Getting Ready for the Engagement Party

Our neighbor's daughter is getting engaged tomorrow. We have never actually attended this kind of ceremony before, but as you would expect both families grant permission and make promises. Typically the guy's family has to give a dowry of the amount requested by the bride's parents... And if desired, they can request gold jewelry too.

So today they were getting all the meat cut up and cleaned. I saw- they put just about every part of the chicken in there (except the head). I even learned how to cut the neck piece so it is more edible; not that I'll be putting that knowledge into practice.

Tomorrow morning is the 'goyong-royong' which basically means everyone in the community pitches in and helps. So I'll be heading over with knife and cutting board in hand to help chop veggies for several hundred people. It is good fun! All the ladies on my street will work together prepping veggies and visiting while all the men will be butchering and cooking the meat in woks of unimaginable size!

Then the feast at twelve and the ceremony at two.