Manlai's wedding

About two months ago, Ganpurev told me that he would need some time off to travel to the countryside in October because his nephew was having a wedding. I thought little of it; his nephew is in his early 20's and has already served his time in the military. It was about time that he got married.

Last week, Ganpurev told me that Manlai was still looking for a bride. I was surprised and told Ganpurev so. "I though Manlai was having a wedding. How can he be having a wedding if he isn't getting married."

Ganpurev explained it to me this way. To countryside Mongolians there are usually two things that happen at a wedding which is called хурим in Mongolian. The first is that two people get married. However, at the same time the groom's family gives him a ger for him to live in with his new wife.

It seems that Manlai doesn't have a girlfriend, but his father has a ger prepared for him. Another relative was getting married nearby at the same time. So Manlai's father thought it would be handy to have both weddings at the same time. After all, the ger is ready and wasting away in storage.

So whether there is a bride or not, there will be a wedding for Manlai in October. Manlai seems convinced that he'll find someone to marry him in the next few weeks. I hope he does.