Last Saturday, 25th July, Kenya-Stockholmer, Mr. David Kamau, the eldest son of Pastor Beatrice Kamau, married Madeleine, a Swedish girl, at a colorful wedding ceremony in Gävle city (about 200 km north of Stockholm). The couple has been residing in Stockholm but switched base to Gävle. They left a trail of friends and contacts in Stockholm who cruised to the northern city to be part of the couple’s big day that was attended by over 70 people.
Invitation to the wedding was strictly controlled and only the “very best friends” of the Beatrice and Madeleine families were invited with wedding cards. Chief coordinator was Mrs Margaret Njihia, David’s aunt, assisted by a battalion of volunteers who were mobilized by the Wedding committee.
At the church, Pastor Beatrice was given the opportunity to address the audience. She gave a brief but moving history of her son David, how he left Kenya, his struggles in Sweden, his meeting with Madeleine and the couple’s undying love for one another which eventually drove them to tie the knot in front of everybody.
Madelien’s father, who wedded the couple (he is a Pastor) also spoke briefly at the Church about his daughter and some of the challenges they have gone through as a family. He said that he was happy that at long last, Madeline had found her soul mate and wished them well in their marriage.
After the Church session, guests were ushered into a well decorated Lokal where coffee was served, the wedding cake was cut and other consumables served before the newly-weds moved to a new location for the special wedding dinner. It is here that different speakers were given the opportunity by Mr. Laban Mberi, the Master of Ceremony, to address the audience.
The Mberi family is very close to the Beatrice family and it was not surprising that Mr. Mberi had won the ticket to preside over as the MC. Mr. Mberi’s Mom was also in attendance and she watched events quietly from a distance as her son, who had dressed for the occasion, took charge.
Among those who spoke were Margaret, Pastor Beatrice, the bride’s father, Mary Kamuiru, Kristina, Lars Asker among others. Margaret spoke about the wedding as an institution. She encouraged the couple to be tolerant with one another, respect one another’s views, devote time and attention for each other and to look after the young family the couple was building.
Mary Kamuiru talked about the long relationship she has had with the Beatrice family and said that she could not describe her joy for both David and Madeleine, a young couple who had taken the serious step of getting married. Mary’s son Steve was also in attendance. Lars Asker and his wife Jane sent greetings from St Klara Church in Stockholm and welcomed the couple to “the club”.
Once the speeches were complete, a new episode was introduced by Margaret who introduced Madeline to the traditional Kikuyu culture of womanhood. She had just become married to David, a Kikuyu, and she was handed over a Kiondo and shown how to hang it over her head while using it to fetch food stuffs for the family.
At the same time, she was supplied with a suka and given quick training on how to use it when she is in the kitchen preparing food, carrying the baby, spreading it on the ground as a temporary mat to sit on and how she would, at times, use it to cover her head when necessary. The kiondo had been shipped from Kenya for the occasion. It was a spectacular scene and the audience, which comprised of Africans and Swedes, followed the quick training on stage with keen interest.
Once the training session was over, Mr Jamlik Muritu jumped on stage to articulate another important aspect of the Kiondo which appeared to have been left behind. He said that in Kikuyu culture, the Kiondo is never handed over when empty but that it is normally filled up with goodies for the newly-weds.
He introduced “the envelope” dimension of the Kiondo process and the audience appeared to have understood his point quickly because earlier, some empty envelopes had been doing the rounds. If you are new, the envelopes are normally not filled with letters or cards wishing the couple everything in marriage but hard cash. Jamlick set the process in motion before taking his seat.
“Marriage is not a bed of roses”
After the speeches, it was time to cut yet another cake that had been personally prepared by Mrs Josephine Mberi. KSB was told that it was a “Carrot cake” and it had all the ingredients which suggested a very personal touch especially on the finishing. Josephine took over from Margaret and took the couple through the chapters pertaining to the symbolic meaning of the cake.
She said that in a relationship, it is always important to “spice up things” because it’s not always a “bed of roses”. She pointed out that the cake was important because its sweetness was symbolic of both the sweetness in marriage and the sweetening ingredients which every couple needs to warm up the relationship when “the goings gets tough”.
She reminded the couple that there reaches a time in marriage when the uttering of the words “I love you” begins to reduce and warned the couple that by feeding one another with the cake, they were entering into vows that no matter the circumstances, they will always try to make the best out of the situation.
After her well presented argument for the cake, she led the audience in singing the famous “kata.. kata” song as Madeline and her husband rose to the occasion to cut the cake and engage in feeding themselves as the audience waited patiently for their turn.
Throughout the occasion, the audience would burst into Kikuyu traditional songs and this tended to amuse the white Swedes who were not used to songs such as “Werokamu”. The songs found their way into the Church, creating a new experience which the Swedes will, most likely, talk about for a long time to come – thanks to the wedding. The couple then took a break to change from their wedding attires into the Party gear to join a constellation of youngsters and their adult minders in an all night Party.
It was first things first. The MC, assisted by Mr. Makan Macharia, were the link men at the night boogie. DJ Sparks, Rapper JJ and his crew were at hand to provide the vibes that ensured that the Party-thirsty audience got their fill. Makan led the audience into the Champaign-spilling process with Mr. Mberi helping in cooling down the audience when they turned too wild and providing the much needed Party direction.
Once the glasses were emptied, the program approached its end-term that began with opening of the dance by the couple as the guests shouted with joy to welcome the new romantic union. Gradually, the light-intensity was reduced as couples began to sneak onto the floor, tightly holding their spouses and squeezing each other elaborately, sometimes kissing passionately.
There was no shortage of youths who were all smartly dressed for the big occasion. At the wedding, silky dresses knitted in sophisticated styles dominated the scene for the ladies but by the time activities entered into Party session, the situation on the “dress front” had turned into the sexy. As the “Party temperature” began to climb, wazee wa kazi could be seen leaving the scene one by one. The youths had taken over the dance floor with weird moves.
Speaking to KSB, Pastor Beatrice Kamau thanked all friends who attended the wedding. Among them were: the Laban Mberi family, the Martin Ngatia family, the Okoth Osewe family, the Tarus Mbugua family, the Jamlik Muritu family, the Mary Kamuiru family, The Hellen Opwapo family, the Makan Macharia family, the Keegan Kaagwe family, the Lars Asker family and the Wamonyo Lenberg family. Man Keegan was the chief photographer at the function and he did a fantastic job.
The Pastor also thanked Kristina, Moliny, Tarjar and Mr. Paul Kamau to mention but a few. The Pastor said that she may be unable to mention everybody and said that the solidarity friends showed to the family was immeasurable.
“On behalf of my entire family, I say thank you very much for having supported us and helping in making this day a big success”, she told KSB after she returned to her Stockholm base. The couple left for Kenya on Monday for their honey-moon.
Okoth Osewe
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