Ok, so the first step of the wedding is the henna party. I had forgotten my experience with the groom, last year, and thought it had to do with painting the beautiful patterns on the hands with henna. No, not yet. At this party, the bride had her baby finger liberally lathered with mendi (henna) and one by one the women tied money onto it, until it was quite a huge apendage. This money is like pin money, hers to do with as she wants. After this piece of ceremony, the women sing and drum songs from the Koran, which to my uneducated ears, sound all the same, but seem to bring them good pleasure and a lot of laughs. Often there are two parts - a call and a response. I gladly clap along. We did the same with the groom last year, and when the bride and groom's parties came together, it became like a sing-off, with the two groups trying to outdo each other in volume. This picture is the bride and some of her relatives.
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