Early Morning Wedding

The Rendille wedding starts with a procession of warriors marching and singing their way to the brides mothers house. The groom leads the pack, driving a fat tailed sheep in front of him. When the group reaches the vilages border, the mother comes out with a friend and takes the groom and best mans shoes. They will walk barefoot the rest of the week in the thorny, rocky desert.

The marriage becomes official when the sheep is slaughtered before the house and a long thick strip of fat is extracted. The groom and best man carry the fat into the house with trembling hands and knees because if the girls mom rejects the fat, the marriage is over. Thankfully this never happens and the men retreat out of the house and break out the Chai (hot, syrupy tea) and break into a dance.