r Courtship and Marriage Among the Hopi Courtship and marriage customs among the Hopi Indians of the southwestern United States are quite different from those of the dominant U.S. calture. Cee aes ea mete by te jyoung couple, the boy goes in the evening after supper 16 the girs house and there sities his intentions to her parents. If he is accept- able, be is tokl to go home and tell his parents about it The girl then grinds commeal or makes bread, and earties it to the house of her tive groom, At this time the mother of the boy may refuse the bread or meal, in which ease the maich is usually broken off. l, however, the food is ac- cepted, it is given hy the mother to her brothers and to her husband's clansmen, and the wedding pplans go forward. ‘After this event the girl retums home to geind ‘more meal with the help of her kinswomen, while the boy fetches water and chops wood for his ‘mother In the after these: chores are com- pleted, the tyride dresses in her manta beads and her wedding, blanket. Acc 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 aid settles down for a temporary three-day siay before the wede using: this: period the ‘couple may see each oches, but they (do not become intimaiel. ‘At some time during the three-day period the groom's house is visited, or “attacked,” by his pa- temal atints, who freak in on the brie and shower ber with [abusive languagel and often with mud. They accuse heer of laziness, inefficiency, and stupidity. The boy’s mother and her clanswomen protect the gid and insist that the accusations are unfounded. In spite of appearances all this is cas- ried off in a goodshumored way, and finally the aunts leave, having siolen the wood their nephew had brought his mother. The wood is used to hate pil, Which is given to the mother, and thus all damages dre paid for ‘On the morning of the fourth day the marriage is consummated. Gn this occasion the git’ ela- tives wash the boy’s hair and bathe him, while the boy's relatives do the same for the gitl. The couple may now sleep together as man and wife, bur they remain at the boy's mother’s house ntl the gis's ‘wedding garments are complete. These garments fare woven by the groom, his male relatives, and any men in the village who wish to panicipate. Seure: Suan A. Queen and ober WW Habemsiein, The Farnby it Various Culture, ts ex (Phladelphi Lppineat, 1974, pp. 555, 358. Copyright 1952, © 1961, 1967, 1974 by FB. Lippincoe Company.) Reprinted by permisunn of Harper & Row, Pubsishers Thinking it Over —m 1. What do you think the staged “fight” with the groom's aunts signifies? 2. What are some of the advantages Hopi society gins by following these wedding customs