Another Wedding!

In Nepal, weddings are usually only during certain months and most are arranged by the parents.  My previous post was about a Christian wedding I attended that was very similar to Christian weddings anywhere.  Now, I'll post about a Hindu wedding l attended.  Hindu weddings are not similar to what I'm used to!  There is a lot involved in a Hindu wedding.  The best way for you to find out about them is to read this Wikipedia article:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_wedding.  Section #3 is specifically about Nepal.  I think the main thing to remember is that there are many steps and rituals that must be adhered to and that different families/ethnic groups may have different steps and rituals from each other.  You could actually attend many weddings before you came across two that were similar!

One thing they all seem to have in common is an outdoor processional and a decorated car!  You can hear the processional before you see it!  This means you sometimes have time to run out and take pictures!

Here's a little video of a band I was able to film the other day at a wedding site I passed by.

It's very short so it would be able to be uploaded before Christmas (smile).

As you listen you will see someone wave at me!

The first wedding I went to in Nepal was a Newari wedding.
I found a website that explains the Newari culture and wedding traditions
much more thoroughly than I could explain it.
It's very interesting:  http://www.weddingnepal.com/index.php?obj=weddingTradition&castId=2
There is also a link you can click to read about other Nepali cultures' wedding traditions.
(Thank you weddingnepal.com)

The bride was a fellow teacher at Esa Memorial School.

We walked


to the nearby Chandeswori Temple.

It's just a hop, skip, and a jump from the hospital.

If you're interested in reading about it, click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandeshwari

(As I'm writing this, I can hear something going on over there,
but I don't know what it is!  I asked two people, but they didn't know either!)

We walked inside the gate,

left our shoes here, and walked into this foyer type room to the right of the entrance.

Here we greeted the brides.  Yes, it was a double wedding!

They were so beautiful!  Each was sitting by her new mother-in-law.

The bride on the right is my friend and the bride to her right is her sister.

We put our gifts behind their mothers-in-law

and headed out to the courtyard for the reception.

Like wedding receptions everywhere, it was full of happy people!

Ladies came around with trays of drinks and food.

I must say that the food was delicious and we all ate more than we intended to!

They kept coming around with beautiful trays, and like a Lays Potato Chip, who could eat just one?!

After we were stuffed, word came that it was time for the dinner buffet!

WHAT?!?!

Yes, the "dinner" we had eaten was only the hors d'oeuvres!

Well, you learn something new every day! 

If you go to a Newari wedding, don't eat too many hors d'oeuvres!

I also learned that my friend's new husband wasn't at this reception,

but was at his own reception somewhere else,

and that this was day two of a three day wedding.

Yes, it was a fun experience and great to learn a new culture.

Now, stay tuned for more weddings--of a slightly different kind!

Hmmm, you'll have to wait and see what I mean!

Have a nice day and a blessed week!

P.S.  As usual, thanks for your prayers as we are working here.

Ramon has been very busy working with visiting medical teams and our own doctors too.

For me, the school year came to a close this past week, 

and for the next week and a half the children will be taking exams

and then practicing for their end of year program.  

Pics of this later!

Bye for now!