Dowry Celebration in Kenya

The dowry celebration in Kenya is a very traditional ritual. This ceremony is about cherishing the relationships between the husband and the wife’s families, especially the bride’s parents. The gifts of food and money are offered to the bride’s parents, where the celebration takes place. My sister Dine and I were invited by our host-mother Margaret to go up country, in her home town, to attend her brother’s dowry celebration. The interesting fact here is that her brother has been married to his wife for 16 years, but in Kenya the dowry to a wife’s parents can last a lifetime.

  

The Bride with Dine (on left) and I (on right)

The day before we left, I asked Margaret if she had notified her brother that Dine and I were coming to the party. Smiling to me, she replied that in Kenya they don’t count the number of people attending a dowry celebration, they just cook a feast. And a feast it was! We were amazed to see the amount of food being offered to the guests and also the amount of food put on our plates (enough to feed 2 to 3 people). I was starving, as we left home around 7am and started eating only around 3pm. After eating though, I felt so sick with the quantity of food I had eaten. J It was crazy!

Hosts serving the guests

The traditional Kenyan food for a dowry celebration includes black beans (the expensive type cooked only on special celebrations), ‘mukimo’ (mash potato mixed with corn and greens), ‘kachumbari’ (tomato salad with onions and green chilly, which I though was green capsicum and had the time of my life chocking and nearly screaming for water!), potato stew (why not more potato!), stewed cabbage mixed with carrot. All accompanied by plenty of chapatti bread. Most Kenyans will eat their food with a spoon. They rarely eat with fork and knife. In fact, the prefered way of eating is with their hands.

Traditional Kenyan food

The above food was for entrée. A moment later came the main course: boiled & roasted goat, which was slaughtered the day before the party, as the tradition demands. Dine and I skipped the main course, which made the guests sitting next us feel very confused. We tried to explain to them that we are vegetarian, but they could not get it why we had refuse the most expensive and most delicious food in the party. Below are Peter and Hanna being appreciated by their families and guests.

Bride & Groom being served goat

The party was very nice and interesting, but one thing that makes me feel uncomfortable  about the Kenyan culture is the men letting the women carry all the heavy load. Below the women are carrying the food and drinks to the party. It is just so different from the Western culture, where the men carry all the heavy weight for the women. Although, I have to say that the Kenyan women seem to be happy to carry out their duties. They were singing beautiful traditional songs as they went up and down the hill to get to the house. They are real warriors! It's just a shame I couldn’t understand what they were saying, as they were singing in their mother tongue.

Women carrying the heavy load to the party

The Bride and the Groom had special seats next to the honored guests at the ‘High Table’ as the Kenyans call it. The honored guests are usually the parents of the bride and the groom and other close relatives. They were the first to be served with the goat.

Guests of Honor

The guests included their extended families, friends, neighbors as well as the International visitors (Dine and I). Once everyone got enough food in their bellies, it was time for the speeches. Dine and I were called to the front to introduce ourselves to all the guests and to take a photo with the bride and the groom. We were a bit shy but happy to do it and to be party of such a traditional ceremony.

The Guests

However, the biggest attraction of the party was the beautiful baby darling Zora. She is one of the sweetest babies I have ever met in my life. We were melting all over her. She also couldn't leave our side and was fighting her sleep all day long.

Beautiful baby darling Zora