Mar 26

Native American culture is rich in tradition and custom. Their wedding ceremonies are no different. Many of the Native American wedding ceremonies are very beautiful. Adding one of these traditions to your upcoming wedding ceremony may add an extra element of spirituality to your nuptials.

In the Native American tradition, the man always asks permission before marrying into the woman’s family. He usually had to ask the priest or shaman. After permission is granted, it is customary for the two families to exchange livestock, food, or other gifts in approval of the upcoming union.

In many Native American tribes, the new couple lives with the bride’s family after the wedding. It is up to the new husband to take care of his in-laws and to do what he is told by his new mother-in-law. It is also customary for the couple to be given baskets of corn as gifts. The corn symbolizes fertility.

In an Algonquin tribe, the engaged couple selects four sponsors. Sponsors are older individuals who can provide advice and wisdom to the new couple. In traditional tribes divorce is not an acceptable option so the more advice available to the couple, the better prepared they will be. The sponsors make a commitment to the couple at the wedding to promise to provide guidance and support to the couple for life.

Native Americans in Northern California have two types of marriage, the half-marriage, and the full-marriage. A full-marriage occurs when the would-be groom pays the full amount the bride’s family requests. If the groom can only pay half the amount requested, the marriage is considered a half-marriage. The couple then lives with the bride’s family and the groom is under the authority of the bride’s father.

A traditional Native American wedding ceremony that can be used today is the fire ceremony. This tradition involves constructing a circle of stones and seven types of wood. In the center of the circle will sit a large pile of wood. On either side of the woodpile will be two small fires. These fires represent the bride and groom as individuals.  After the ceremonial blessings from the priest and family and friends, the bride and groom will slide each individual fire into the large woodpile to symbolize their new union.

Another popular wedding ceremony is the blanket ceremony. The bride and groom are each wrapped in blue blankets at the beginning of the ceremony. These blankets represent the sorrows the bride and groom have gone through separately. After the marriage is blessed, the blue blankets are removed and the couple is wrapped together in one white blanket to symbolize the act of becoming one.

The seven steps wedding ceremony is also a popular ceremony in Native American culture. This ceremony begins by lighting a sacred fire. The bride and groom then take seven steps around the fire. The groom starts it off with the first step and then says a vow.  The bride responds with a step and recites a vow of her own. Then the groom takes the next step and recites the next vow. It continues in this manner until all seven steps and vows have been completed. Sometimes the couple also exchanges ears of corn or stones to further show their commitment.

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