing in the centre of the village ... to show the whole village that the woman was no longer available (ie. taken by her groom) .. anyone can attend to witness it, even people from other villages ... and all the men were openly smoking joints (part of Nubian culture) ..... so it was a first for me to attend such a wedding.... I was the only white fella there!

The location was the village central square, on dirt ground, with a band playing, and mostly men dancing (all the women sat in one area, separate from the men) ... but they all looked like they were having a great time.