Discovering Native American Wedding Traditions: a Complete Guide

Native American Wedding Traditions

Native American wedding traditions include dozens of unique customs and ceremonies that reflect their Indian heritage. Since wedding traditions vary due to belonging to a particular clan or tribe, here are 11 most popular wedding traditions that are still being performed at Native American wedding ceremonies.

1 — the Power of Water

Native Americans show high esteem to the power of water. It symbolizes not only purification but also the release from past loves and memories. The first custom says that before the beginning of the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom should wash their hands in order to get exempted from evil, bad memories, and all previous relationships. Another ‘purifying’ custom should be performed only by the bride and it includes her bathing in the holy water on the morning of the wedding day.

2 — Wedding Ceremony Attire

Choosing a perfect wedding dress is always a huge challenge for the bride since the wedding day happens only once in a lifetime. Cherokee Indian wedding traditions request wearing a regalia — a white tear dress and Indian moccasins for the bride while the dress in the ancient times was made from rectangular-pieced fabrics that presented a trademark of their roots. The Cherokee Indian bridegroom is usually required to wear traditional moccasins, red shirt with ribbons, and black pants.

3 — the Role of Music

It’s a fact that music is an inevitable part of every wedding ceremony in any part of the world. The Cherokee nation claims that playing drums and flutes and loud singing will definitely bring love and happiness to the newlyweds. Depending on which tribe they belong to, different spiritual dances are also performed and they include shake dance, round dance, and crow hop or ribbon dance.

4 — Exchanging Rings

Maybe it sounds weird but Native Americans didn’t exchange wedding rings in the ancient times. However, the new trend of wearing rings brought them to the stage of buying metal or sterling silver rings. The bride’s ring must have a turquoise stone while the groom’s should be made with an opal stone.

5 — the Wedding Vase

The wedding vase ceremony is a part of an ancient Native American marriage tradition, which includes drinking water or herbal tea from a double-spouted vase to the glory of the newlywed’s love. Also known as the love potion this custom is still being performed at Cherokee wedding ceremonies in Mexico and in the Southeast U.S. Drinking symbolizes two souls uniting into one. It’s extremely important not to be any spilling while drinking it since the couple who succeed to drink it all is believed to have a blessed life and marriage. After the Cherokee wedding is finished, the vase should be kept in a safe place to be passed through the generations.

6 — the Sacred Fire Tradition

The sacred fire ceremony is also known as the Rite of Seven Steps. It’s believed that the sacred fire will bring love, long life together, and fertility, and it is usually performed in two versions. The first version consists of walking seven times around a sacred fire during exchanging vows. At the end of each circle, the bride and groom should exchange presents that symbolize their love and union. The presents comprise stone-made feathers and corn ears which represent fertility, while stone means strength and feathers — loyalty. Another version of a sacred fire tradition tells that the huge fire circle is made from different stones and woods, with two small fire-circles inside of it. After they are lit, they need to make one large fire circle.

7 — the Native American Wedding Blanket Tradition

By searching through the Cherokee wedding traditions, we’ve discovered that Indians highly respect all joining customs, and the wedding blanket tradition is only one many. All Native Americans believe that if the bride and groom get separately wrapped in blue blankets, they will be free from their previous lives and memories. Traditionally, Cherokee believers also claim that the couple who gets covered in a single white blanket will open a new life chapter filled with love and happiness.

8 — the Native American Feast

Another part that definitely shouldn’t be missed at the Native American wedding party is preparing for the feast. Traditionally, Cherokee feast includes different kinds of vegetables like beans and corns, corn and potato soups, fry bread and deer meat. There should also be served different kinds of forest fruits as well as the wedding cake. In the ancient times, Native Americans used to put food on a blanket. Elderly people eat first and only then the rest of the guests can join them. Since there shouldn’t be any food left at the end of the ceremony, all the food should have been given to guests.

 

The deer meat and corn take important places among Native American wedding ceremony traditions. The deer meat symbolizes the husband’s will for keeping the meat in the household while the corn symbolizes the wife’s will for being a good Cherokee spouse.

9 — the Algonquin Native American Wedding Traditions

The Algonquin clan’s marriage requirements include the couple to have four sponsors at the wedding ceremony. It’s preferable to choose older people that represent the embodiment of wisdom and guidance and can help the newlyweds throughout their lifetime.

10 — the Common Pipe

The common pipe is mostly used at the Algonquin clan wedding ceremonies. Since it’s required to obtain a declaration that the newlyweds have become accepted as a husband and wife, the pipe must be used by each guest at the wedding party.

11 — Hopi and Delaware American Indian Wedding Traditions

Hopi and Delaware tribes are famous for wearing their deerskin skirts and leggings at the wedding ceremony while the bride’s face should be painted with a variety of different bright colors.