I don’t care who the groom is, I want a Macedonian wedding!
I tagged along with my host-sister and her husband to thewedding (proncounced "Svadba" in Macedonian) of a distant (three or four times removed) relative in a nearbyvillage. I believe the groom may havebeen my host-father’s mother’s sister’s son’s cousin? Anyway, the wedding was PHENOMENAL: tons andtons and tons of dancing. EVERYONE dancedthe “oro” (think Greek line dancing) for hours. And the music…the MUSIC…therewas a drum and an oboe/saxophone(ish) type instrument that absolutely willed meto dance. The music was like a snakecharmer, and I was the snake, mesmerized by the beat of the drum and beckonedto dance by the call of the traditional wedding folk music. I was swept up in the heartbeat of the night;the music and dancing felt ALIVE and I never wanted the night to end.
The first 2 months of Peace Corps Pre-Service Training(PST) have been a plethora of cultural experiences, from attending weddings,birthdays and funerals to making homemade whiskey, wine and ajvar (thinkred-pepper pesto). My Macedonian language is coming along for better or worse. And when I’m not in class, Faron and I continue to explore even more of northeastMacedonia’s gorgeous countryside as it explodes with fall colors. Last weekend we ran a 13 mile loop to a naturallandmark called Kameni Kukli, or “The Stone Dolls,” which is a series of severalhundred natural rock formations that appear to be a petrified weddingceremony. Legend has it that a young manfrom this region had 2 brides lined up and on the day of the wedding, he choseto marry only one of them. When the 2ndbride realized the scheme, she showed up and cursed the entire wedding party,turning them all to stone. There is anobvious pair of stone dolls in the center of the site that appear to be apetrified bride and groom, made of porous, volcanic rocks teetering on top of weatheringrock columns. It’s really quitean extraordinary site to see.
I had been forewarned about Macedonia’s infamous “Baba’s”or Grandma’s who love to play match-maker for their children, grandchildren,and/or guests. I have one Baba here inKratovo, “Baba Stoika;” she is the mother of my host-mother and lives a few minutes’walk from our house. I met her for thefirst time one Saturday morning in September when she showed up at our house tobegin the annual, weekend-long process of making ayvar, a red-pepper pestospread. I could tell she wasn’t surewhat to think of me – this young American woman who could barely bumble outsimple Macedonian phrases. I knew I had finally won the affection of my Baba whenshe began the match-making process to find me a Macedonian husband. The first attempt was at a funeral luncheonfor my brother-in-law’s grandmother who died of old age in her home that sheshared with both her children and grandchildren. It was a beautiful ceremony that began at thewoman’s home, followed by a procession by foot to the church and then to thecemetery and finally to a reception hall in the local hotel. I happened to sit across the table from myBaba, and next to an attractive young man (Eli, a friend of my brother-in-law’s). At that point in my Macedonian languagetraining, I had just learned how to talk about fruits and vegetables. I noticed that Eli was not eating his salad,so I tried to make small talk by asking him, “So, you don’t like to eatvegetables?” He was drinking Rakia(Macedonian homemade whiskey), which I’ve been told is best with salad, so Itold him that his Rakia would taste better with his vegetables. One thing led to another, and before I knewit, Baba Stoika was making wedding arrangements for us at the table. I decided to play along, so I told her (withhim sitting next to me) that if we got married, he would have to eatvegetables. We all had some laughs and thatwas that. The next time I saw Eli was atthe wedding I attended with my host-sister and brother-in-law. We were all seated at the same table, but this time I noticed that Eli was eating LOTS and LOTS of vegetables. He also kept filling MY plate with helpingsof salad in-between dances…
Sneak peak at a Macedonian Svadba and traditional wedding music (although the video doesn't do it justice!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFkHyQoSps
Blessings,
XaHa
I tagged along with my host-sister and her husband to thewedding (proncounced "Svadba" in Macedonian) of a distant (three or four times removed) relative in a nearbyvillage. I believe the groom may havebeen my host-father’s mother’s sister’s son’s cousin? Anyway, the wedding was PHENOMENAL: tons andtons and tons of dancing. EVERYONE dancedthe “oro” (think Greek line dancing) for hours. And the music…the MUSIC…therewas a drum and an oboe/saxophone(ish) type instrument that absolutely willed meto dance. The music was like a snakecharmer, and I was the snake, mesmerized by the beat of the drum and beckonedto dance by the call of the traditional wedding folk music. I was swept up in the heartbeat of the night;the music and dancing felt ALIVE and I never wanted the night to end.
The first 2 months of Peace Corps Pre-Service Training(PST) have been a plethora of cultural experiences, from attending weddings,birthdays and funerals to making homemade whiskey, wine and ajvar (thinkred-pepper pesto). My Macedonian language is coming along for better or worse. And when I’m not in class, Faron and I continue to explore even more of northeastMacedonia’s gorgeous countryside as it explodes with fall colors. Last weekend we ran a 13 mile loop to a naturallandmark called Kameni Kukli, or “The Stone Dolls,” which is a series of severalhundred natural rock formations that appear to be a petrified weddingceremony. Legend has it that a young manfrom this region had 2 brides lined up and on the day of the wedding, he choseto marry only one of them. When the 2ndbride realized the scheme, she showed up and cursed the entire wedding party,turning them all to stone. There is anobvious pair of stone dolls in the center of the site that appear to be apetrified bride and groom, made of porous, volcanic rocks teetering on top of weatheringrock columns. It’s really quitean extraordinary site to see.
I had been forewarned about Macedonia’s infamous “Baba’s”or Grandma’s who love to play match-maker for their children, grandchildren,and/or guests. I have one Baba here inKratovo, “Baba Stoika;” she is the mother of my host-mother and lives a few minutes’walk from our house. I met her for thefirst time one Saturday morning in September when she showed up at our house tobegin the annual, weekend-long process of making ayvar, a red-pepper pestospread. I could tell she wasn’t surewhat to think of me – this young American woman who could barely bumble outsimple Macedonian phrases. I knew I had finally won the affection of my Baba whenshe began the match-making process to find me a Macedonian husband. The first attempt was at a funeral luncheonfor my brother-in-law’s grandmother who died of old age in her home that sheshared with both her children and grandchildren. It was a beautiful ceremony that began at thewoman’s home, followed by a procession by foot to the church and then to thecemetery and finally to a reception hall in the local hotel. I happened to sit across the table from myBaba, and next to an attractive young man (Eli, a friend of my brother-in-law’s). At that point in my Macedonian languagetraining, I had just learned how to talk about fruits and vegetables. I noticed that Eli was not eating his salad,so I tried to make small talk by asking him, “So, you don’t like to eatvegetables?” He was drinking Rakia(Macedonian homemade whiskey), which I’ve been told is best with salad, so Itold him that his Rakia would taste better with his vegetables. One thing led to another, and before I knewit, Baba Stoika was making wedding arrangements for us at the table. I decided to play along, so I told her (withhim sitting next to me) that if we got married, he would have to eatvegetables. We all had some laughs and thatwas that. The next time I saw Eli was atthe wedding I attended with my host-sister and brother-in-law. We were all seated at the same table, but this time I noticed that Eli was eating LOTS and LOTS of vegetables. He also kept filling MY plate with helpingsof salad in-between dances…
Sneak peak at a Macedonian Svadba and traditional wedding music (although the video doesn't do it justice!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFkHyQoSps
Blessings,
XaHa
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