Wedding Season

 We've been to 2 weddings in 5 days. I know that's typical in the States especially in the summer months but it's mid September. We recently learned that there is a small window of time between 2 of their special holidays: Eid al-Fitr and Eid a-Dahiya when it is good luck to get married. So this is the wedding season. On our way to our 2nd wedding last night we passed at least 5 other weddings just on one street!
Unfortunately our camera isn't working well at night so these aren't the best pictures but hopefully you can still get a taste of the celebrations. In the first picture above, note that the bride doesn't look all that thrilled.

 This wedding was a Nubian wedding. The Nubians live in the far north of Sudan and are a very unique tribe. As the bride and groom made their grand entrance to the party, a special band and group of 3 lady dancers led the way before them.

 Here comes the bride! A pattern we're noticing is that the bride looks to be at least 15 years younger than the groom.

 This is the band that played a little parade in front of the bride and groom.

 After some nice food and drinks, everyone got out on the dance floor, This was our boys' first Sudanese wedding experience. Evan danced for about 1 minute but Josh enjoyed the dancing and stayed close to Eli in the men's line. The men stand in a long line holding hands with their fingers intertwined, rocking their upper bodies to the beat of the drum and music. The women do the same thing facing the men. It was very cool. The other American woman you see here is Heather our teammate dressed in traditional dress.

 The guys were really getting into it here. The guy next to Eli is Sam, our dear friend who is related to the bride and groom.

The wedding was a splash of vibrant colors. Since we live in the dry dusty desert, I felt like it was a feast for my eyes to see all the sparkles and bright colors. Women came decked out in beautiful traditional toobs, jewelry, henna on their hands and feet, and high heels. This is the back of one of the dancing lines.
We had a wonderful time. There is a law in the city that parties have to die down by 11 pm (especially turning off the loud music the bands play). We were amazed how well the boys did staying out until about 11:30 pm when we finally tucked them into bed. This morning I find myself hoping we'll get another wedding invitation soon. :)