On Friday I attended my first Mongolian wedding. It was interesting to participate, but really long. After almost 4 hours of sitting and eating, I had to get up and stretch my legs. The groom is one of our staff that I have known since 2004, when I started coming to Mongolia. He is one of the most solid Christian Mongolian men I have met here. He is in charge of our "Mustang" program, a military-style training program for troubled teenage boys. He also preaches at our little church in Hongor. His name is Amaraa, and his wife is Selenge.
The wedding itself was a mixture of traditional and contemporary. It was a Christian wedding, which is somewhat unusual in Mongolia. The bride wore a white dress, and the marriage ceremony was pretty standard in American terms (especially since Jerry, our missionary, married them). There was a funny wedding coordinator that guided the event, which included lots of singing, horse guitar playing, drinking airag and eating sheep fat. On either side of the wedding cake, there was a sheep back/rump laying on the table. Lovely.
Later that same evening, another one of our staff, Pagi, held a wedding reception. He and his wife were dressed in traditional Mongolian garb. The three pictures are of Amaraa's new family, Amaraa and Selenge with the Lifeqwest staff, and Pagi with wife drinking airag.
In case you're wondering, I politely declined the airag and sheep fat.
2 comments:
Great pictures!! And to think, living in Britain turned you INTO a tea drinker. Still haven't developed a taste for airag, huh? LOL!!
Awww! I wanted to know what sheep fat tasted like!
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