Native american engagement ceremonies

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A great many courtship and marriage traditions existed within the overall Native American culture. Informal arrangements were the rule for some courtships and engagements. Others were very formal, with specific rituals. Occasionally a young couple would elope, with no engagement ceremony at all. Only the families of the man and woman were involved in some cases, and in other cases, the entire tribe would celebrate the engagement and marriage with feasting, dancing and merrymaking.

1. Little or No Engagement Ceremony

   • For some Native American tribes, capturing a bride in warfare or outright buying of a bride was a common route to marriage. During a raid, young women and children would be carried off, the women to be married, the children to be adopted into families who had lost family members due to other warring raids. Among some tribes, such as the Omaha, a couple could elope, forestalling any engagement ceremony or talk with the parents. If the couple married, however, there usually was no recrimination from their families.

   Family Negotiations

   • For most American Indian tribes, parents were involved in marriage negotiations. In the Sioux, fathers managed arrangement of engagements and marriages, and a daughter had no say in the matter. Among the Cherokee, mothers had the final say, and a daughter had the right to refuse any particular suitor. In northern California tribes such as the Klamath, a young man could have a full-marriage or a half-marriage, depending on what he could afford for a bride price. If he had the wealth, he full married. If not, he half-married and lived with the bride's family.

   Formal Engagement

   • The Hopi practiced formal engagement, although the young men and women usually chose their own partners. Either a young woman or a young man could choose, the girl by making a sweet cornbread and offering it to the boy, or a boy by making fine doeskin clothing and offering it to the girl. If their choice was agreeable to both, the boy then asked her parents for their consent, and then asked his own. The couple was engaged at this point. The girl ground cornmeal, took it to her future in-laws and stayed with them for three days. While there, she obeyed her new mother-in-law, who in turn protected her when the groom's parental aunts "attacked" the bride. In about two weeks, the couple married.

   Tribal Involvement

   • Among the Algonquin tribes, including the Cree, Chippewa and Ottawa, once an engagement has begun, both the bride and the groom must find two sponsors each from the tribe. The sponsors must be older, respected people who can advise them throughout their married lives. This tribal involvement meant a more stable relationship for the couple. During the engagement, the couple prepares their regalia, their formal wedding clothing, and make or buy hundreds of gifts to give to tribe members. The entire tribe joins in the feast of fry breads, venison, fish, squash, beans, corn and many desserts after the wedding. The newlyweds then give the presents to the tribe.

Source: www.ehow.com

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