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REASONS TO PARTY
By Alphonse Muhare
African refugees, in general, believe that human life is segmented in three stages: birth stage, marriage stage, and death stage.
To honor God for such wisdom, African celebrate at each stage. When there is birth in any family, parents and uncles contribute money and food to share with the rest of the community.
As for marriage, the groom's family pays a dowry--a fixed amount of money or animals or farm tools or clothes, etc...--to the bride's parents. The gesture symbolizes respect, honor, gratitude to the bride's family for educating and protecting a woman who will extend the groom's family.
Death always brings sorrow. However, after normally a week or so of funerals and mourning, the whole community gathers together to cook, to drink, to dance, to sing, and to remind the bereaved that no matter what happened life goes on.
In case, you think I am talking about some villages in Africa, let me remind you that the following pictures have been taken in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They portray the life of African refugees in Iowa. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed participating in the following parties:
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| This little boy has been delivered at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids. A group of more than thirty refugees wait outside. His parents expect more than those to come and congratulate his mother. Congratulations can be expressed through flowers, money, food, and even baby's clothes. |
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| One week later, the boy, now known as Cedric Kihire, is visited in his home in Cedar Rapids by the community members, regardless of whether they are related to him or not. |
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| On the week-end of the first week, women and men gather in the house of the new born. Other women are busy cooking African foods in the kitchen. |
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| Mamina, another neighbor is busy frying fishes, grilling beans, roasting meat while her son, David, rests on her back. |
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| Komi is cooking fufu--a hot mixture of cassava flour and hot water. It can taste like a hot bread. Africans eat it with fish, meat, gevetables, etc... |
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| Monica's plate carries some rice on top of which she has put chicken, fishes, cassava leaves, and a piece of a cake. Monica is from Congo. |
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| Men rarely get in the kitchen. After women have cooked, they and the children serve the meals on tables. Men sit in a sitting-room and eat while complimenting their spouses for their skills. I am sitting right after Thomas, a refugee from Rwanda, on the right. Thomas is not yet married. Like any bachelor, he enjoys such events where drinking and eating and dancing bring Africans of all backgounds together. |
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| In case you wonder what happens next, I will tell you that, after eating and drinking, African refugees indulge in their traditional dances, which last all evening. Dancers always return home tired. No wonder they celebrate their life stages on Saturday so that they can sleep all day on Sunday and be ready to go to work on Monday. And their community life goes on! |
This site is the creation of ALPHONSE MUHARE. His resume can be accessed by clicking on his name.
Fall 2006 @ the UI Journalism school |
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