Page 386 - Sociology and You

356 Unit 4 Social Institutions
Another Time
Courtship and marriage customs among the Hopi Indians of the southwestern United States are quite different from those of the dominant U.S. culture.
Once the decision to marry is made by the young couple, the boy goes in the evening after supper to the girl’s house and there
states his intentions to her parents. If he is accept- able, he is told to go home and tell his parents about it. The girl then grinds cornmeal or makes bread, and carries it to the house of her prospec- tive groom. At this time the mother of the boy may refuse the bread or meal, in which case the match is usually broken off. If, however, the food is ac- cepted, it is given by the mother to her brothers and to her husband’s clansmen, and the wedding plans go forward.
After this event the girl returns home to grind more meal with the help of her kinswomen, while the boy fetches water and chops wood for his mother. In the evening after these chores are com- pleted, the bride dresses in her manta beads and
Contemporary Hopi Indians play traditional roles during a formal ceremony.
her wedding blanket. Accompanied by the boy, who carries the meal she has ground, she walks barefoot to his house. There she presents the meal to her prospective mother-in-law and settles down for a temporary three-day stay before the wed- ding. During this period the young couple may see each other, but they [do not become intimate].
At some time during the three-day period the groom’s house is visited, or “attacked,” by his pa- ternal aunts, who break in on the bride and shower her with [abusive language] and often with mud. They accuse her of laziness, inefficiency, and stupidity. The boy’s mother and her clanswomen protect the girl and insist that the accusations are unfounded. In spite of appearances all this is car- ried off in a good-humored way, and finally the aunts leave, having stolen the wood their nephew had brought his mother. The wood is used to bake piki, which is given to the mother, and thus all damages are paid for.
On the morning of the fourth day the marriage is consummated. On this occasion the girl’s rela- tives wash the boy’s hair and bathe him, while the boy’s relatives do the same for the girl. The couple may now sleep together as man and wife, but they remain at the boy’s mother’s house until the girl’s wedding garments are complete. These garments are woven by the groom, his male relatives, and any men in the village who wish to participate.
Source: Stuart A. Queen and Robert W. Habenstein, The Family in Various Cultures, 4th ed. (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1974, pp. 54–55, 56–58. Copyright 1952,
© 1961, 1967, 1974 by J.B. Lippincott Company.) Reprinted by permission of Harper & Row, Publishers.
Thinking It Over
1. What do you think the staged “fight” with the groom’s aunts signifies?
2. What are some of the advantages Hopi society gains by following these wedding customs?
Courtship and Marriage Among the Hopi