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"Native American Ways of Saying...I Love You!"

Sheth she~n zho~n - Apache
gvgeyvi - Cherokee
Ne mohotatse - Cheyenne
Chiholloli - Chickasaw
Nu' umi unangw' ta - Hopi
Konoronhkwa - Mohawk
Ayor anosh'ni - Navaho
Techihhila - Sioux
Tom ho' ichema - Zuni


A Traditional Cherokee Wedding

The groom enters one end of the council house and the bride the other. The couple then meets in the center by the sacred fire. The priest faces east as does the door of the council house. The groom's mother stands by him and the bride's mother beside her. She holds the bride's gifts of corn bread and a blanket. The bride's brother stands beside their mother symbolizing his responsibility to his sister and her children. The bride and groom wear blue blankets representing their old ways and life. The priest blesses the fire and the union of the two. He asks for a long and happy life for them. It is custom for the bride to give the groom a red and black belt she has made, but any gift of the heart will do. The mothers give gifts to their children who exchange gifts with each other. They join together their blankets symbolizing their mutual support within the marriage. Then each drink a corn drink from a double-sided wedding vase. They drink from east to west then from north to south giving their blessings and respect to the earth and all her creatures. The vase is thrown down upon the earth and broken to seal their wedding vows of now being united as one. The broken fragments are then returned to Mother Earth. A white blanket is placed around the shoulders of the couple symbolizing their union. The bride then holds the basket of bread, the groom the basket of meat and those in attendance take a piece of bread and meat as a sign of their approval. Following this, a feast is held for the entire gathering.


"Native American Marriage Ritual"

When the earth was first made, all things were present, but people saw only their isolation from one another and from the mountains and rivers that had created them. For a long time, each creature followed a separate path, until the first man looked at the first woman and envisioned an unity not seen before. From their love, happiness was created and a thread soon connected man to woman, stars to trees, and the tongue of the ocean to the thrust of the rock. Some called it nature, others called it the plan of the universe. But between men and women arose a bond of love, unbroken to the present day.