A Mozambican Wedding

Manuel drives our big trucks and we love to ride we him to food distributions. He gives us oranges which we call "friendship oranges", he is always smiling and brings a lot of joy to everyone.
On the last trip together he was telling me about a wedding and asked if I would come. You cannot imagine my excitement since I have been wanting to go to a Mozambican wedding since I decided to come to Mozambique. It seems like a great place to learn about the culture not only in regard to weddings but to marriages and relationships.
There was some confusion about who was actually getting married because I guess family titles are used loosely. Manuel said it was his daughter and I thought she was only 14. The day of the wedding we walked to the wedding with Manuel's half-brother, Bertino, and I said something about his niece getting married and he looked at me funny. I said 'isn't this Rachel's wedding?' and he said 'no, it's my aunts wedding'. I still am not sure who it was who got married, but I hope they have a very happy life together whoever these people are.

The bride wears a white dress and the groom wears a suit. They are escorted in by the jovens (young people) who were gathered from the audience a few minutes prior to the ceremony. One person sings and everyone else sings back as they slowly dance their way to the front. The couple stays and everyone else dance-sings their way back out. The Padrinhos stay close to the couple for the whole time--this is where Manuel and his wife come in--they are the Padrinhos, which for us would be the equivalent of best man and maid of honor and they also help pay for the wedding.
They first thing they do is welcome everyone which includes reading names from a really long list and whoever is there stands up and waves. Many people are not even there like pastors from neighboring communities, teachers and government officials. The pastor of the church preached about marriage and the husband and wife's relationship--he included humor which helped keep everyone's attention. They exchanged vows and the kiss. Then the dancing choirs started. Our kids had a choir led by Bertino and they invited us to join their choir, so after one dance lesson we were in. It was fun but a little nerve wracking since as two white girls we can't even pretend to blend in. Everyone was laughing but we hope it was because they were impressed. The kids love when we dance with them and we are honored when they invite us. We kind of feel famous though. One of the choirs in their song about how God loves marriage included some Macarena-type dancing and it was awesome! There was some more talking and then they had the offering. It's a time for everyone to go to the front to greet the couple while giving your gift. It could be as little as 10 meticais (less than a dollar) or more, a bucket, plates or a basin. But you have to dance-sing with everyone else as you make your way to the front.
The ceremony lasted more than five hours but surprisingly it didn't feel that long at all because we were so caught up in trying to know what's going on and talking with our friends. They served food at the end but we couldn't stay for that part. We walked home with Dominica and she said it was a beautiful wedding and she hopes that she can have one just like that for her daughter. Nene is only 16 and common wedding age is 18 or 19 so she has some time to prepare.
So, Mozambican weddings are fun and you all shouldn't complain the next time you are at a wedding that takes over an hour. But you should if you don't get to dance-sing as part of the ceremony.