Saturday, Aug. 6- During the afternoon, the US contingent headed to the habus, or market, in the old part of Casablanca. This was our first taste of the Moroccan markets, which are filled with amazing lamps made of lamb skin & iron, shoes, carpets, spices, tapestries, mirrors, woodwork, etc. We knew we would travel soon to a few cities known worldwide for their markets, so this was just a browsing type of visit. The girls bought some shirts, and Chris bought some olives from the olive market, where there are hundreds of huge barrels overflowing with olives of every type, age, and spiced with various delicious combinations of peppers, paprika, cumin, garlic, you name it. The market had a few other items that Morocco is famous for..... jellabas- full-length, hooded robes, kaftans- women's robes w/ornate embroidery & made of silk when used in weddings, babouche- leather slippers usually with pointed ends. It was a great intro to what we would deal with in a much more intense way in the other markets over the next few weeks.
That evening, we headed again to Mama Fatima's palace, for the big event. Again we arrived around 8pm, but more aware of the extremely relaxed schedule that Moroccans live by- no hurry, just enjoy life. JJ & Chris joined Kate at a neighbor's house to be dressed by more of her "people". The rest of us, along with the 60 family, and tons more guests, trickled in over the next few hours.
The band tonight was a more traditional wedding band, with two male singers (who always sang alone) and a band with violin, drums & percussion, and a keyboardist. We again danced, clapped, and sang (those who knew the words) along with the band and lounged around the Salon, enjoying more cookies/pastries/tea. There were also about 8 more tables set up in Mama's beautiful yard, so we often went outside to enjoy the night. We talked more with Sadik, one of Adil's uncles, who was a merchant marine for 30 years and has seen every corner of the globe. He is a riot, telling stories, asking Phil to find him an American wife (in the want-ads of Phil's paper if necessary), and just having fun practicing English for the first time in more than 10 years. We later found out that he has a wife, so Phil realized Sadik's sense of humor and quickly stopped the presses on tomorrow's newspaper. And we realized that the ladies of the family aren't the only entertaining ones.
Meanwhile, a few blocks away, the girls were learning more Moroccan wedding traditions on the fly. Although Kate had asked many times what she needed to bring from the hotel, she still managed to "forget" her shoes (at Mama's close by) and her white silk under-robe dress (back at the hotel). When Mama heard that, she collapsed in a chair, head-in-hands. By the way, the hair & make-up girl was already 2-1/2 hrs late and now the "dresser people" were late as well. So now it was 11.30pm (3-1/2hrs behind schedule) and Kate was still not finished dressing in her first of four outfits for the night!
Meanwhile, back at the Ponderosa (Mama's house), Adil gathered a group of guys to go pick up the bride, in somewhat of a traditional manner where the groom's tribe comes to whisk her off to the wedding. <<Are you still imagining this? You can see it in the photos>> When our entourage of 6 cars arrived at the end of Mama's street, the bride's chariot was waiting. The "chariot" is a wedding "carriage" which is carried by four men, with the bride sitting inside 6 feet off the ground. Also waiting at the corner were neighbors, guests who had done this before, and two bands. One was a band playing traditional Berber music. The Berbers are a tribe located in southern Morocco, around the Sahara and Atlas mountains. Adil is 1/4 Berber from Papa's side, and the band was brought from that region as a surprise to the entire family from Mama Fatima. The music is mainly drums & percussion with a main singer backed up by the band. This main entertainer also tap dances/stomps on a large metal upside-down barrel laid on the ground, making a bass drum sound. And eventually everyone else dances on it as well. The second band was just as exciting, mostly percussions. So the bride's "entrance" took at least 45 minutes. There was music, dancing, singing, and photo-op stops galore with just about every family member and guest with the bride in her chariot. Then the house band heard the action and decided to make their own announcement of the bride's entrance (as if nobody could tell inside). All of a sudden there were 3 bands playing (different songs) and a "Brazilian Carnaval" type parade moving slowly towards the house.
After the bride & groom finally arrived to their o-so-familiar throne, Kate changed into her 2nd outfit and dinner was served at 12.30am. We enjoyed the cool breeze at our table outside while eating another great meal of tajine-style chicken, lamb, and fruit. <<Tajine is a typical Moroccan way of cooking using a clay pot (the top is conically shaped) and baking meat, veggies, & spices, infusing the flavors into the food.>> Near the end of dinner, the Berber band decided to take the party outside again and played in the yard for us.
Back inside, Kate was in her third outfit for photo time. Everyone came up randomly to get their photo with the bride & groom on their throne. More music & dancing, and eventually Kate appeared in her fourth & final outfit- the American wedding dress she wore at the first ceremony in Long Beach. After more dancing, clapping, & singing, we left for the hotel at around 5am.
We can't describe in words how amazing this event was- although we tried in the longwinded paragraphs above. And all this fun with no alcohol, what a novel concept! They just enjoy the moment. Not only was it special to be a part of Adil & Kate's special day(s), it was a treat to see this type of tradition first-hand. And these things usually last 3-7 days! Maybe a Moroccan attending a wedding in Dobbin, Texas with a country band & beer & barbecue would be just as amazed...who knows. Thanks to Adil & Kate for inviting us- we'll never forget it!
Holy smokes!!! and Wow!! What fabulous Thursday night entertainment we just experienced. Just got home from our 2-1/2 weeks trip to Minnesota and Colorado (BORING by your standards for sure!!!)
Haven't even checked out the pix yet, but sounds so F A B U L O U S ! ! ! !
Posted by: Mom & Dad Olstad | August 25, 2005 at 05:02 PM
Holy smokes!!! and Wow!! What fabulous Thursday night entertainment we just experienced. Just got home from our 2-1/2 weeks trip to Minnesota and Colorado (BORING by your standards for sure!!!)
Haven't even checked out the pix yet, but sounds so F A B U L O U S ! ! ! !
Posted by: Mom & Dad Olstad | August 25, 2005 at 05:03 PM