How Does a Native American Wedding Ceremony Go?
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Native American Wedding Ceremony
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A Native American wedding is a meaningful ceremony rich with symbolism and the history of the family's culture. Each tribe has its own traditions that go along with the ceremony and though there are subtle differences between them, the core remains the unchanged. A Native American wedding ceremony is a chance for the bride and groom to honor the land, their community, their families and each other. It illustrates the theory that the bride and groom enter into the ceremony as individuals, but emerge as a unit.
Consult the Elders
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Not only are there differences in traditional ways among tribes; but, each tribe has evolved over the many centuries of its existence. Some customs have been resigned and new ones have been adopted. As a result, it is recommended that you consult a tribal elder before performing any ancient ceremony to make sure you have everything correct and that you will not dishonor or change the meaning of an important symbol.
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The Setting
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The setting of a Native American ceremony is very important. Since many of the culture's important ideals revolve around nature, it is common to have the ceremony outside in nature. Native Americans look to the sky as their father and the earth as their mother. The forest and vegetation around them are there to welcome them. The ceremony itself takes place within a symbolic circle that represents the circle of life or a healing circle. The north end of the circle is where the tribal elders stand. The south end is for the young families. The east side is where the young men of the tribe stand and the west is for past and present warriors.
The Blessings
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Native Americans believe sage is a sacred plant. When burned it is used to bless and purify. A Native American wedding ceremony has many blessings called "sages" to bless the couple, the circle and the families and friends. When the bride and groom enter the circle they are saged. They exchange gifts and vows. Their friends and families have the opportunity to say a blessing and give them a gift as well. Gifts include corn, stones and feathers. These small tokens symbolize fertility, strength and loyalty.
The Blankets
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At the end of the ceremony, blue blankets that have been brought to the bride and groom by their siblings and worn throughout the wedding are removed. These blankets symbolize past tribal sorrows. The blankets are knotted to represent the union of the couple. They are then folded and held by the bride's mother until the marriage is consummated. The couple is wrapped in one white blanket which, again, symbolizes their union. The couple emerges from the circle in the white blanket demonstrating their rebirth as one into the tribal community.
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Resources
- Photo Credit http://www.homeontherange.ca/tours_weddings_native_american.html, http://www.centralcoast.com/weddings/article_nativeAmerican.html, http://www.centralcoast.com/weddings/article_nativeAmerican.html, http://www.joannebird.com/viewprint.php?id=18, http://www
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Comments
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venusiangirl
Dec 05, 2009
A little pissed off at the white man, eh? If people are interested in finding out about a certain culture, or adopting a part of a certain culture into their own life for what ever the reason, that's their perogative. If people like you weren't so stingy about your sacred traditions, even traditions in general, then you wouldn't set yourself up for becoming a stereotype. If you would be glad to share information about your tribe, your traditions, and what you hold sacred; then you probably wouldn't have been pissed off about this web site. If they had the right information, then they obviously would have posted that up. Tell me, oh Sammyshirt pissypants, what do you do if a Native American, who is a part of your tribe, decides to marry a white man or woman? What if they wanted to do it according to their Native American tradition? Hmmm?
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sammyshirt
Nov 30, 2009
Geez, maybe you should start out being a Native first, yah. Who are these fricking white people who feel comfortable putting stuff up about us and what they make up as "Indian ways"? Most of what you put up there isn't typical of like more than 60% of NDN tradishion, we are ALL DIFFRENT NATIONS, not some generic Native Amerrican Danceswithwolves melting pot. I don't even know why it OCCURS to you to pretend some authourity on this stuff. Blonde Media consultant does not = authourity on First Nations culture. And we don't want you people prancing around wrapped in blue blankets spreading a stereotyping lie about us. Leave our stuff alone. You stole enough already. Real NDNs don't need to look up eHow to know how to get married in our tradish. Ick. I feel tainted just reading this crap. p.s. A REAL tribal elder won't tell you SQUAT about our sacred stuff.
