Hopi Indian Marriage Practices
Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
1
Different Marriage Practices
By Jobi Yeary
Cultural Anthropology 101
Instructor Sarah Council
08/17/14
[no notes on this page]
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Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
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In this paper I am going to show the difference in two cultures with their marriage practices. It amazes me how you can have so many different types of marriage rituals in the world today. The two cultures I picked were the Oraibi (Hopi) Indians and the Hindu. I will demonstrate how completely different these cultures view marriage practices.
We’ll start with the Oraibi culture as it was once known. Today they are known as the
Hopi Indians which is part of my own heritage. The Hopi Indians believe that those that …show more content…
are to be married should be able to choose their own partners. They allow their children to grow and get to know others of their tribe and in the end develop feelings for one another.
Once they have decided that they want to be a couple they inform their families. After they have courted for a while and have decided it is time to marry they will again inform the parents or if the parents are passed on they will go to the next heads of the house (Voth, H.R 1900).
The bride-to-be when she has chosen it is time to marry the mother will take the daughters hair down and tie it in knots on either side of her head. They will take a tray with some white corn on it to the soon to be husbands home. The mother will call out “Take this”. The mother of the husband will answer the door and say “Thank you” and either “Come in” or “Sit down”. At this point the daughter comes in and stays while her mother goes home.
Now the bride-to-be is called “Μοvi” and according to the time of day will determine what happens next. If she comes to the mother-in-law in the morning then she will spend the rest of the morning and afternoon grinding white corn. If she comes at night then she will spend the night with the females of the family and begin grinding the white corn in the morning. Once evening comes she will then begin to fold skins and blankets. During this time the Movi …show more content…
usually wears a white ceremonial blanket with either red or blue trimming. While they go through the
[no notes on this page]
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Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
3
betrothal ritual the Movi is not expected to speak much or be spoken to. They continue with the same grinding of the white corn and folding skins and blankets the next day. On the third day they switch to blue/black corn. In the evening of this day the Movi’s girl friends bring trays of cornmeal to the house of the latter.
The fourth morning the trays are filled with ears of corn and returned to the mother-inlaw of the bride. They consider the fourth day the wedding day proper. Before dawn on this day both mother’s and the Movi awaken. All the female relations bring vessels of water to add to a pot that is warming. They add yucca roots called mohu to some of the water. The groom kneels in front of the bride’s mother and the Movi in front of the groom’s mother. The mother’s then begin to wash their hair. While they do this the girls of the village try to playfully take the brides place. Once they are all wrangled away and the hair has been washed the females take the small vessels and begin rinsing the hair. Now the bride and groom move to the fire to dry. Once they are dry they both take a pinch of cornmeal and walk to the eastern side of the mesa where the pueblo of the Oraibi is located. They stand close to the edge and hold the meal close to their lips and say a prayer. They then sprinkle it toward the dawn. Once they return to the house they are considered married. This is to symbolize their future flowing together.
Then we go to the opposite side of the world to look at the rituals of the Hindu. The big difference here is that most of these marriages are arranged. There is no getting to know the person you will spend your life with or falling in love. “Historically, all Hindu marriages were premised upon similarity of social standing, which often included the caste, class, religion, and education of the prospective couple (Chawla, D 2007 Vol 30, No. 1, Pg 6 )
In earlier times the marriages were arranged using intermediaries called sambhalas or matchmakers. They would keep track of the genealogy of the family to make sure they were not
[no notes on this page]
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Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
4
related from five to seven generations. The criteria has stretched as time has gone on to now include such things as kin; parents and relatives; caste; social structure; moral value compatibility; academic compatibility; occupational compatibility; the family’s moral history; and horoscope compatibility (Chawla, D 2007). Over the last couple decades the parents have started looking for matches in newspaper, magazine and internet ads. There are matrimonial websites now that couples are meeting on but they still don’t have the last say. The parents still control who they meet and if they feel it is a good match.
