Dehai

An Afar Wedding in Eritrea

Recently our Afar neighbors in Massawa, Eritrea had a wedding for
their daughter next door to us. Being Afar (as in the Afar Desert
where the earliest human ancestors have been found), an entirely
islamic nationality, the wedding next door was a “girl wedding”, and
as such traditionally attended by the women from both sides of the
family.

The boys family had the “boys wedding” attended traditionally by the
men from both families.

Living in ethnically and religiously mixed neighborhoods in Massawa
several different ethnic groups or tribes were present, and the music
which started out Afar quickly spread to Tigre, Tigrinia, and Saho. As
the night grew late, the DJ rolled out the hits, almost entirely Tigre
and Tigrinia, both Muslim and Christian music.

Being a Muslim wedding no alcohol was served, not even “sua”, a
traditional form of beer made from kitcha, flat bread. But the men
attending, with women from the neighborhood attending the “boy
wedding” as well,  simply walked around the corner to the nearest bar
for a drink.

In today’s Eritrea religious and ethnic tolerance is the rule rather
than the exception. Muslims and Christians party together, though
Halal is observed and special goats are slaughtered for Christian
consumption and vice versa for Christian weddings.

In Eritrea a Christian girl can marry a Muslim boy without upsetting
the families in any major way, something that has been practiced for
many centuries past.

These days with Eritrean children going to school together, attending
the National Sawa Educational Center their 12th year of schooling, and
fighting and dying together in the trenches defending their country
from the Ethiopian invaders ie June, 2016 in Tsorona, there is little
room for religious fanaticism. The people just wont tolerate it, never
mind the proactive stance of the government which enforces religious
respect ie no Da'esh or Pat Robertson “born again” foreign funded
religious centers allowed.

Dancing together at a wedding, all mixed regardless of sex, age,
religion, tribe, to the beat of nationalist songs praising the
sacrifice all families have made in the struggle to win and defend
Eritrean independence brings an almost spiritual sense of unity. A
happiness, joy really, that while dancing with your neighbors brings
feelings of brother and sisterhood that are shared amongst one and
all. “Forget all your troubles and dance...Forget all your sorrows and
dance...Forget all your weakness and dance...” we are Eritreans and
proud, no matter our religious or tribal differences.

With 9 different ethnic groups in our country religious and ethnic
harmony cannot be taken for granted. We have to many enemies outside
our country scheming up ways to divide and conquer, and with all the
problems our neighbors are having, we just don't want anything to do
with religious fanaticism.

If our neighbors Eritrean Afar wedding is anything to go by Eritreans
lead the way in “just getting along”, living together and respecting
each others differences, practicing “Hade Libee”, “one heart” as we
say when we raise a toast to our country’s independence.

Thomas C. Mountain is an independent journalist in Eritrea, living and
reporting from here since 2006. See Facebook at thomascmountain or
thomascmountain at g mail dot com