Weddings in Bukit Lawang are a very public affair, with typically hundreds of guests. Most local people are members of the Karo, Malay or Javanese ethnic groups, and depending on which group the couple marrying belong to, there will be different clothes, music, and food. Wedding festivities last at least one full day, sometimes two, and tourists are always very welcome to visit. To cater for the many guests, a whole cow is typically slaughtered and cooked, along with  chickens, goats, and other animals, with a whole army of cooks preparing food behind the  scenes.