From East Africa to Northwestern University: The Mock Habesha Wedding

The Wedding Party. Photo by EESA Exec Board

Habesha music bounced off the green, white and gold walls of Parkes Hall as students gathered to watch the mock Habesha wedding.

“It’s really important for us as a community to create these organizations that bring us together,” Teshome said. “It’s brought us together and created a really impactful community for Habesha students at Northwestern.”

Organized by the Ethiopian Eritrean Student Association (EESA) and ELEL dance group, the mock Habesha Wedding aimed to share Ethiopian and Eritrean culture with the broader student body through traditional attire, music, dancing and wedding customs.

The bride, Beth Teshome, who grew up in Ethiopia, said the event carried a deep personal meaning. After moving to the United States, she noticed an absence of Habesha traditions in her everyday life. Teshome said she wanted to help change that on campus.

“My biggest motivation is showing off what I know from my culture,” Teshome said. “I spent most of my time in Ethiopia, and, coming here, the one thing that surprised me was how much I missed those traditions. It was kind of sad sometimes. So, coming into Northwestern, I wanted to make an impact and show people the culture I have from back home.”

The event recreated several elements of a traditional Habesha wedding. Throughout the evening, attendees watched skits, enjoyed music and learned about customs typically part of Ethiopian and Eritrean weddings. 

The groom, Joseph Bekele, who was born in the United States, said the experience was an opportunity to reconnect with traditions he mostly experienced through family celebrations growing up.

“One of my favorite memories from weddings was honestly just the dancing,” Bekele said. “There was Ethiopian music, but because it was in America, there was also American music too. So, seeing both sides mixed together was always really cool.”

Participating in the wedding gave him a chance to be more involved in the community.

“That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to do it,” Bekele said. “As I become an adult, I want to learn more and be more involved in these events.”

Condensing a traditional Habesha wedding, which typically spans several days of ceremonies, and a post-wedding Melse, into a two-hour campus event required months of coordination between EESA and ELEL committee. Teshome said it came with challenges.

“We’ve kind of been planning this wedding for months,” Teshome said. “We have committees working on different things like decoration, food, marketing, dances and skits. Everyone has been working hard, and we have weekly meetings where both groups come together to prepare.”

Months of planning culminated in an evening of music, dancing and celebration, but for many students, Bekele said the event's significance extended beyond the ceremony itself.

"It's always good to be away from home but feel like you're at home still," Bekele said.