Mama Mathilde

Although I've talked about my neighbor, Mathilde, before (see "Still Life With Mangostan"), I didn't realize the length and breadth of her influence until Saturday night. She invited me to attend a wedding ceremony of her cousin Denys, who with his wife, Madeleine, and their six children wanted to have a sacred ceremony in the church. This is evidently fairly customary.

Mathilde and her husband picked me up and we drove to St. Leopold's, only a mile from the house. It's a grand old tan brick church, built by the Belgians before Independence (1961) with many arches extending to an elegant high ceiling. Beautiful tile covers the floor. It was decorated for the big event with ribbons and flowers. White satin covered the two chairs in front of the altar where the couple sat after their processional. The lifted cross and the Bible went down the aisle before them, supported by three white robed priests and several acolytes. The matron of honor was dressed in shocking pink, head to toe. All six children were dressed in off-white with touches of red. They threw hard candy out of baskets as they went down the aisle, making quite a racket as it hit the floor and wooden benches. The choir sang several powerful and harmonious pieces, accompanied by the key-board. The elements were distributed. The groom was invited to kiss the bride. They were presented to the congregation and we followed the recessional out of the church. Three photographers filmed throughout the entire ceremony from every vantage point possible.

On to the reception at Deny's home, the entrance of which is about 500 feet from my house. The compound covers several acres of land, which had been transformed to what would compare to a country club back home. Long tables were set up with chairs and linens for approximately 250 people. I noticed two other white people. A Congolese band was playing with the usual 125 decibel sound system. Drinks of every variety free-flowed all night, poured from glass bottles served in glassware. No plastic or throwaway anything except the napkins. The red wine was one of the best I've tasted here, Cote de France 2005, I believe. I'm guessing, but there must have been thirty preparations of Congolese food, from appetizers, vegetables to fish, beef, pork. There were the usual fried plaintains, doughnuts, shakwanga, banana "paste," and on it went. A giant screen showed the action being filmed on-site with a video camera. Before dinner, the bride and groom invited the guests to greet them and present their gifts. Following dinner, we danced. All open to the night sky.

When it was all over, Mathilde and two of her special friends walked me home. It was a very special evening.

Photo: Mama Mathilde and Madame Jane

Please note that MeJane plans to go on vacation this Wednesday, returning February 27. The next posting on Congo Scenes will occur in two weeks. Thank you for your prayers for her safety as she and friend Carole, fly to Johannesburg, South Africa where they will spend one night each way. Then on to Victoria Falls, which is situated between both Zimbabwe and Zambia. After several nights there they then take a bus to Chobe National Park, Botswana, for a safari.