Native Americans wedding traditions: Seems like a part of ancient history

Apart from giving happiness and looking after every need of the members of their families throughout their lives, no two Native American tribes follow the same rituals or ceremonies for their wedding. There are more than a hundred tribes in which a population of more than two million Native Americans is living in the United States. Among these the most popular is the Cherokee clan. The wedding rituals are intact and are followed till today by the natives and attending such a traditional ceremony feels like going back to the past, to the ancient world. Apart from the Cherokee, some of the other popular wedding traditions are the Algonquin, the Hopi and the Delaware. Given below are some of the interesting wedding traditions of the Native Americans:

1. Hopi Tradition:
On the auspicious day, the female cousins or aunts of the bride take piki bread made by the bride few days back and ground corn to the groom’s maternal place. The relatives then twist the hair of the bride and the groom with each other after washing their hair together. Entwining of hair signifies a lifelong commitment and mutual understanding. The couple then walks to the edge of a mesa and pray to the Sun while their hair still being twisted with each other.

2. Delaware Tradition:
In this style of wedding, gifts such as jewelry, blanket other clothing and wampum belts are given to the bride’s parents. The acceptance of the gifts signifies that the marriage is done with their approval.

3. Cherokee Tradition:
Marrying within one’s own clan is not allowed in this tribe. The Cherokee wedding traditions vary slightly from one clan to another but the basic steps are the same. On the day of the wedding, the bride’s brother pledges to teach the couple’s children in future about the religion, spiritual beliefs and practices as it is the uncle’s duty to do so, according to the customs. Then the groom gives ham to the bride in the middle of the townhouse which is a vow to protect his family while the bride gives him the ear of a corn, promising to be a good wife taking care of their household. After this they go to a holy place and ask blessings from a priest in front of the fire. They are then covered by a blue blanket and then a white one which ultimately completes the wedding uniting them.

4. Algonquin Tradition:
On the wedding day, the bride takes bath in a large water body such as a lake or a pond to get blessings from Mother Earth. The nuptial takes place outside a lodge meant for weddings. The priest makes the couple understand the importance of their union and also the vows. There are no divorces according to this tradition. After they are declared to be married, the couple smokes from the same pipe and offer tobacco to the priest which he accepts delightfully.

5. Pacific Northwest Tribal Tradition:
The couple stands on a blanket and food is placed on it for the guests. The blanket is wrapped around them after the feast finishes which signifies the unity. The blanket is then passed to those who are present in the wedding.

Most of the Native American clans believe in the existence of a Great Spirit, which is formless like the clouds, is the creator of the universe and the planets and imbibed the seed of life. The sun is supposed to be a manifestation of this spirit and in most of the weddings the couples prays and seek the blessings of the sun for their union.

---

About the author: Alia Haley is a blogger who is a fashionista by heart and loves experimenting with styling. In case of blogging, mostly her articles are inspired by her own experiences. Recently she was researching a lot about honeymoon packages as that she thought that would be a perfect gift for her friend’s wedding. These days she is busy in writing an article on best beaches in the world.

---

Wedding Customs

Reading up on International Wedding customs, I was amazed to read that

“In Indonesia it is not uncommon for more than 1,000 guests to be invited to the wedding reception and it is customary for the bride and the groom to greet each guest in a long receiving line before the reception festivities can begin.”

Wow, can you imagine the cost of that reception!

To read up on other wedding traditions check out this website
World Wedding Traditions

How to Make a Wedding Time Capsule

A wedding time capsule is a great idea to make with your partner in the months and weeks leading up to your wedding.

1. Find a suitable container or box to use as your capsule. You could opt for a decorative box, or buy a blank box from a craft store such as Spotlight and paint and decorate it yourself.

2. Decide what you want to put in your time capsule. Some suggestions are:
- Old concert and movie tickets from when you were dating.
- Photographs from the ‘dating’ years.
- Your engagement party invitation.
- Wedding stationery such as invitations, rsvp cards, place cards, ceremony program
- Your wedding guestbook.

You may also want to put things inside your capsule that reflect your current world such as

-Newspaper clipping
-Magazine headlines
-Clippings of your favourite shows, bands

Deciding when to open your capsule is up to you. Your ten year wedding anniversary is a great suggestion. You can share the opening process with any kids that may have popped up over the last decade. You may even like to reseal the capsule with new items such as your kid’s baby photos and mementos and then reopen the capsule on your 25th anniversary!

Wearing Green Brings Good Luck

In Italy, many believe that if a bride wears green the night before the wedding, this will bring abundance and good luck to the bridal couple.

Wedding Customs:Puerto Rico

At the traditional Puerto Rican reception it is customary for a doll, dressed similar to the bride, to be placed at the head of the main table.

This “bride doll” is covered with little charms, and are given to the guests as gifts. “Copias” are also passed out as presents to guests. These reception favors are ornately decorated cards with the newlyweds names and the date of the marriage.

To read up on other wedding traditions check out this website
World Wedding Traditions

You may now kiss the bride..

Ever wonder where some wedding traditions originate from. The first kiss is a much toned down version of the original tradition where the new husband and wife had to consummate their marriage in front of witnesses! This was to ensure that consummation occurred, which would deem the marriage valid!