A QUECHUA WEDDING

A QUECHUA WEDDING

17.05.1994

Last weekend (May 14-15) we were invited to an indigenous wedding.  In fact the wedding was supposed to have taken place on May 4th. but, because of the nationwide blockade, it had to be cancelled because neither the guests  nor the food and drink could be brought in.

The bride and groom were 36 and 38 years old respectively, have been together for 18 years and have 7 children.  However, until now they could not afford to get married, because the bride and groom must pay for their own wedding which should be the most memorable day in all their life.  Now their oldest daughter, who is 16 years old, has a baby and they want her to be married but they have to get married first, hence the great effort.

The reason why we were invited at all is that the agronomist who runs the project dairy, has known these people for years and he offered to help them out with the wedding.  He was therefore a "padrino" (the nearest equivalent is a best man - but not quite) and, since he knew that I was interested in all these sociological things, we were invited as his friends.

The church marriage ceremony took place at 8a.m. followed by the  civil ceremony at 9a.m.  Between these two events the couple are driven around the village being greeted and showered with confetti by all the people.  

Unfortunately, we missed all that part, because at 7a.m. a message came through that one of the drivers had had an accident and he had to go and investigate.  It turned out that Oswaldo was blinded by a lorry's lights as he was driving to the dairy after dark.  He veered off the road into a ditch and his head was split open by the window and he got a cut on his lip.  He must have been unconscious because he did not manage to call on the radio, with the result that the following morning he was discovered by some project personnel who were on their way to Santa Cruz to the Agricultural Fair.  He had to be taken to the hospital and so on, so that took up a lot of time.

By the time we got there the light repast was over and the bride and groom had performed the tradition dance.  However, when we arrived we were served a glass of champagne (bubbly cider really) with coconut in it  and sweet biscuits and then the soup with potatoes and tripe.  The wedding was held in a large, rectangular canvas marquee erected on their land for the occasion.  Wooden benches made of  sawn tree trunks placed on other pieces of wood were placed all the way around the marquee.  At one end there was a table covered with bouquets of flowers and other flowers placed on metal stands: this looked just like an altar and is where the wedding mass was said.  Behind this, on the canvas wall, two traditional woven cloths (awayus) were pinned up and decorated with congratulations.  At the other end was the kitchen and the place for the band.  There were two bands: one was a traditional band playing altiplano instruments like the various forms of panpipes, quena,  drums etc. and the other one sang traditional dance songs but using an organ, guitar and other mdoern instruments with great amplification!


The bride wore a traditional "pollera" (the voluminous pleated skirt) in lovely pastel colours, the traditional white lace blouse and a western-style headdress and veil.  The groom wore a grey suit, white shirt and tie and the poor fellow looked as if he was about to expire any minute with the heat and constriction. This was compounded by the overwhelming responsibility of seeing that everyone was being duly attended to.  

There are SEVEN best men.  The first and most important one is in charge of the religious ceremony and the reception on the first day.  The second is in charge of the civil ceremony (in this case René) and the reception on the second day (Weddings last either two or three days here).  Then there is the "padrino de aras" who is in charge of the wedding rings, the "padrino de torta" in charge of the wedding cake, the "padrino de altar y mosaico" in charge of the altar decoration and having the photographs mounted and framed to form a mosaic, the "padrino de colitas y partes" in charge of the invitations and arranging for commemorative pins  and lastly the "padrino de champán y cerveza", literally the champagne and beer best man but in practice he is in charge of all beverages. The padrinos are accompanied in their duties by their respective wives.

The bride and groom sit behind the table/altar and the padrinos and madrinas sit on the same "top bench" in hierarchical order, except when they are performing some duty.  

The drinks person is kept busy all the time.  Apart from beer, the drink which is served in abundance is chicha, the drink made from fermented corn cobs.  This has to be brought from Cochabamba because in this area the temperature is too high and it ferments too quickly which means that the drink tastes bad.  I have now found out what happens after the corn is boiled and then the liquid is removed from the big cauldron I could see by the roadside outside Cochabamba.  The liquid is then put into barrels and left to ferment for eight days.  After that it is ready to drink, but it must ferment for 8 days and at the lower temperature of the altiplano.  The chicha is brought by lorry from Cochabamba and then stored in barrels.  At frequent intervals the drinks people would bring out rectangular containers with a handle, for all the world like cooking oil cans, full of chicha, which was then served in gourd or coconut "cups" called tutumas.  At first we were given ours in a glass, but we soon discovered that it tastes better from the gourd so after that we had ours in a gourd too.  The chicha is pale yellow in colour and tastes a bit like natural cider without the fizz but more vegetably.  Like cider, it is also a highly efficient diuretic!  It soon became necessary to unload some of this liquid, but, of course, there are no loos, so it was out to the nearest coca plantation to water the harvest.

All the guests, dressed in their best, sat on the benches around the marquee, everyone very serious and solemn.  The band then announced that it was time for the bride and groom and the first best man and his wife to dance.  They danced a cueca, which is one of the traditional altiplano dances performed with a handkerchief which is waved about.  Then another dance to be performed by more padrinos and so on.  The people are very solemn and take their dancing seriously - no smiling or laughing.  The interesting thing about these social functions is that the present population of this area is of altiplano origin: they are settlers who have migrated to this area.  This means that the cultural stamp is an imported one, hence the chicha and all the dances from their places of origin.  


At a certain point it is time to give the gifts.  On this occasion, padrino number 4 (in charge of the cake) asked René (No. 2) if the village lawyer could kick off the gift-giving.  René had no objection, so Mr. Lawyer approached the bride and groom and with great fanfare the band-leader announced that his gift was US$150.  After that a queue was formed and people deposited their gifts on the table/altar in front of the bride and groom.  After they had done that they embraced and the guest took a handful of confetti and rubbed it on the bride and groom's head and they did the same in return.  This was repeated with the "padrinos".  Then before they left the gift-giving ceremony a gourd of chicha was offered to each person.  As well as, or sometimes instead of a gift, each person pinned a banknote on the suit of the groom or on the bride's bodice.  The protocol is that if the guest is a relative or friend of the bride then he/she pins the money on the bride and vice versa.  In our case, after we had deposited our gift of cooking cauldrons, we put a note on each of them because we had been invited by both.  

After that the cake is cut and dancing begins when the guests can participate.  As the dancing goes on and people drink more chicha they pin more and more money on the couple's clothes.  The padrinos must keep a close watch to see who is accumulating more notes and it is the obligation of the chief padrinos to see that the score is evened up.  At the end of the night the gifts and money are taken and counted by the padrino concerned who, on the following day, must make up the difference so that neither side is the loser.  

We were expecting an important phone call so we had to leave early which was a great pity, the more so because when we got back home after the hour's drive the telephone lines were dead and so we could not take the call anyway.  The next day there was another disaster, so we missed the follow-up.  However, the second day's celebrations begin in the afternoon with the arrival of the civil ceremony "padrino".  The bride and groom process into the marquee once again and, still dressed in their wedding finery, take their places behind the table/altar, flanked by the "padrinos" except that on this occasion the place of honour is taken by the civil "padrino" rather than the religious one.  The gift-equalling ceremony takes place and then merrymaking begins once again until well after dark.