It has now become a culture in Tanzania, whenever we hear someone is getting married, it is followed by an invitation to attend "the first kikao". That is where either the groom, bride or the families ensure all the attendees are well fed and drink enough beverages before asking for "pledges". Everyone is now expected to "pledge" how much they will contribute to the wedding.
This culture has really taken over such that you will find yourself contributing more than 1 Million shillings per month just to weddings and send offs. Is it really a must to contribute? What happens if you do not? Well it is actually like buying yourself a ticket to the wedding! There's even a minimum amount to contribute, short of which you will not get an invitation. Imagine you are sometimes even required to contribute to your neighbor's relatives kitchen party, sendoff, wedding . This is someone you have not even met and never heard about. This always amazes me.
But another fact is that a wedding of huge proportions that everyone dreams of having costs no less than 15 Million Tanzanian Shillings. If the groom is to cough up all that money, in this economy, he would have to wait for years to be able to save. Worse yet some grooms even take up loans just to cover the wedding and have enough left over for the first few months of married life.Is it really necessary to have more than 500 people at your wedding , 50% of whom you do not know? Can we ever go back to weddings being taken care of by the families and having only close relatives, done in the backyards of spacious houses with women cooking and men slaughtering cows? I would love to see that!
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