Wedding Noise

It usually starts with a truck loaded with sound equipment. We see the size and number of the huge speakers and we say, “Oh no”. Then we watch as they place the speakers by our house. At our last house they were literally put in our living room windows, pointing out toward the street, but still able to shake the whole home with their vibrations. This time most of the speakers are across the narrow road and pointed straight at us.

Half the speaker system for one event

Next usually comes a mic check. Suddenly the relative quiet is pierced by blaring feedback and a shouted “hallo, hallo” in the microphone. That’s our first taste of how loud it is actually going to be. It doesn’t take long after that…

It is hard to describe. Ultimately it is just loud music, but it is so loud that it takes over your body. You feel it to your toes. Then there is also the style of the music.  I’m not sure if it is particular to Africa or the Islands, but it is certainly different than what we are used to.  In this sort of music, rhythm trumps melody.  In fact the melody, becomes part of the rhythm.  Imagine you have a short melody riff that goes like “Deedledee, Deedledum, Deedledee, Deedledum.”  A pattern of six notes.  Now add in drums, and a bass line that fits this six-note riff.  Then begin playing this pattern on repeat hundreds of times.  This is the basis of the song.  The creativity comes in when there are slight variations, interruptions and changes to the riff, often in the form of a singer who can vary between spoken words and long held out notes. but it always comes back to the same riff.   It is rhythm music and it is all about a frenetic, repetitive pounding beat that sets your heart drumming. 

This time we had a couple days’ warning that a wedding was happening. This was the groom’s family so only one or two of the wedding events should actually happen near the house. We’d have to brave the music. It would be for the afternoon and into the evening. Maybe 4 hours each time.

Setting up for another event

The volume was deafening. It sent the kids running with their fingers in their ears. We had to yell to be heard by people in the same room. I passed the old grandmother next door as she escaped to one of her daughter’s houses. “The music will make you crazy,” she said. We took to closing all our windows and doors and retreating to the room furthest from the road. Once the music finally stopped we could feel our ears still ringing with the vibrations for another hour.

It was intense.  But we told ourselves, it is just for a couple days. Then we saw the list of events— okay it is a bigger wedding, so maybe 3-4 days. As the first week of wedding events ended, I tentatively broke the news. “You know I think I heard someone say that this same family had two weddings to do, back to back…” After a day or two’s reprieve, we saw the speakers being unloaded and set up again. And so it started again.

Multiple times we looked out on the street with the music blaring and there was no one there. Either the event hadn’t really started or it had ended and everyone had left and yet the music was still going…why??  But then we remember the music signals to everyone that the event is going to happen—you have to get it going so people will know to get ready and come! Then afterwards— well everyone likes music, right? Why not bless the neighborhood with more fun wedding party music since everything is still set up?

Ultimately we survived and to be clear, our neighbor’s didn’t do anything wrong in this context. Everyone always plays music at those deafening volumes for weddings. And you have to have most of the wedding events in front of either the groom or bride’s house— that’s how weddings are done. We have no cultural basis from which to complain. It is just how it is. We’ve experienced it at every island house that we have lived in and no doubt we will experience it again— but we can at least hope that we’ve paid our dues for this wedding season at least.

Kids start new grades in homeschool

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The vote happened with relative quiet.  There were a few locations of unrest on the big island, but on Clove Island, most everyone just stayed home.  The question remains, “What happens now?”  But for the moment we are thankful for continued peace.  Tom is feeling better now!  Our teammates are arriving back today and tomorrow.  It will be nice to have a team again.  We hear that they gained a lot of insight and good ideas from the conference.  We are excited to start putting them into practice.  The kids asked us to start homeschool again so they would have something to do and so far, the first week has gone well. We’ve heard stories of islanders sharing about their changed lives with others. We’re thankful for their courage.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Politically, everyone is asking, “What happens next?”  And no one really knows the answer to that.  Again we ask for prayers for justice and peace.  Pray for our team as we move forward and will be saying goodbye this week to another teammate.  This will bring our team down to the size of 4.  We will need much wisdom and discernment as we figure out how to move forward.  Pray for the teammate who is leaving, that her time of goodbyes will bring good closure and her time in the States would be fruitful and restorative.  Pray for ongoing conversations with seeking friends.  Pray for light to shine in the darkness.