Chief Bongo did not want him to have an easy ride and said, “Whose garden did you see this flower, and which flower is it you are referring to?” Before an answer was given, the men were murmuring amongst themselves waiting in anticipation for the answer to this question. Mabige once again I whispered to Soku to say, “I saw this flower in the Mondos’ garden and this beautiful flower is precious Beko.”
All the men murmured and clapped and laughed as if they did not already know who Mabige had come to marry. They had just pretended, to heighten the excitement and to make sure the groom confirmed his intention verbally. After a few more questions about whether or not he would commit to taking care of Beko and not abuse her with beatings and starvation and any form of maltreatment, they all waited for Papa Mondo’s nod of approval, which he did to a resounding shout and clap and ululation from the two women.
Soon after that the bride prize was named and five goats and seven cows, items of grain, seeds, beans, wheat and so on were given to Papa Mondo. Items of clothing were reserved to be shared when the bride arrived and her mother so that they could also be given their portion. The women were motioned to join in and they came with dancing and rejoicing and sat at their designated place. Mama Mondo, Beko and Mama Kama remained inside the house until they were signalled to come out.
In the meantime, Mabige was told to go and search for his bride among the seated women who all had covered their faces with veils to disguise themselves and to play a trick on him just for the fun of it and as part of their tradition. He went around to all those who were covered and did not find Beko among them and went back to his seat. The men laughed at him and said, “Look he came back empty-handed, he must be confused that he can’t find his bride, ha ha ha.” They laughed and mocked him. It was all for a laugh and he did not take them seriously anyway.
A few minutes later, a few of the women went back into the house to bring Beko out and once again they all came out ululating and singing and covered their faces and heads with veils. This time, however, Beko was among them and so was her mother and Mama Kama. They took their seats and Mabige was motioned once again to go and search for his bride. After uncovering a few faces, he smiled at them and apologetically said to each of them, “Sorry but you are not the one I am looking for,” and walked past.
As soon as he got to the fourth one, he knew straight away that this must be Beko as was familiar with her silhouette even though she was disguised under layers of cloth to hide her beautiful dress which would have been a dead giveaway. As soon as he unveiled her, he was speechless as he beheld her beauty and his eyes watered with emotion. He stammered and said, “You look, you look like a princess, you look so beautiful.” He helped her to her feet and walked back to his seat and sat down in his chair.
Chief Bongo asked him if he had found his bride and he said with a wide grin on his face, “Yes, sir, I have found my bride, there she is standing there.”
Chief Bongo added, “Well, that’s good, but let’s hear it from Beko if she thinks the same way as you do.” He motioned towards the women for someone to speak on Beko’s behalf. Mama Kama stood up and asked Beko quietly if he was the one for her and she nodded and whispered, “Yes, he is the one.”
Then Mama Kama spoke and said, “Beko says that he is the one.”
At that moment everyone shouted for joy, clapped and ululated in agreement. Papa Mondo stood up and walked towards his daughter, took her by the hand and walked her over to her new husband and gave her hand to his as a sign of his agreement for them to be husband and wife.
Mabige stood up sharply and accepted Beko’s hand and he helped her into the chair next to his. The rest of the items of clothing and pieces of cloth were distributed among the aunties, Mama Mondo, Mama Kama and some to Beko.
Beko also got special items of jewellery, which were very expensive. After this, Papa Mondo pronounced them husband and wife. It was the only time that he had spoken openly addressing everyone as up until then, Chief Bongo was his spokesman. Tamura and Leona had watched the goings on intently and were learning how things were done in marriage ceremonies and they could not help feeling left out and wanted to marry as soon as they could.
After the announcement, everyone got to their feet and danced and ate and made merry as well as congratulated the newest couple in town. Later that afternoon, the whole village and well-wishers went into the prayer room to bless the bride and groom’s union and Mara was very pleased with this as she led the whole procession into the prayer room. She threw fresh flower petals on the floor as they walked in and sent a fragrant aroma in the atmosphere.
Prayers began and some time was spent praying against the evil spirits as it had now become the norm to pray against evil on a daily basis regardless of the day’s activities. The procession spilled out into the yard after the prayer session and carried on well into the twilight hours. Mabige and Beko had slipped into their specially prepared room in Mama Kama’s house where they would spend the night before going back to Huru the following day as husband
