It's wedding day!

My sleep was interupted early by loud voices and sounds of clobbering. The men had started their day before dawn, cutting up the huge chunks of pork into smaller portions for the cooking pot. You would have thought I would wake up to take photos... nah, I was too sleepy.

When the sun was out, the meat was all done up. Click HERE to see more photos. Pork is the essential dish for every Lundayeh wedding. Of course there would be consideration of dishes for Muslim guests. In a typical Lundayeh wedding in the village, usually 5 to 6 pigs would be slaughtered, and the meat dominates the menu. As for us, Irene's family got 3 pigs for the feast, and the rest being non-pork dishes, since our guests were more varied. Want to know which portion of the pig is best meat? Look at the pics for clues. Hint: the best portion is reserved for distinguished guests.

Was hoping that my Vi would arrive in time to be used as the wedding car. But the shipment was late. Thankfully, Irene's auntie loaned us her new Toyota Spacio, which was really spacious inside true to its name.

About 10.30 am, we all went to the SIB Sapong Church for the wedding ceremony. It was a bumpy 10-minute ride on gravel from Irene's house.

The ceremony was a simple one. Started with opening prayers, then a few songs, followed by the exchange of vows and rings. Follow the earlier link to see more photos. Ended with photo session and shake-hand session. We had Pastor Sim from Tomani (very interior Sabah) to be our marriage registrar.

After that we headed back to Irene's house for lunch. The guests had already started makan makan. I'll let the pics do the talking. The luncheon was mainly for folks around Sapong and friends and relatives who attended the church ceremony.

Towards the end, Irene's relatives beat the bronze gongs and we had a brief round of dancing (and playing the fool). My relatives arranged a Chinese tea-serving ceremony, while Irene's relatives handed over colourful hand-woven rattan baskets and a sack of home-grown rice as gifts. An exchange of two cultures; a merging of two extended families across the South China Sea. A special moment in national integration.

Whew. Finally got some rest. Thank God that the day had gone well with no major hiccups. Weather was perfect, far from the preceding rainy days.

In the night, we had another round of feast. The dinner was mainly for invited guests from near and afar. Makan time again! We had a live band from nearby Kg CintaMata to provide entertainment. Forgot the group's name... Band Boys or Bad Boys or Naughty Boys something like that. They were good and really livened up the occasion. There was the cake cutting ceremony, traditional dances, solo performances... and the Poco-poco crowd dance. The Poco-poco was a difficult one for me. Ended up pening kepala. Everybody else seemed to catch on fast and had a good time, especially my dad.

My relatives left for Keningau before midnight. They would be leaving for Kota Kinabalu early the next day to catch Gaya Street Sunday Market. As for those who stayed on... it was Saturday Night Fever all night long. All night long...