Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-03-11
A UGANDA WEDDING.
Black Bride Was a Miserable Travesty
of an EnulishMoman

I had heard so much Of the various
customs Of the Buganda that when I
received an invitation to a native we'd
ding I was all eagerness to accept. l
been told of all the preparations a
woman makes beforehand: how for a
month previous she will shut herself
up. has three heavy meals a day,
takes absolutely no exercise, and is
waited on hand and foot, for the fat
ter a woman is the more beautiful
she Is considered to be. I was told
a funny story Of a girl who was one
Of the lean kind, and who went
through the usual fattening course,
but with so little result that. al
though the banns had been published,
the wedding was postponed for an
other month to see if the desired eff
feet could be obtained 1t was USE
less, and at last she was married the
bridegroom making the best of what
he probably considered a bad bargain.
The women here have most beauti-
fully smooth skins: they massage
themselves with rancid butter, which
most likely accounts for the charm
ing shoulders they display above their
native dress. Like all eastern nations,
they have a magnificent carriage, and
can walk for miles with an empty bot
tie balanced on their shaven heads.
The wedding to which I was in
vited was quite a notable one, as the
bride was the daughter Of the prime
minister of Uganda, and the BRIDE
groom the principal chief of a neigh
boring province. The match was one
of double interest. as not only was
this the first couple Of any Importance
who have been educated by the mis-
sionaries, the girl having been at the
High School for Girls, and the boy
at a school for chiefs sons; but also
this was the first time that any Bu-
own country.
The morning of the wedding was
heralded by the beating Of drums
and the blowing Of horns. the bride
groom's band having come in to do
honor to their chief, and soon after
breakfast I made my way to the ca
thedral, where the ceremony was to
take place. The crowds of natives
hurrying along the roads showed
what an interest the people were TAX
ing in the event; but just as a big
wedding at home attracts the fair
sex in great numbers so it was the
same thing here, the far greater pro-
portion of sightseers being women.
Arrived at the cathedral | made my
way to my seat in the chancel and
looked down the long nave at the
swarms of natives squatting on the
ground (there are no pews for them),
the women on one side of the aisle
and the men on the other. l had
not long to wait before a stir an
nounced that something was happen
ing, and looking down the aisle l saw
the bridal party approaching; but to
my horror, instead Of seeing, as | had
fondly imagined, a young girl in her
native dress. l saw advancing slowly
on her fathers arm an apparition in
a white muslin frock of unmiStaka-
bly, European cut, brown shoes and,
to crown all, a tulle veil covering her
shaven head and hiding her bushing
60 face.
/ thought she had a most sullen
expression, and she took no apparent
interest in anything; but l was told
that it is bad form for Buganda
woman to show any emotion on her
wedding day and the more self-con-
troll she displays the more she Is to
be admired. Several Of the women
of the bridal party wore the most hor-
rible clothes. | suppose they fondly
imagined they looked like English
women in them. / noticed particu-
larly a vision In grass green cotton
backed satin, another in scarlet satin
with black spots and yet another in
orange silk with a bright silk scarf.
The bridesmaid wore a tightfitting
royal blue velvet coat and a heavy
black cloth skirt. l noticed that she
mopped herself frequently during the
service, so l think she must have
been suffering for being beautiful. All
the women in European dress had lit
tie smoking caps embroidered in tin
sci on their shaven heads. Evidently
the Merry Widow hat has not pen
etrated here yet, and If it ever does
I think the only possible way of keep
ing it on will be by an elastic under
the chin. as these people keep their
heads so closely shaved that hatpin
would be useless
The procession marched up the aisle
and at the east door waited a few
seconds for the bridegroom's party to
join them. And what a difference
here! No miserable travesty Of an
Englishman. but tall, dignitied ma
tive, rendered dOubly so by his hand
some national dress-a long black
gown, with the square collar and
lapels heavily embroidered in gold.
worn over what / can best describe
as a long nightshirt made of soft
sort of silk, rather like liberty satin,
in a beautiful maize shade. In his
hand he carried a little round white
cap handsomely embroidered in
white silk. The bride and bridegroom
advanced to their seats in front of
the altar and the service began. 1t
was naturally all in Buganda. The
clergyman was a native. and the or
ganist was also a Ruganda. 1t was
strange To hear the famlllaf EnSllSn
hymn tunes sung To Buganda words
and | could not help but think how
these people have progressed since
thirty years ago, when they were
practically SavageS.
In the afternoon | went to the re-
ccptiOn. which was not held at the
brides fathers house, for the GUS
tom here is for the bridegroom to
give it. | suppose the brides dot OF
a number of cows is supposed to be
sufficient expenditure on the part Of
her people. Out here riches are not
measured by rupees but by cows. A
man would not ask, How many ru-
pees has he?" but How many head
of cattle has he gOt?" We went into
a large courtyard full of natives, I'm
the midst of whom the band was
making such a noise that ii was al
most impossible To make 0neself
heard. Our host Zone of the regents
Of the little King of tganda) re-
ceived US at the door and we were
shown into a room with chairs placed
all around the wall and in the CEN
tire q table at which sat the bridal
pair with the wedding cake i'm front
of them. which was duly cut by the
bridegroom and handed round. to-
gether with tea and cakes, the bride
still looking on with the same mdif-
fercnt air she had displayed all
through: in fact I never even saw her
npca cnank IN the bri1ePrODm and