Saamaka Tou (Saramaccan Wedding)

Just as less and less Americans are getting married these days, less and less Saramaccans are getting married as well. Traditionally, the Saramaccan wedding is not legally binding but a ceremony where rum is poured out over the intertwined hands of a couple. Unfortunately, people in my village just do not do this very often any more. We have not seen it since we have been here (over a year and a half).

Another similar trend (yes, I am an anthropology nerd) is that Christians get married (legally) more often here than non-Christians. Of course, these weddings are strikingly like Western weddings, not the traditional Saramaccan ceremony. Anyways, in October, Ryan and I were fortunate enough to attend the wedding of a former language teacher for Peace Corps and a woman who works for the government, works with Peace Corps and whose family is from our village. Here is the happy couple:

That is the Presidential Palace in the background

Now, even though this is the only wedding we've been to in Suriname, it was not hard to figure out that this was VERY high class. The reception was in the National Assembly building for heavan's sake (it would be equivalent to Capitol Hill). Just to reiterate, the bride and groom both live and work in the city, not in our village. The difference between the city and the interior is like night and day, as you can deduce from the wedding party's attire. We estimated about 500 people probably came. The social event of the year!

It is very common in Saramaaka culture for people to pick one material for an event (birthdays, funerals, weddings). Then it is up to the attendees to go buy that particular material and sew it into an outfit to wear to the event. If people cannot afford to buy the material, many will not go, or they will at least try to match the colors. Alongside all the other things going on, I found time to buy the material at a store in Paramaribo. I asked a friend who works there who could sew an outfit for me. She sent me on a wild goose chase to find a seamstress. I never would have found her if Ryan had not of been with me. Of course, she did not speak Saramaccan or English. She promptly found a random, intimidating Saramaccan guy to translate from my Saramaccan to her Dutch. Talk about hilarious! There I am telling this rough looking guy to please sew me a pretty dress or skirt and blouse. He ended up being really nice. People went all out for this wedding (since it was so elaborate) and it was fun to see how creative everyone was with their outfits.

If you notice, Ryan didn't get an outfit made. In everyday life, Saramaccan women still dress traditionally while the men dress in western clothes. True to form, for this wedding in Paramaribo, the men wore slacks and button down shirts instead of making tunics out of the material like the women made outfits.

This wedding was very western and very Christian. First, they were legally married at the city hall. The small room was full and most people waited outside or just came to the reception. At the reception they exchanged rings (not a Saramaccan tradition) and said their vows. One thing I noticed that was different was that another woman and man dressed as bride and groom came down the aisle before the true bride and groom. I think it symbolizes walking in the path of a successful marriage. There was a lot of entertainment from the diverse cultures in Suriname: traditional Saramaccan dancers, Javanese musical performers and Chinese dancers.

Weddings are one of the best windows into a culture. I hope we are able to attend another before our time here ends. I would love to see a traditional Saramaccan wedding where they pour out rum.

Click here to see the rest of the wedding pictures.