Sharlotte's traditional Zulu wedding

Last weekend we attended my colleague Sharlotte's wedding in rural KZN. We were originally supposed to go to the 'white' wedding on the Friday night, but then her family over-invited guests and we were uninvited from that... After initial anger, we quite enjoyed our peaceful night at the Little Switzerland hotel, and then we headed off the next morning to the traditional event, at Sharlotte's Gogo's house. 

I got to play with the Sony Alpha digital SLR, which was loads of fun - particularly the panorama feature, which in its own right, is a good enough reason to buy the camera... 

This is a panorama shot of the view from Gogo's house. Very rural, but the marquee on the right is where the bulk of the festivities happened. The sheep was slaughtered in the patch of veld to the left of the pic... 

I didn't know that Sharlotte could sing so beautifully - but she can! When we got there, everyone was in the lounge having a prayer service, and then she led them in singing some hymns. 

So much joy, so much excitement. It really struck home how much pressure there must be on people like Sharlotte and Mpho (her husband, who also works with us) - they have such strong roots in rural tradition, but their families invest everything in their future. There is such pressure for them to succeed, everyone wants to be and is so very proud of them. 

This was a bit later - the families exchange gifts. Well, the women seem to do all the marrying part - the men were sitting outside watching. Sharlotte is Zulu and Mpho is Sotho, which made this a bit of a blend of cultures. In Zulu tradition, apparently, you give clothes to the bride's family, and in Sotho tradition, you give blankets. 

This was one of Sharlotte's aunts...

And this was one of Mpho's aunts - she has the most joyful face! 

The lady in green with the crutches is Sharlotte's Gogo who raised her, and sitting in front of her is Sharlotte's mom, who lives in Bryanston and has her own staff. I found it fascinating how traditional roles are re-assumed as soon as people get back to the rural setting. 

These are local youngsters who came to 'fight' Mpho off. They were incredible, lots of singing and drumming, and were very disciplined. 

Each warrior took his turn demonstrating his prowess, with lots of footstomping and hurling of selves onto the ground. Gogo's house is in the background - probably the best appointed home in the whole village. 

The problem with stills is that you don't get the sound and the action... 

Sharlotte joined in and did her own bit of jigging around... 

As did one of the aunties... 

Mpho's family gave the women in Sharlotte's family dresses - all were of the same red fabric, but each dress was unique. 

Everyone was very proud of their new outfits...

Sharlotte then went inside to change from her 'maiden' outfit into the clothing of a woman married to a Sotho man.

While she was changing, there was lots of singing and dancing. And the slaughtering of the sheep. The bit that I found most distressing about this was the slaughtered sheep's friend, who got to watch the demise of his mate, followed by his skinning and dismembering. There'd be a lot of money for animal shrinks in the rural areas, methinks... ;-) 

Sharlotte emerged in her 'married' clothing. Complete with heavy blanket in the 36 degree heat. 

More singing and celebration... 

The ladies in their new dresses (which were over the dresses that they arrived in ... in that 36 degree heat...)

The two families then sang 'at' each other - lots of joy and happiness here. Note the technology - the only place I've seen more Blackberries in one location is at a 27 Dinner... ;-)

More singing, with the presents in the foreground. There must have been about 25 thick fluffy blankets... in that 36 degree heat... ;-)

This is the oldest lady in the village. She apparently often tells Sharlotte that she wants to go to Joburg to work and look after children. 

What is a wedding without a DJ? This was the DJ's setup... 

The handing over of blankets to Mpho's family. My memory card ran out at this point, so this is about as far as I got. We left shortly afterwards, so that we would be home in Joburg before sunset.