So much of life is what you are used to. Wow – did that ever ring true for me on Saturday past when we attended the wedding of Sithy and Brendan! Several of us travelled up to Kampong Cham on Friday afternoon while another bus brought the dormers plus a few extras up to the village on Saturday morning. EARLY Saturday morning! The bus drivers valiantly battled the muddy trek into Sithy’s village (appreciating, I’m sure, the help of a few muscular young men when we got bogged!) and we arrived only slightly late, just in time for the fruit to be offered.
I appreciated all my Khmer friends who
helped translate and explain what was going on during the day. Traditionally,
the fruit was an offering from the groom to the bride’s family, representing
his ability to provide for his new wife. The groom’s family and friends would
help him carry the gift of fruit to the bride’s home and so as soon as we
arrived at Sithy’s family home, we were handed plates and trays of fruit (and
fruit drinks and fruit candies – slight variations on the old traditions, I
guess!) and we walked back out the way we had come in. Once we were all
arranged appropriately, with Brendan and his friends and family leading the
parade, we walked back into the home. As we walked Saroun explained that
traditionally, if there wasn’t enough fruit, the groom and his entourage would
be turned away! Apparently there has to be 36 different kinds of fruit to be
acceptable and Saroun assured me we would be fine. Thankfully!
The traditional wedding outfits were pretty
remarkable. I admit that I lost count of how many changes the bride and groom,
along with their wedding party, went through! Some of the Aussie guys in the
wedding party had to be shoved into their jackets on a few occasions. Each outfit
was brightly coloured, sparkly and very ornate. The girls’ hair was also a
sight to behold, styled with incredible care and time.
We were served several meals during the day,
catered by a hired company. After lunch many people wandered down to the Mekong
River for a bit of a breeze – it was HOT all day!
The Khmer have the same
brilliant idea as the Italians and for several hours in the afternoon most
people who lived nearby went home for a siesta. Those of us who stayed also took
part in the afternoon nap tradition: I found myself a comfy spot on the wooden
slated floor of the house and slept alongside about 15 other people! It’s
amazing that even when you’re lying still, with a fan blowing across you
occasionally – it’s still hot!
As the afternoon meal (I think it was
dinner, around 4:30pm) was served, the rains began their descent. And did the
rain come! I think several Westerners seriously doubted the likelihood of the
bus making it through the sand – mud – roads now. Of course, the Cambodians had
no such doubts. They’re used to the torrential rain and aren’t ones to let a
little rain ruin a good party!
The band was forced to stop because of the
rain but at the first sign of the rain slowing down they started back up with
gusto. Never in my life have I experienced such loud music!! If most Cambodians
are hard of hearing, I’d blame their wedding celebrations. At one point Luke
used an app on his phone to measure the volume and standing approximately ten metres away
from the speakers it measured in at 98 decibels. For reference, 90 decibels is
the level at which it’s considered dangerous for your ears, like machinery in a
factory, and when it’s important to where protective ear pieces. When the music started up, I could feel it
vibrating in my chest, rattling my water bottle; the Cambodians loved it while we
shoved tissues in our ears. At the very least, I’m sure we gave the Cambodians
a good laugh :)
As the dancing got under way I had a go at
some traditional Khmer dances. One of the traditional dance is a slow, three
step dance which goes around an object placed in the centre, like a table.
Along with the steps there are slow, hand weaving movements. With the help of
Dy, Veasna and Soary (all of whom are enthusiastic dancers!) I managed to get
the steps down, but I lost it whenever I tried to add the hand movements. It’s
okay, though: I didn’t need a Cambodian wedding to help me realize that I can’t
dance!
It was a bit of a hazardous journey out to
the bus, but most of us managed. Poor Potty... he almost made it ;) “Covered in
mud” hardly does the description of our feet and shoes justice! As a final act,
we fit 19 people in a 14 seat bus.
What a day it was! Several times the
unlikeliness of it all really hit me. Here I was, in a remote jungle village –
in Cambodia! – taking part in the celebrations of a traditional Khmer wedding.
How great is God’s Truth! How big and how encompassing! It really is a loving
Father who calls people from all over the world to Himself, so that ‘His ways
may be known on earth and His salvation among all nations.’ I feel so
blessed to have been able to share in Brendan and Sithy’s Cambodian wedding
day. It’s another reminder that our God is so big and He has such big plans
with the earth – and that is good news.
May His name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun.
Then all nations will be blessed through Him,
and they will call Him blessed.
Psalm 72:17
may it continue as long as the sun.
Then all nations will be blessed through Him,
and they will call Him blessed.
Psalm 72:17
Rachel
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