There are eight different types of Hindu Marriage. Four of these types are appropriate and more common. Brahma is the most appropriate and the most used. The father finds an educated man and offers his daughter for marriage. Daiva is where the father gives away the daughter along with ornaments to a priest as a sacrifice fee. This was an ancient ritual in the times when
Yajna sacrifices were prevalent. Arsha is the type where the groom gives a cow and a bull to the father of the bride and the father exchanges his daughter in marriage. Prajapatya is where the couple agrees to marry by exchanging some Sanskrit Mantras (vows to one another). This is akin to a civil ceremony (Prinjan, Nawal 2009).
The last four has two that are inappropriate but still considered acceptable where the last two are forbidden but the children from these two are considered legitimate. Grandharva is where the couple lived together out of love by mutual consent. They consummate the marriage consensually and are basically married by the same way Western civilization consider a couple to be common law married. Asura is where the groom offers a dowry to the father of the bride and the bride. Both parties agree of free will. This is not appropriate to Hindu Smrit-writers because of greed and not in the best interest of the daughter. Rakshasa is where the groom forcibly abducts the bride against her and her family’s wishes. The word Rakshasa means Devil. The last
[no notes on this page]
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Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
5
one is called Paishacha and is where the man forces himself on a woman while she is drugged, drunken or unconscious.
There are two kinds of marriage ritual. Vedic Marriage is basically most marriages where
Gandharva Vivaha or Kanthi-badal is a marriage of love. In all the rituals the bride uses a
Sindooram which is a red or orange-red cosmetic powder to mark along her hair line or dot her forehead. They also wear a Mangala Sutra which is a necklace that the grooms ties around the brides neck to symbolize that she is married. One last item is the bangles. It is stated that the bride will usually wear glass bangles and once the last bangle breaks the honeymoon is over.
Hindu weddings can be very expensive and are usually paid for by the parents. The common middle to upper class wedding can have up to 500 guests. They will have a live instrumental band and will serve food of many delicacies. Some celebrations can last as long as a week. There are several rituals that take place for the marriage to happen.
Kanyadaan is where the father gives away his daughter to the groom. He places his daughters hand in the soon to be grooms and vows are exchanged where the groom promises to not fail his wife in a moral/lawful life, wealth and love. Panigrahana is where the groom
takes the brides hand in his while she sits in front of him with her face to the east. He faces west and announces his acceptance of duties to for deities. Saptapadi which is Sanskrit for Seven Steps is the last ritual in the wedding ceremony. Couples conduct seven circuits of the Holy Fire (Agni a
Hindu Deity) who is the witness to the vows made to one another. A sash or piece of clothing is tied together while each leads the other in the different circuits. Each circuit is either led by the bride or the groom varying on community or region, except for North India where the bride leads in the first six circuits and the groom in the last. Each circuit the couple makes a specific vow to establish some aspect of a happy relationship and household to one another (Prinjan, Nawal 2009).
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Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
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These are two such different cultures and different ways of how they go about marriage practices. It is fascinating to see how things can be so different. One culture allows for love to determine who marries who and the other is controlled by the parents or elders of the family. One marries because they want to and the other marries out of obligation and duty. Although the
Hindu do have some rituals that allows for the couple to marry for love most of them fall under the obligation of the parents to follow the traditions of arranged marriages. I personally will never understand arranged marriages since I believe if you are going to spend your life with someone shouldn’t it be someone you at least know and get along with? Some cultures today put too much pressure on their children to follow the old ways. Keeping tradition alive is not a bad thing but not to the point of making each generation possibly miserable.
[no notes on this page]
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Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
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Bibliography:
Chawla, Devika, / Will Speak Out: Narratives of Resistance in Contemporary Indian Women 's
Discourses in Hindu Arranged Marriages, Women and Language, Vol. 30, No. 1, Pg. 5
Prinja, Nawal, Hinduism & Weddings, BBC News August 24, 2009
Titiev, Mischa, The Problem of Cross-Cousin Marriage Among the Hopi, American
Anthropologist, Vol 40 No 1 Jan-Mar 1938
Voth, H.R., Oraibi Marriage Customs, American Anthropologist Vol 2, Issue 2, P238-246 June
1900
[no notes on this page]
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1
Different Marriage Practices
By Jobi Yeary
Cultural Anthropology 101
Instructor Sarah Council
08/17/14
[no notes on this page]
-1-
Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
2
In this paper I am going to show the difference in two cultures with their marriage practices. It amazes me how you can have so many different types of marriage rituals in the world today. The two cultures I picked were the Oraibi (Hopi) Indians and the Hindu. I will demonstrate how completely different these cultures view marriage practices.
