Soundbite: Wedding Music
Fri 12 November 2010
It's wedding season. What I know so far is that weddings are two days long, during which a lot of music is played on speakers. Weddings are held at the bride's house. The ceremonies start bright and early at 5AM with traditional-style music. Later in the day it switches to more romantic, modern music.
I've been invited to one reception next week, and one wedding in December. I'll know a lot more afterward. For now I'm cruising on Wikipedia's brief overview.
Two weddings are taking place in my neighborhood today. Each has a tent set up in the front yard and street, covered in swaths of pink and yellow satin. One started yesterday, and the other began this morning. I bicycled past a procession heading toward one or the other. Two lines of elegantly dressed people, carrying gifts, and a wedding photographer walking backwards
Here's an iPhone recording of the opening music. The music is coming from three blocks away, and is a little hard to hear over the crickets. I caught the last verse. It took a few minutes to work through an abrupt wake-up call that sounded nothing like my alarm clock.
The first wedding I heard was near the guesthouse. My first thought was "Did the neighbors buy a new stereo? Do they have an axe to grind?" But my cultural guide were nonchalant and said it was a ceremony, maybe funeral, maybe a wedding. Loud music is correct and acceptable for milestone ceremonies. I'll just have to go to bed earlier and arrange to be out of the apartment until the season subsides.