Could have Used Pork and Beer

• Last Sunday I went to a wedding here. In general I think it is condescending and trivializing when tourists try to “go native” and buy “traditional attire” cause they think it is cute or quaint, but I had to buy the boo-boo in order to attend the wedding. The picture is above.
  I ain’t trying to hate, especially cause I think that whole “Clash of Civilizations” ideology and the “War on Terror” are utterly racist and imperialistic nonsense, but Catholic weddings are much better than Muslim weddings. First of all, there is no ceremony. Say what you want about Catholicism—and I have my criticisms—but we know how to do rituals. Meanwhile for Muslim weddings the ritual is a very matter-of-fact legal proceeding at the mosque between the men of both of the families. That’s right; the bride isn’t even there for it. She is represented by her father or brother, no romantic and weepy “I do’s” before the priest. I don’t think you could film 90% of romantic comedies in Muslim countries, where would they climax? I guess her true love can kidnap her while her husband-to-be and father are at the mosque.


• The other problem is that there is no alcohol. Again I don’t defend drinking of alcohol, but a dry wedding? Are they serious? No one danced. In fact, no one did anything. The party was at the groom’s family home and the proceedings were the following: the couple did a formal entrance, we had lunch, the men left for the mosque as the bride changed, when the men returned the couple took pictures and then we all went home. All of that took approximately 10 hours, in the meantime we sat around and waited while hearing the latest in coupe decale, mbalax, zouk and Akon (he is his own genre here, I have come to realize) and then the same big hit singles in reggaeton and hip hop from 2005 and 2006.


• Afterward, I definitely needed a drink so we went to a cool bar nearby. The bar is located at the top of a hostel, Keppaar, owned by a Senegalese man who teaches African history at Howard. He suggested that the quickest way to learn Wolof was to get a dictionary to sleep with. Talk about objectification.