We’ll start with the Oraibi culture as it was once known. Today they are known as the
Hopi Indians which is part of my own heritage. The Hopi Indians believe that those that …show more content…
are to be married should be able to choose their own partners. They allow their children to grow and get to know others of their tribe and in the end develop feelings for one another.
Once they have decided that they want to be a couple they inform their families. After they have courted for a while and have decided it is time to marry they will again inform the parents or if the parents are passed on they will go to the next heads of the house (Voth, H.R 1900).
The bride-to-be when she has chosen it is time to marry the mother will take the daughters hair down and tie it in knots on either side of her head. They will take a tray with some white corn on it to the soon to be husbands home. The mother will call out “Take this”. The mother of the husband will answer the door and say “Thank you” and either “Come in” or “Sit down”. At this point the daughter comes in and stays while her mother goes home.
Now the bride-to-be is called “Μοvi” and according to the time of day will determine what happens next. If she comes to the mother-in-law in the morning then she will spend the rest of the morning and afternoon grinding white corn. If she comes at night then she will spend the night with the females of the family and begin grinding the white corn in the morning. Once evening comes she will then begin to fold skins and blankets. During this time the Movi …show more content…
usually wears a white ceremonial blanket with either red or blue trimming. While they go through the
[no notes on this page]
-2-
Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
3
betrothal ritual the Movi is not expected to speak much or be spoken to. They continue with the same grinding of the white corn and folding skins and blankets the next day. On the third day they switch to blue/black corn. In the evening of this day the Movi’s girl friends bring trays of cornmeal to the house of the latter.
The fourth morning the trays are filled with ears of corn and returned to the mother-inlaw of the bride. They consider the fourth day the wedding day proper. Before dawn on this day both mother’s and the Movi awaken. All the female relations bring vessels of water to add to a pot that is warming. They add yucca roots called mohu to some of the water. The groom kneels in front of the bride’s mother and the Movi in front of the groom’s mother. The mother’s then begin to wash their hair. While they do this the girls of the village try to playfully take the brides place. Once they are all wrangled away and the hair has been washed the females take the small vessels and begin rinsing the hair. Now the bride and groom move to the fire to dry. Once they are dry they both take a pinch of cornmeal and walk to the eastern side of the mesa where the pueblo of the Oraibi is located. They stand close to the edge and hold the meal close to their lips and say a prayer. They then sprinkle it toward the dawn. Once they return to the house they are considered married. This is to symbolize their future flowing together.
Then we go to the opposite side of the world to look at the rituals of the Hindu. The big difference here is that most of these marriages are arranged. There is no getting to know the person you will spend your life with or falling in love. “Historically, all Hindu marriages were premised upon similarity of social standing, which often included the caste, class, religion, and education of the prospective couple (Chawla, D 2007 Vol 30, No. 1, Pg 6 )
In earlier times the marriages were arranged using intermediaries called sambhalas or matchmakers. They would keep track of the genealogy of the family to make sure they were not
[no notes on this page]
-3-
Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
4
related from five to seven generations. The criteria has stretched as time has gone on to now include such things as kin; parents and relatives; caste; social structure; moral value compatibility; academic compatibility; occupational compatibility; the family’s moral history; and horoscope compatibility (Chawla, D 2007). Over the last couple decades the parents have started looking for matches in newspaper, magazine and internet ads. There are matrimonial websites now that couples are meeting on but they still don’t have the last say. The parents still control who they meet and if they feel it is a good match.
