Lithia Couple Renew Wedding Vows in African Tribal Ceremony

They did it the traditional way when they married 20 years
ago.

But, for their 20th anniversary, Todd and Brenda
Terihay of Fish Hawk Trails decided to renew their vows in a decidedly
nontraditional ceremony.

The couple, along with their daughter, Shelby, headed for
South Africa over the summer to renew their wedding vows in a tribal ceremony.

“We wanted to do something unique,” said Brenda Terihay. “And
Africa is somewhere we’ve always wanted to go. We love animals and were anxious to see the wildlife of Africa.

And she said they weren’t disappointed.

“We’ve traveled quite a lot — Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland — but we’ve never experienced anything like this,” she said.

Terihay said they were impressed with the graciousness of
the people as well as their dedication to good service.

“I can’t say enough about the people of South Africa,” she
said. “They were just wonderful to us.”

For mother and daughter, 18, it was a dream vacation.

“Shelby and me just adore animals of all kinds and were excited about the prospect of seeing these animals in their natural habitats,” Terihay said. “We’re all about seeing beauty, but there have to be animals involved. And there’s nothing better than seeing them in the wild."

After visiting the wine country of Cape Town, the family headed
to Mpumalanga near Kruger National Park.

“We stayed in the bush, and the resort was one of the nicest
places I’ve ever stayed in, and the service was amazing,” Terihay said. “From the balcony of our room, you could see elephants, baboons and little monkeys. This place was so magical. The beauty was amazing. We walked outside the room one morning, and there was an impala.”

An African safari

Not satisfied with merely viewing the animals from a resort,
the Terihays went on a photographic safari where they were able to see lions, elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, Nile crocodiles, lions, impala, baby hyenas, giraffes, leopards and wart hogs.

“We had the most awesome tracker and ranger. I was thrilled to see a baby elephant with its mother,” Terihay said. “It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. It was so young, it hadn’t yet learned to control the movement of its trunk and was swinging it around, trying to pick up things. It reminded me of a baby trying to pick up a Cheerio. Then it would give this little cry, and all the grown elephants would rush over to see what the matter was. Once I saw that baby elephant, I didn’t need to see anything else.”

The Terihays also were thrilled to see a pride of lionesses
with their cubs.

“The babies played just like household cats,” she said. “We
were so close, I had to take the telephoto lens off my camera and put on a shorter lens.”

During a night safari, Terihay said she was impressed by the
beauty of the stars in the sky.

“I”ll never forget it,” she said. “It was so clean and crisp.”

A tribal wedding

As a surprise for his wife, Todd Terihay had pre-arranged a
meeting with the people of the Shangaan Tsonga tribe so they could renew their wedding vows in a traditional tribal wedding ceremony.

“The tribe had never let an outsider use this ceremony
before, but they welcomed us with open arms,” said Brenda Terihay. “We did all of the customs including wearing homemade sandals. Todd was dressed in an animal skin with a hair necklace and was carrying a spear, and the women dressed me and Shelby in handmade tops and skirts.

“They took us to a house built in the trees, overlooking a
river where drummers played,” she said. “We performed the traditional passing of drinks in clay pots to symbolize our union. It was very emotional. We were both crying.”

Afterward, they joined tribe members in singing and dancing.

“The people were so gracious,” said Terihay, adding that the
family plans to make regular donations to the tribal school.

“They don’t have a schoolhouse. School takes place outdoors,”
she said. “The kids sit in the sand to learn.”

Adopting a penguin

When her husband asked her what she wanted for an
anniversary gift, Terihay said she didn’t hesitate. They went to visit an African penguin colony near Cape Town. “There, we adopted one of the endangered penguins for my anniversary present,” she said.

While visiting the coast, the Terihays also took a boat ride
during which they saw southern right wales and great white sharks. “And there were thousands of seals lying on the beach,” Terihay said. “I’ve never seen so many seals.”

To remember the trip, the Terihays have the more than 800
photos Brenda Terihay took.

But she said she doesn’t need photos to recall the beauty of South Africa.

“I’ll never forget it.”

You don’t have to visit Africa to help the endangered African
penguin. You can adopt a penguin by visiting the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds website.