An Uninvited Guest at a Wedding

On a Thursday morning,  I was waiting for the other teachers to arrive at school even though it was already 8:20 and school should start at 8. Anyways, that's not relevant. My host papa came over to tell me that there was going to be a wedding (mared) in a nearby village in the afternoon,  and I should go. The question of "What should I wear?" provoked laughter, apparently most people just wear their normal everyday clothes to a wedding here.  That afternoon, we went to the "nearby village" ( an hour walk away), and I sat with some women from my village who had already arrived. It felt like a giant picnic! There were people-hundreds- sitting everywhere on the ground, eating and chatting. Everyone was waiting for the bride and groom and their families to arrive. Apparently they went to the bride's village in the morning to do some kustom things and pack her stuff to bring to her soon-to-be husband's village. Once they arrived by truck, the bride changed into her wedding dress. While she was doing that, all the aunts of the groom went into the couple's house and locked the door, while the aunts of the bride walked around the house 4 times and then knocked on the door incessantly until the groom's aunts let them in. I have no idea why. 

The couple had a short church ceremony, although almost everyone stayed outside and didn't pay attention. The couple cut their cake (yum), and then the most interesting part began! In Vanuatu the family of the groom must pay a bride price, consisting of money, mats, pigs, pigs' tusks, and probably other things I missed. The bride price ceremony was chaos. Dozens of women carried mats, tied in bundles, on their heads to a central area. Some men behind carried small pigs, chickens, and pigs' skulls. The women were all in a colorful clump unrolling the mats and piling them. Unfortunately that's all I saw, because it was getting dark and none of the group I was walking back with had flashlights. I've been assured I'll have more chances to go to weddings in the future, though!