An Ethiopian Baptism and Wedding

So how happened to this fellow ....? Just read on and you will find out :-)


Finally the day came - after a few days of looking around 'Addis' the big day was coming, the baptism of Mathilde, Marco's and Hermela's daughter, Mathilde, was about to take place! It was a Christian Orthodox-style ceremony in church, followed by a proper celebration in a golf club in the countryside.

As always, one needs to dress appropriately for the occasion - so if you ever go to a baptism in Ethiopia this would be considered just fine:


And where it happened:


Actually, not just our baptism was taking place on this day (in a small room next to the main chapel), there was also a huge three-hour or so wedding going on in the main hall which looked pretty impressive. But what was actually going on on our end?

The officials prepared the bath and checked the temperature to make sure it's freezing cold... yes, just fine!


... a final kiss on the cross...


... and what will happen to you, my dear fellow ....


... by the hands of this man ...


... will make you scream, so happy are you, little Mathilde :-)!


So much for church, next day we went to the golf club to celebrate appropriately. Not just the baptism, also that Marco and Hermela got married just a short time before, but back in Berlin.

Everyone's joining the party...


... maybe 200 people or so attended in total, in a beautiful location as you can see.



Of course, the newlyweds have their special table (and are allowed to eat first)...


... while other couples with their children had to wait.


(Alternatively, beer was always available.)



These gentleman have been looking forward to the party, I can tell! The first bottle of Johnny Walker was done in 30 minutes.


Well, but the second one was open quite soon afterwards anyway, so noone got thirsty here.


This looks like raw meat. But it's actually kind of a vegetarian dish (I think).


The musicians on their way to the food...


... ah, and there our friend from above is again! But he's eating salad, probably hoping that vegetarians have a long, healthy life. So much for the plans you make!


A first dance...


... and the party continued in the house of Hermela's relatives. Quite an upscale place as you can see:


And after cutting the cake...


... and having a drink ...


it was time for a kiss :-)! (The careful observer can of course see the three layers of the pictures, as intended by this expert photographer - a friend of the bride in the foreground, the couple in the middle, and the father of the groom in the background. Happy? Embarassed? Impossible to say...)


That was it for today - looking forward to August 2009 in India, with two weddings coming up and about 10 cities in the whole country on the schedule it should be quite an adventerous trip indeed!