What do people mean when they all
with one accord and in unison shout out the popular wedding
“Dondooo” at best can be
identified as a language but which of the Ghanaian languages does it belong to
and what does it mean? Do we just join the fray to do things without really
understanding what it really is?
It is conventional for an
officiating Pastor during the tying of the nuptials to ask the congregation to
own up and denounce the marriage if they actually have a reason to, and I ask, like
seriously? Can any Good Samaritan pinch
me and remind me of my consciousness and also assure me that I am fine? How do
the bridal family, the couple and well-wishers cope during this two or three
minute silence that is usually allotted for the declaration of the process that
will annul the eventual wedding?
How can everyone in the church,
spearheaded by the Clergy give that leeway for just any unscrupulous person to
just snatch a lifetime dream come true away from someone if not people? Have we
actually thought about the fact that all humans have well-wishers and
detractors of which the latter can be detrimental to the on-going wedding? Have
we thought about the acute dramatic turn of events? About how bloody things can
get in the church, should someone emerge from the invited guests in response to
the Pastor’s call?
Does that mean, as soon as some
alleges or proclaims a reason why the couple should not be tied in holy
matrimony, whether substantiated or not, the wedding is on the verge of
crumbling before everyone?
Most people spend years or at
least months and almost a lifetime savings or loans to plan a wedding, invite
friends and family, where everyone foregoes all other activities just to grace
the one-time event in the life of the couple, only for one ex-boy or
girlfriend, a scorned business partner or just anybody who wanted a comeback at
one of the couple to come have a field day by turning someone’s world upside
down?
Maybe it’s a formality to assure
the couple that everyone at the event endorses their union and eventual
consummation but why would we want to take that risky venture?
I can imagine someone shuffling
his feet in an immaculate suit, bespectacled in one cute dark glasses walking
towards the pulpit where the couples are usually summoned before the congregation
by which time everyone would have turned their necks several times, especially
those seated in front of the big sanctuary, with some having their gaze fixed
on him as he walks purposefully towards the detonation spot.
That performance alone is enough
to make the couple develop turbulent tummies, panic attacks, with some
developing severe anxiety symptoms like blanching, dizziness and in extreme
cases, vomiting and passing stool even in their suit or gown. Poor souls!
.It’s dead serious and can get
fatal even before the church is ended and lives can be lost. Maybe it’s a prank
but it’s time we stop asking people if they have anything to say… No! They have
NOTHING to say and no one has the RIGHT to say anything as far as the two
families have come into necessary agreements to allow their kinsmen to marry.
Why would someone be allowed to settle his or her score at that material moment
when is all set for the Groom to kiss and eventually whisk his bride into bliss?
It is for the avoidance of these
unnecessary formalities that is why it is imperative for the couples to at
least announce their wedding event 21 days before they tie the knots. This 21
days allows anyone who has anything or reservation of the impending wedding to
come forward either through the family or the Church for their concerns to be
addressed and where possible, save everyone the embarrassment they would have
faced in the church and the mistake they would have done should they marry the
couple, by simply calling off the wedding.
These 21 days or more is also the
reason why the Church or the congregation must not chant the “Ayifroo! Dondooo!
any longer.
In times past, there were no
visible means to easily announce weddings nor send invitation cards out. There
simply was not much to do as far as publicizing the wedding event was concerned
so people usually come to the program without knowing the Groom and mostly the
bride, hence the need to chant “Ayifrooo” to which the others respond “We don’t
know” (corrupted to Dondooo), but now, things have changed and every guest
seated at the program usually knows the couple even during their dating period
before coming to the august function.
There is no need shouting “We
don’t know” because these days we all do know the couple before the day, so let
us try to educate our kith and kins so we can either coin a new chant to cheer
the couples on or stop saying it altogether.
When times change, it changes along
with most things and this mantra is one of the things we have to change to suit
our time, so let’s get creative now before the unwanted happens and hey, Mr.
Pastor, if you ever have the privilege to officiate mine someday, please be
reminded on a lighter note that you CANNOT ask anyone if s/he has anything to
say before my marriage comes on. BE WARNED!
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