THE FIRST MARRIAGE RITES

The earliest weddings were very different from our idea of marriage today. Our ancestors came together for protection and survival rather than meaningful relationships. Since there was safety in numbers, primitive people formed tribes to which they were very loyal. Some historians believe that the first marriages may have actually been group weddings- marriage to the tribe.

Since many tribes had rules forbidding intermarriage within a clan, women were kidnapped and forced to marry the strangers who captured them. Historians often refer to this period in time as the "marriage by capture" era.

Although some brides were kidnapped, marriage by purchase was the preferred method of obtaining a wife. The Anglo-Saxon word "wedd" meant that the groom would vow to marry the woman, but it also preferred to the bride price to be paid by the groom to the bride's father. The root of the word "wedding" literally means to gamble or wager.

... to be continued