Dowry giving ceremony in Kigali

We were invited to a dowry giving ceremony in Kigali. We have learned that a Rwandan man pays the dowry to the family of the bride. The dowry is the money (or cow) that the man's family pays to the woman's family in the process of marriage. So, quite a different story that in other countries like India! 

In this ceremony, no cow was given (to our disappointment), but money. The bride's family was sitting in one side of the room, (the bride was not present), and the groom's family was sitting on the other side. A lot of speeches and comments were exchanged between the two sides, most seeming an exchange of jokes. Unluckily, our knowledge of the local language is very limited, so we could not follow much!

Anna, of course, did not miss her chance to sit as much as possible with the groom. At a certain point, and when the dowry was accepted, the bride came into the room, and some dancing and singing took place.

I was very happy that we could be present, but I do not recommend it for European children who are not used to sit in a chair for more than half an hour!