As we enter the
early months of summer many of us are attending or planning weddings which
brings to mind the many customs and traditions practiced by various cultures
surrounding marriage. One of the most basic questions asked is “what is the
most popular month for weddings”?
In Roman mythology the goddess Juno (for whom
June is named) was the protector of women and marriage. In Latin, Junius means
young. June is also the first month of summer in the northern hemisphere and
the month associated with rose blossoms. Roses, especially red roses, are symbolic for
their role in Greek and Roman mythology and the goddess of love, Aphrodite
(Greek)Venus (Roman).
Athenian vase depiction of the procession of a married
couple on the way to their new home.
Ca. 550-530 B.C.
The idea of June
weddings also comes from the Celtic calendar. On the Cross-Quarter Day of
Beltane, or May Day (May 1), young couples would pair off to court for 3 months
and then be wed on the next Cross-Quarter Day (Lammas Day, August 1). Youths
being impatient, the waiting period was shortened to mid-June, and the
popularity of June weddings was ensured.
Marriage and the significant role that women played in
Native American societies of North America were equally important to these
tribes. Creation myths often center around women as do myths relating to food-
the three sisters, and those involving mother nature.
Marriage was necessary for the survival of the tribe
and occurred as early as 12 or 13 years of age. Girls had already learned many
of the skills necessary to operate the household or longhouse. In Delaware and
Iroquois societies, the social organization of a household was matrilineal and
matrilocal. The husband moves into the home (longhouse) of her clan and he
follows the decisions of his wife’s family, especially those of the clan mother
and grandmother. (Kraft)
Matrilineal social organization aids in breaking up
male rivalries and in part keeps order and peace in the village.
Anthropologists have analyzed the organization of matrilineal and patrilineal
societies to understand the dynamics of these communities. In patrilineal
societies which is the order of most households, the man brings a woman into
his family and she accepts his family traditions. Patrilineal groups tend to be
more aggressive internally, arguing amongst themselves with less outward
aggression against others than in a matrilineal society. Matrilineal groups are
often more aggressive towards outsiders, thus better able to expand regionally
than patrilineal groups. (Snow)
The Iroquois tradition of wedding bread “Goniataoakwa”
involved the baking of twenty-four corn cakes.
A young girl’s maternal grandmother presented the bread at the door of
the maternal grandmother of a young man. If the receiving grandmother approves
of the union, she tastes the bread and tells her daughter that her son is to
marry the young girl. Other versions of the
ceremony involve the young woman bringing the cakes to her future mother-in-law
as a symbol of her skill in cooking and in turn she received a food offering of
meat or fruit to give to her mother. An exchange of food and a symbol of the
man providing meat or fruit was a simple ceremony or ritual. Marriage was necessary to ensure that there
was a young man capable of hunting and procuring meat. Women tended the gardens
and harvested food crops but relied on men for hunting and fishing. When the
new bride and her husband joined the family in the longhouse, an addition was
added on to essentially extend the longhouse and provide living space. These
arranged marriages were also important in insuring marriage outside of your
clan.
The concept of marrying from outside of one’s family
lineage is an important tool for survival of the tribe or clan. Marrying
outside of your blood relations was likely a reason for the origin of arranged
marriages by so many cultures. It was,
and is, in modern society considered a taboo to marry within your lineage.
The wedding traditions that have carried over into
modern day can be traced to some of these early practices- approval of the
mother in the selection of a husband or wife, the offering of food,
specifically cakes or bread parallels with our modern wedding cake. The veil is
sometimes associated with the arranged marriage traditions in that the bride
and groom would meet on their wedding day. The veil covered the features of the
bride until the ceremony was complete to insure the groom couldn’t change his
mind. Arranged marriages are still the
practice of some cultures and the use of veils and head coverings is important.
Karakachan (Bulgaria) bride with elaborate veil
Late Woodland cultures were aware of the benefits of
many plants and herbs and would incorporate these into medicine, cooking and
scents to ward off evil spirits. Our
desire to incorporate flowers in wedding ceremonies can again be traced to some
of these early cultural practices. Research into the need for new garments was
not discovered in Late Woodland cultures. However, once exposed to European
practices there does appear to be a desire for new beadwork and moccasins associated
with marriage. A beaded cloth skirt of
the 18th century would have been an appropriate garment for the
occasion. Wedding attire is a cultural preference, but clearly the desire to
look nice and to present yourself to your new spouse is widely practiced.
Delaware beaded moccasins
The common theme among all marriage and wedding traditions
is community. Late Woodland groups
married as part of their social organization to ensure survival of community
and clans. The ancient Greeks and Egyptians placed importance on marriage to
insure the continuation of aristocracy and control. The coming together of
communities to celebrate the union has been depicted in early paintings on
vases and pottery vessels, signifying the importance of these events to
societies. Celebrating life and family
are important in our acceptance of other people, cultures and customs.
We hope you have enjoyed learning about the traditions
of marriage in Woodland culture groups and that it will inspire you to research
your own cultural traditions as they relate to your heritage. Preserving the
past is important in understanding human behavior and predicting how societies
will adapt and change in the future, it begins with us individually and
collectively it spreads to our communities.
References:
Ember, Carol R., Melvin Ember, Cultural Anthropology, Hunter
College of the City University of New York, Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey,1973.
Kraft, Herbert C. , The Lenap-Delaware Indian Heritage: 10,000
B.C. – A.D. 2000, Lenape Books, 2001.
Morgan, Lewis H. League of the Iroquois, Dodd, Mead and
Co.,New York, 1904.
Snow, Dean R., The Peoples of America, The Iroquois.
Cambridge, MA; Blackwell Publishers, 1996.
I've seen those moccasins on the cover of Paul Wallace's "Indians in Pennsylvania." Beautiful!
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