There's two churches in Koliganek. A Russian Orthodox church and another Christian-like church (sorry for whoever's reading this, but I'm not quite sure what Christian sect the church is affiliated with, nor will I probably find out). Most of the Natives in the village attend the Russian Orthodox church. The other church is run by a former, retired teacher. From what I understand, not many people attend his church.
This last weekend I got invited to a wedding! She's the mother of one of my high school students. The wedding was held at the Russian Orthodox church, with a big reception afterwards. The service was interesting. First off, please note, I really dislike churches, due to my own past experiences. So going to this was a big deal for me. When you walk in, men stand to the right, women on the left. There are only a few chairs, for the elders. The Russian Orthodox church smells very strongly of incense. There's pictures of religious icons everywhere. As the church leaders come in, they all kiss the icons that are on the main podiums and make the sign of the cross with their hand. The service is given through song and chant. Everything is said in threes. Crowns are placed on the bride's and groom's head at one point, as a symbolic gesture. It's quite a long ceremony (over an hour, I believe). At the end, everyone lines up to kiss the cross the priest is holding and congratulate the bride and groom. If you're not a member of the church, you just shake hands and continue on your way. (Now...on a personal note: This was definitely a very religious ceremony for me. In terms of my comfort zone, it was definitely not where I normally feel "okay." So, all in all, I survived, didn't burst into flames, and walked out without crying. That's HUGE for me!)
After the wedding, there was a reception at the school. I'm pretty sure our whole village came, as well as most of New Stuyahok (the village just south of us, which is where the groom is from). There was a buffet feast, completely with salmon, turkey, ham, chicken, beaver, mashed potatoes, potato salad, agutak, pie, etc. Everything was very tasty (beaver tastes like roast, for future reference). Afterwards, there was a dance, but I headed home for the evening. It was a Sunday, and wanted to avoid any trouble (which was apparently a smart idea).
I don't know much about the other church. Honestly, I'm not interested in finding out more (if you know me, you understand why). Besides, the man who runs it is gone for the winter, so I'm not sure there's a lot to learn right now anyway...
This last weekend I got invited to a wedding! She's the mother of one of my high school students. The wedding was held at the Russian Orthodox church, with a big reception afterwards. The service was interesting. First off, please note, I really dislike churches, due to my own past experiences. So going to this was a big deal for me. When you walk in, men stand to the right, women on the left. There are only a few chairs, for the elders. The Russian Orthodox church smells very strongly of incense. There's pictures of religious icons everywhere. As the church leaders come in, they all kiss the icons that are on the main podiums and make the sign of the cross with their hand. The service is given through song and chant. Everything is said in threes. Crowns are placed on the bride's and groom's head at one point, as a symbolic gesture. It's quite a long ceremony (over an hour, I believe). At the end, everyone lines up to kiss the cross the priest is holding and congratulate the bride and groom. If you're not a member of the church, you just shake hands and continue on your way. (Now...on a personal note: This was definitely a very religious ceremony for me. In terms of my comfort zone, it was definitely not where I normally feel "okay." So, all in all, I survived, didn't burst into flames, and walked out without crying. That's HUGE for me!)
After the wedding, there was a reception at the school. I'm pretty sure our whole village came, as well as most of New Stuyahok (the village just south of us, which is where the groom is from). There was a buffet feast, completely with salmon, turkey, ham, chicken, beaver, mashed potatoes, potato salad, agutak, pie, etc. Everything was very tasty (beaver tastes like roast, for future reference). Afterwards, there was a dance, but I headed home for the evening. It was a Sunday, and wanted to avoid any trouble (which was apparently a smart idea).
I don't know much about the other church. Honestly, I'm not interested in finding out more (if you know me, you understand why). Besides, the man who runs it is gone for the winter, so I'm not sure there's a lot to learn right now anyway...
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