There are eight different types of Hindu Marriage. Four of these types are appropriate and more common. Brahma is the most appropriate and the most used. The father finds an educated man and offers his daughter for marriage. Daiva is where the father gives away the daughter along with ornaments to a priest as a sacrifice fee. This was an ancient ritual in the times when
Yajna sacrifices were prevalent. Arsha is the type where the groom gives a cow and a bull to the father of the bride and the father exchanges his daughter in marriage. Prajapatya is where the couple agrees to marry by exchanging some Sanskrit Mantras (vows to one another). This is akin to a civil ceremony (Prinjan, Nawal 2009).
The last four has two that are inappropriate but still considered acceptable where the last two are forbidden but the children from these two are considered legitimate. Grandharva is where the couple lived together out of love by mutual consent. They consummate the marriage consensually and are basically married by the same way Western civilization consider a couple to be common law married. Asura is where the groom offers a dowry to the father of the bride and the bride. Both parties agree of free will. This is not appropriate to Hindu Smrit-writers because of greed and not in the best interest of the daughter. Rakshasa is where the groom forcibly abducts the bride against her and her family’s wishes. The word Rakshasa means Devil. The last
[no notes on this page]
-4-
Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
5
one is called Paishacha and is where the man forces himself on a woman while she is drugged, drunken or unconscious.
There are two kinds of marriage ritual. Vedic Marriage is basically most marriages where
Gandharva Vivaha or Kanthi-badal is a marriage of love. In all the rituals the bride uses a
Sindooram which is a red or orange-red cosmetic powder to mark along her hair line or dot her forehead. They also wear a Mangala Sutra which is a necklace that the grooms ties around the brides neck to symbolize that she is married. One last item is the bangles. It is stated that the bride will usually wear glass bangles and once the last bangle breaks the honeymoon is over.
Hindu weddings can be very expensive and are usually paid for by the parents. The common middle to upper class wedding can have up to 500 guests. They will have a live instrumental band and will serve food of many delicacies. Some celebrations can last as long as a week. There are several rituals that take place for the marriage to happen.
Kanyadaan is where the father gives away his daughter to the groom. He places his daughters hand in the soon to be grooms and vows are exchanged where the groom promises to not fail his wife in a moral/lawful life, wealth and love. Panigrahana is where the groom
takes the brides hand in his while she sits in front of him with her face to the east. He faces west and announces his acceptance of duties to for deities. Saptapadi which is Sanskrit for Seven Steps is the last ritual in the wedding ceremony. Couples conduct seven circuits of the Holy Fire (Agni a
Hindu Deity) who is the witness to the vows made to one another. A sash or piece of clothing is tied together while each leads the other in the different circuits. Each circuit is either led by the bride or the groom varying on community or region, except for North India where the bride leads in the first six circuits and the groom in the last. Each circuit the couple makes a specific vow to establish some aspect of a happy relationship and household to one another (Prinjan, Nawal 2009).
[no notes on this page]
-5-
Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
6
These are two such different cultures and different ways of how they go about marriage practices. It is fascinating to see how things can be so different. One culture allows for love to determine who marries who and the other is controlled by the parents or elders of the family. One marries because they want to and the other marries out of obligation and duty. Although the
Hindu do have some rituals that allows for the couple to marry for love most of them fall under the obligation of the parents to follow the traditions of arranged marriages. I personally will never understand arranged marriages since I believe if you are going to spend your life with someone shouldn’t it be someone you at least know and get along with? Some cultures today put too much pressure on their children to follow the old ways. Keeping tradition alive is not a bad thing but not to the point of making each generation possibly miserable.
[no notes on this page]
-6-
Running head: MARRIAGE PRACTICES
7
Bibliography:
Chawla, Devika, / Will Speak Out: Narratives of Resistance in Contemporary Indian Women 's
Discourses in Hindu Arranged Marriages, Women and Language, Vol. 30, No. 1, Pg. 5
Prinja, Nawal, Hinduism & Weddings, BBC News August 24, 2009
Titiev, Mischa, The Problem of Cross-Cousin Marriage Among the Hopi, American
Anthropologist, Vol 40 No 1 Jan-Mar 1938
Voth, H.R., Oraibi Marriage Customs, American Anthropologist Vol 2, Issue 2, P238-246 June
1900
[no notes on this page]
-7-