Sunday was a fun filled time. We went to a service nearby and really enjoyed our time there. We have known the pastor quite well since coming here but have never been in his service. In person he is a very quiet person but as a pastor he is extremely dynamic. He was a good leader during the service. His church was very full and the people were very sweet. I was very encouraged to see such a great group of people.
In the evening we went to a betrothal. Since weddings are arranged they usually have several meetings between the families to decide on the marriage and what the bride will bring in the way of dowry. Once the terms of the arrangement are agreed upon they plan a formal ceremony to seal the agreement. This is the ceremony we attended. The prosepective bride and groom sit in throne like chairs and the family brings a ton of fruit, jewels, sweets, and sari's to the couples feet. It looked to me like an offering to a god or something... kind of like in Star Wars with the ewoks and Princess Leia... I digress.
Either way the prospective bride is not supposed to smile or hold her head. She is literally being sold in this process so I would think it would not be a happy experience. Also it is likely that she does not know her future groom very well so it could be scary. I have very mixed feelings about the marriage process here. I think that there could be advantages to arranged marriages but I despise the custom of dowry and how it ruins many lives. I am seeking God intensely to see how a Christian should handle this seemingly necessary custom in this culture.
I was assured that she was happy about the arrangement and that they will have a good marriage but I always worry. Plus there were over 600 people at this ceremony to celebrate! It was huge. We had some Briyani at the end of it and then waited for a good while to be able to get our jeep out of the parking lot... kind of like trying to get anywhere on campus during gameday for OSU:)
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