The Pay-As-You-Go Moroccan Wedding





The costs of a Muslim wedding fall to the groom and his family, not to the bride and her family. In Morocco, wedding planning includes food, musicians, waiters...sounds familiar, right?  Once the prices have been negotiated and the money has been paid, it's time to enjoy the event?  Wrong.  All the money spent beforehand seems to have nothing to do with the amount the family is expected to spend while the ceremony is going on.

 

Here is an example: wedding singers accompany the groom, his family, and his gifts to the bride through the streets to the tent where the bride and guests await.  Each of the singers, perhaps 4, 6, or 8 of them, expect 20, 50 or 100 dirham bills will be places into their shirt collars several times along the route.

 

The Moroccan wedding singers are in the foreground.  One of the musicians is seated behind and one of the wedding ladies is the green dress

 

Pay each of the musicans liberally throughout the evening.  And all of the waiters as they bring and remove each course.

 





Don't forget the guys who may herald the approach of the wedding couple, and who will carry the bride and groom on their shoulders while doing a little dance step of their own.  Money in the collars right now, please.  After all, they are holding your child in the air.

 

 

They carry the groom on their shoulders throughout the tent while turning and waving their capes in time to the music

 

 

Pay the wedding ladies, or neggafates, who dress the bride through all of her dress changes and make sure every fold and drape and line on both the bride and the groom is perfect for picture-taking.

 

 

The wedding lady arranges the brides dress just so





Satisfied, she moves to the rear so the bride can be held aloft.

 

Then there's the photographer, the videographer...am I leaving anybody out?

 

You may as well be good-natured about it all.  You can't be stingy.  The denominations are color-coded so everyone can see at a glance how much you're shelling out.

 

Besides, the guests are free to stick money in collars, and they do.  They also compliment each other by giving money the same way to other guests who cut a fine figure on the dance floor. 

 

Relax.  Enjoy.  Dance.  Eat.  Get into as many of the pictures being taken as you can.  Just bring several thousand dhirham with you.  In small bills.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 



Cooking and Eating Out in Morocco

The owner of this 5 burner stove spends a minimum of 4 hours in  the kitchen daily

One of the most striking things about Moroccan people is that they while the love most things American, they have not embraced our fast food culture.  Meals are prepared all day, every day from scratch.  Most women bake their on bread several times a week.  For mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, there is tea time at home.  Shops will close and schools empty as workers, teachers and students go on break at midday.  Families eat most of their meals together--breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Moroccan women spend 4 to 6 hours in the kitchen everyday, more if there is a special occasion such as an engagement party, or if relatives have come to town to stay for a few days.  At such times, the women will divide the tasks and work together.  For all-out shindigs like weddings, they will hire extra women and rent restaurant-size pots and serving platters.



Left over from party preparation: a propane tank, one of the stand-alone burners, and assorted pots that were too large to fit on the stove.

Prep time takes longer when everything is made from scratch. Fruits and vegetable are generally fresh, in season, not frozen or canned.  You want green beans?  You have to snap them.  Peas?  You get to shell them.  Think you'll want strawberries this winter?  I hope you remember to freeze some last spring.  The incentive to do-it-yourself is simple economics: frozen foods cost probably 3 times as much as fresh.  Who can afford that on a regular basis?

When you travel to someone's home, they would never presume that you picked up a burger and fries along the way.  They will immediately serve you tea or coffee, breads and pastries.  Then they will cook a big meal.  Then they will feed you more tea, coffee, breads or pastries to send you on your way.

Don't get me wrong, stores sell plenty of chocolate, chips and soda.  You can find all sorts of restaurants and American fast-food franchises.  There are desert shops that sell cake by the slice along with banana and avacado smoothies. There are lots of reputable street vendors whose wares are, fortunately, much better than those of  Terry Pratchett's Dibbler.  But generally speaking, there are only 3 reasons for eating out: as a necessity, as a special occasion, or as an unconscionable waste of money. 

So if you feel that cooking is a big headache, then come as a visitor.  If you're planning to stay in Morocco, you better bring your apron.