A Chagga man and woman got married in the Musoma
Town Parish Church in Tanzania in 1991. All the arrangements for the wedding
went along smoothly and peacefully. The marriage ceremony itself was a big
success. But the organizers of the wedding forgot to give the mother of the
bride and her wedding party a vehicle to return to her home after the
celebration and feast in the hall. Therefore she was very upset and refused to
attend the thanksgiving mass and the small family party the following day. The
leaders said: "What should we do to make amends?" The leaders spent two hours
searching for a proper isale leaf to give the mother as a symbol of
reconciliation. Then they visited her. In greeting the bride’s mother one of the
leaders handed her the isale leaf, a very important sign of peace and unity in
the culture of the Chagga Ethnic Group. Immediately upon seeing the leaf she
smiled, expressed delight, called her relatives, and told everyone that her
anger was finished. She happily rejoined the wedding party. Everything went back
to normal and the good spirits and close relationships continued as usual.