Easter Monday weddings an Aishalton village tradition

By Alva Solomon

On Easter Monday, a tradition at the remote Deep South Rupununi village of Aishalton came to life once more with the marriage of five couples within the indigenous village.
It’s a tradition which residents in the village look forward annually, one that continues to evolve as the years pass by; multiple couples getting married on Easter Monday and Christmas Day.

Last Christmas, two couples tied the knot and several days prior to the new year, several weddings took place. The residents erupted in joy as the newly wedded couples walked out in the public as husband and wife following the ceremonies.
“There are already four couples registered to get married in December this year,” Immaculata Casimero, a resident and indigenous activist of the village told the Guyana Times recently.
Four of the couples, who wedded on Easter Monday belong to the Roman Catholic Church while the other belong to the Christian Brethren Church.
Casimero said it’s a tradition which has been happening for several years. “It is done to be in line with the Christian holidays, especially Easter and Christmas,” she said. She said it is important within the village and also within the Christian community that once two persons are living together in a relationship, that they take it to another level of getting married.

Importantly, she said in most of the villages within the area, the couples remain together for years after marriage. “Most of the couples live their lifetime but of course as in every society, there may be homes which are broken because of whatever disagreements,” she noted.
However, she said this happens at a very low rate and she noted that the elders in the community play an integral role in counselling couples before and after the weddings. “ I was at a wedding reception at one of the weddings where the grandmother of the bride told the woman that she was very proud of her but a the same time, she reminded her that the step she took is for life and that she made a commitment to God,” she said.
“she said marriage is not a bed of roses but you have to stay strong and committed to your marriage. They have words of encouragement, and they give different advice, these people are married for 30 years and more and so the offer this advice,” Casirmero said.
Aishalton, a Wapichan village, is the largest indigenous village within the Deep South Rupununi. As such couples from the village and other satellite areas would get married at the churches there.
The Christian faith plays a key role in the social life within the villages of other communities within the Rupununi. As such there are other villages where weddings are held on the religious holidays. They include the village of St Ignatius, which lies close to Lethem. Here couples would become man and wife at the Roman Catholic Church within that community. Over the Easter weekend there were also weddings at the villages of Awarewaunau and Pai Pang.