For those of you who have been checking this blog from time to time, I profusely apologize for my complete inattention to the website. But, it’s never too late to start, right? Here it goes…
This week will be busy (a bit of a change of pace from my status quo) as my family is preparing for the wedding of their youngest daughter, Molli. Weddings in Swaziland can be just as much of a headache as their American counterparts. Each marriage is celebrated in a slightly different way, based on the families’ inclinations to incorporate Western traditions. In Molli’s case, lobola (Swazi dowry) was paid in July which was a weekend celebration consisting of the groom-to-be presenting 17 head of cattle to Gogo and Mkhulu and the subsequent slaughtering of 2 cattle for braii (barbeque). The original price was 25 but because this is very expensive, Mkhulu was lenient. (Each head of cattle costs about 2,500 Emalengeni or $400) So, with lobola paid, wedding time has come! Molli and her fiancé, as Christians, have chosen to do a “Western” wedding (i.e. in a church) and will be married in Manzini on Saturday. Sunday will continue the celebrations when Molli presents the groom’s family with gifts. After I told Molli that in American weddings only the bride and groom receive gifts, she sighed and said she wished it was that easy here. In Swaziland, the bride and her family have many gifts prepared and bought for each individual of the groom’s family (parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.). They receive emacasi, the Swazi sleeping mats hand-made by Gogo and other Swazi women, pillows, blankets, towels, scarves, dishes, toothbrushes, and combs. These items are not inexpensive in Southern Africa—the blankets and pillows were purchased in Johannesburg and delivered here. So, this past weekend, all of Gogo’s children came home to help divide and prepare the gifts so they would be organized for next Sunday. In the meantime, I helped Molli clean the guest houses for Gogo’s family who are coming from Durban, South Africa on Wednesday. I was also informed that I would be baking for these family members—chocolate cake and pineapple cake. And, on Friday, I will go to Manzini to help all the female family members cook for the wedding. Guess how many guests? Four hundred! I told Molli she was crazy when I heard that. She just laughed in agreement!
In other news: the community has started preparing their fields for growing maize. Ploughs are being hired and planting season will begin. This time of year is very important to so many Swazis who rely primarily on subsistence farming. Unfortunately, with climate change, drought, and obsolete farming practices (slash and burn), their soil has been damaged and their need for water is increasing. I remind myself that convincing Swazis to change (grow drought-resistant crops such as sorghum or cassava or use trench gardening methods to save water) is much like convincing Americans to stop driving their cars (or decrease the amount they drive). Either way, people get stuck in their ways. Swazis love their maize just as much as we love our cars. So, what do you do? Change when the necessity arises?
On the work front, I have plans. So many plans. Cultivating these plans is another thing. But, I just have to keep chugging along, meeting more people in the community, attending events/meetings, and trying to find partners to help cultivate these plans and assess whether or not they will be effective in teaching about how to protect against HIV/AIDS.
This week will be busy (a bit of a change of pace from my status quo) as my family is preparing for the wedding of their youngest daughter, Molli. Weddings in Swaziland can be just as much of a headache as their American counterparts. Each marriage is celebrated in a slightly different way, based on the families’ inclinations to incorporate Western traditions. In Molli’s case, lobola (Swazi dowry) was paid in July which was a weekend celebration consisting of the groom-to-be presenting 17 head of cattle to Gogo and Mkhulu and the subsequent slaughtering of 2 cattle for braii (barbeque). The original price was 25 but because this is very expensive, Mkhulu was lenient. (Each head of cattle costs about 2,500 Emalengeni or $400) So, with lobola paid, wedding time has come! Molli and her fiancé, as Christians, have chosen to do a “Western” wedding (i.e. in a church) and will be married in Manzini on Saturday. Sunday will continue the celebrations when Molli presents the groom’s family with gifts. After I told Molli that in American weddings only the bride and groom receive gifts, she sighed and said she wished it was that easy here. In Swaziland, the bride and her family have many gifts prepared and bought for each individual of the groom’s family (parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.). They receive emacasi, the Swazi sleeping mats hand-made by Gogo and other Swazi women, pillows, blankets, towels, scarves, dishes, toothbrushes, and combs. These items are not inexpensive in Southern Africa—the blankets and pillows were purchased in Johannesburg and delivered here. So, this past weekend, all of Gogo’s children came home to help divide and prepare the gifts so they would be organized for next Sunday. In the meantime, I helped Molli clean the guest houses for Gogo’s family who are coming from Durban, South Africa on Wednesday. I was also informed that I would be baking for these family members—chocolate cake and pineapple cake. And, on Friday, I will go to Manzini to help all the female family members cook for the wedding. Guess how many guests? Four hundred! I told Molli she was crazy when I heard that. She just laughed in agreement!
In other news: the community has started preparing their fields for growing maize. Ploughs are being hired and planting season will begin. This time of year is very important to so many Swazis who rely primarily on subsistence farming. Unfortunately, with climate change, drought, and obsolete farming practices (slash and burn), their soil has been damaged and their need for water is increasing. I remind myself that convincing Swazis to change (grow drought-resistant crops such as sorghum or cassava or use trench gardening methods to save water) is much like convincing Americans to stop driving their cars (or decrease the amount they drive). Either way, people get stuck in their ways. Swazis love their maize just as much as we love our cars. So, what do you do? Change when the necessity arises?
On the work front, I have plans. So many plans. Cultivating these plans is another thing. But, I just have to keep chugging along, meeting more people in the community, attending events/meetings, and trying to find partners to help cultivate these plans and assess whether or not they will be effective in teaching about how to protect against HIV/AIDS.
