Another Very Emirati Wedding

I was invited to a very "colorful" student of mine's wedding.  Sultan is very charismatic and very skilled at being absent from class with an array of inventive excuses.  He was absent for 2 days because he had to have some teeth pulled, he missed an exam because he had to go to court, he asked for 2 weeks off  for his wedding and honeymoon (plus he took the week before off).  It goes on and on.

Anyway, a few teachers and I decided to attend.

The women and men celebrate the wedding in separate tents or party halls.  Of course I was in the women's tent which had about 600 women there.  Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed so I will have to use my best descriptive skills to paint the picture of this amazing circus! 

The room had about 60 long tables set up all facing a big stage with a runway at the front. On the stage is a large bed for the bride to sit on after she makes her entrance. There was also a video screen showing the dancing and celebrations going on in the men's room, but the men don't get to see what the women are up to! The tables were full of cans of pepsi and coke and small water bottles.  Filipino women came around offering exotic juices (non-alcoholic).  There were also huge baskets of fruit, and platters of lamb, camel meat, rice, bread and pickled vegetables (no thanks).

Upon arrival, we were greeted by some of Sultan's sisters who were lavishly dressed in sequined evening gowns with a ton of make-up that would make any drag queen proud, and hair piled about 6 inches off the tops of their heads.  Some of these women looked amazing, but most looked inappropriate!  What makes this such an amazing spectacle is that here in the UAE, women are usually covered from head to toe in black abayas and scarves to conceal their faces or niqabs.

I've always seen these amazing, slinky dresses at the mall, but had no idea when or where a woman could wear one.  But if there are no men in the room, then what's the point?

Just as I asked myself this question, the young women got up on a big stage and started dancing around a gyrating for the...mothers and grandmothers!  Why?  Well, they are looking for suitable prospects for their sons and grandsons.

Around 10:30 the bride finally made her long anticipated entrance. She slowly walked down the aisle flanked by her mother and sisters with a Filipino photographer just a few steps ahead snapping away with her every step.  She looked pretty grim.  Her dress was an amazing "meringue"; white and tight and probably weighed 20 lbs.

Among the 600 female guests were two sheikhas.  A sheikha is the wife of a sheikh .  One was one of the wives of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan.  He was the one that united the Emirates together and was the first president of the UAE for 30 years until his death in 2004.  Another  was the wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum who is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE, and the constitutional monarch of Dubai.  We couldn't help but notice them because they were flanked by female amazon bodyguards dressed in camouflage.

In the meantime, there were 2 women going around to the tables taking cans of coke, huge piles of meat wrapped in bread, and fruit and just shoving it all in plastic bags.  Apparently these women are scavengers.  It is common for these women, probably Pakistani and probably poor, to go around crashing weddings and taking food.  I say probably because she was completely covered except for her hands, so I couldn't tell what her nationality was.  But I guess this is an accepted practice since there is plenty of food leftover anyway that would probably just go to waste.

One of these women came over to our table and started taking our food.  Moments later, another woman from the wedding party came over and scolded the Pakistani woman.  I thought she was going to be kicked out, but instead they made her sit in the back of the room as a sort of "time out."  I realized that she committed the faux pas of taking our food while we were still at the table!

Another woman came over to us and explained in broken English that these women come to weddings and take enough food to last them all week until the next wedding.  "Haram!"  (it's a sin!)

Finally, Sultan made his entrance surrounded by his family (mother, father and brothers).  Apparently this is unusual as the groom usually comes alone.  The women were sure to cover themselves up with their abayas as the men entered the hall.  He walked over to his bride waiting on stage and gave her a kiss on the forehead (a sign of respect).  And then the whole family posed for photographs.  We took that as our cue to head out and head to Trader Vic's where we could get some real drinks!