"D" Wedding

We were invited by my language tutor to travel to her village to participate in her sister's wedding. It was an honor for us to be invited and we were more than happy to attend as this would be our first "D" wedding. D weddings usually last 4 to 5 days. Relatives and close friends work with the family to make all the preparations so that when the rest of the village arrives everyone is well taken care of. The morning of the wedding, the father and other men in the village took a water buffalo out to be killed. Upon their return people are ready to begin preparing boat loads of food. Each day of the wedding food and drink will be provided to all the guests. The wedding ceremony takes place on the first day as the "elders"of the community determine how things will be carried out. It very much resembles a tribal council. There is a ceremony that takes place that we could not understand. At the conclusion of the ceremony the older people from the community and relatives tie strings around the wrists of the bride and groom. This is done as some sort of blessing and hope of protection over the bride and groom.