This is the 10th of a series of blog postings from Clare Bottle, who will be telling us about her travels in Zambia - supported by transport charity Transaid - to see what the transport industry is like out there:
I took a stroll around the streets near my hotel this morning, photographing some sights which I hope might convey the general atmosphere of Lusaka. The weather was bright and sunny with a cooling breeze and not a cloud in the sky. By a stroke of good fortune these conditions were perfect for a wedding and today Wilton Sakala and Melai Nyambose are getting married. Wilton is CILT Zambia’s only employee, supporting volunteers and students alike with his administrative duties. Due to his pre-nuptial commitments I’d only met Wilton a couple of times but he had warmly invited me to accompany Gary to the wedding, a generous offer which I couldn’t wait to accept.
Arriving at 13:30 for a 14:00 wedding is laughable here because “This is Africa” and things didn’t get started for a while. Nevertheless, it gave me the chance to soak up the peaceful atmosphere of Lusaka’s lofty 1960s Cathedral. The calm was broken on several occasions by passing processions of festooned wedding cars, drivers tooting their horns whilst the passengers gave celebratory yells and hazard warning lights flashed with joy.
When Wilton arrived he was accompanied by six ushers in identical short-sleeved shirts: white with a traditional print in blue and black. We took our seats amongst a hundred or so family and friends and soon afterwards the matron (a senior family member) supervised the entry of the bridesmaids. There were six adults in dresses of the same fabric as the usher’s shirts, and four little girls in cherubic white frills. Their appearance prompted an excited warbling wail from all the women in the congregation. Finally the beautiful bride came in, accompanied by her father and the matron.
The service was mainly in English and followed a familiar format, although I was slightly perturbed by Rev Banda’s focus on the wife’s duty to submit to her husband’s will. When he said “there can be no equality” I wondered whether to object, but the time for that was past and I had my work cut out understanding the hymns. The first was in Bemba and the second in Nyanga. Zambia has 72 tribes and the range of languages is vast, but English is common and everyone I’ve met speaks it perfectly, often with a strong local accent.
At various key points during the ceremony, the women set about their cheerful chirruping again, which repeatedly took me by surprise. When the service was over we withdrew to the grassy Cathedral gardens for photographs, amongst much laughter and gossip. Wilton proudly introduced us to his lovely new wife and as the party dispersed we politely took our leave.
If you’d like to know more and would consider sponsoring me, please visit my charity giving page: http://www.justgiving.com/clarebottle.
Clare Bottle is a freelance logistics specialist, with experience and market knowledge in storage, packaging and transport; she is also a Board Director and Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport UK.