Note: post written on July 11/12

Ahh, July 11…it has, as expected, been a great day.

At slightly after 10am, we began our trek toward a very large, open stadium/field. It was here that much of the city had gathered to watch the festivities of the day. This part of the day was relatively uneventful, as there seemed to be speeches going on of a religious/appreciative nature. Since I am not fluent in Shugni (the local language in Khorog) and the audience was massive, this registered quite low on the “things that have wowed me” scale.

However, as we were walking around, we were unexpectedly asked that we follow a volunteer, who proceeded to take us to a show that was being put on for guests and prominent individuals in Khorog (religious heads, I think). The show consisted of a number of kids (predominantly girls) backed by men playing musical instruments all singing Maanqabats, or religious songs about Hazar Imam (or for those of you non-Ismailis out there, the Aga Khan IV, the worldwide spiritual leader of the Nizari Ismaili Muslims; this July 11 marked his 52nd year as spiritual leader of the Ismaili community). The show was great! Not only did the girls have superb voices, but the music (or the parts of it that one of our hosts translated) was very inspired. I think between us four interns, we probably have a recording of most of the songs.

Culture in Khorog (and indeed throughout Gorno-Badakhshan, or so I have been told) deems that, those families with the means to do so, invite people into their houses to eat during lunch time. As such, after the show, the local road that had held sponsored the large-scale festivities. Not only did this mean that there were tons of people at the house where we ate, but it also meant that there was a TON of food. In high spirits, we all ate, and the locals attempted to communicate with us as best as possible.

After eating and walking around for a while, we eventually made our way back home. After quickly changing, I headed off to a wedding! Apparently, someone I barely know (as in I met once on a minibus) but was a part of the program I work with was getting married. As such, I was invited to join in on the festivities. The first thing I noticed was definitely the sheer amount of food. The table was literally covered with appetizers ranging from sweets to salads (Tajik-style) and everything in between. This was followed by the main course, which was served quite a bit later, consisting of a soup dish. Just like weddings in a good deal of other cultures, people came up and said positive things about the married couple, danced, and ate. And, somewhat like an Indian wedding, the bride and groom were escorted in by a lady playing a drum and people dancing. All in all, a fair deal of similarities.

There were some interesting things I wanted to point out, though. First, this July 11 marked the first use of the Ismaili Muslim Nikkah ceremony (religious marriage rites) in GBAO. Second, apparently there are restrictions to weddings in Khorog. The couple can only invite around 300 people, cook a certain amount of food, and the wedding can only last for 3 hours. After being here for some time, the hyper-control and protectiveness of the government even as it pertains to weddings doesn’t surprise me as much anymore. Finally, I had to give a speech at the wedding! Keep in mind that I didn’t (and still don’t) know the bride or groom very well…or at all. Couple with the fact that I didn’t know the cultural norms, I ended up making a pretty pathetic, short, improvised speech. After stuttering over a few well-wishes and a quick translation by a work colleague, and after rebuffing attempts to make me sing to the crowd (apparently they like to torture interns at weddings…side note, they love Bollywood here), I danced for a few minutes with the other attendees and then headed home. All in all, a great day and a great experience.