One important way in which marriages were arranged was infant betrothal. Usually this was between a young girl and an older man. A man's first marriage would not necessarily fall into this category: his first wife might well be an older widow. A girl could be betrothed either as a potential mother-in-law or as a wife.
Aboriginal customary marriage, as Professor Berndt puts it, "is not just a union between two individual persons, but the linking together of two families in a special kind of relationship" (1962: 335).
Both the bride and groom throw a rock into a body of water in order to seal their wedding. This also replaces the traditional exchanging of wedding rings we've come to expect from modern weddings. The newlyweds cast a stone into a body of water, like a river, lake, or ocean.
Initiation Ceremony. A very important event in the life of a young male Aboriginal is the which makes him an adult man, and is performed at the first signs of puberty. These initiation ceremonies consist of circumcision and the incision of scars on his chest, shoulders, arms and buttocks.
One of the cultures that is still preserved in indigenous community is marriage. Marriage for indigenous community like Karo was not just marrying off the bride and groom, but has a deeper social meaning, namely marrying into a large family of both parties.
Relationships sustain us, and when it comes to Indigenous peoples, relationships and responsibility go hand in hand. Like responsibility, relationships involve mutual respect, accountability, and reciprocity. Relationships are about togetherness, team-building, nurturing, sharing, strength, and love.
Within Aboriginal communities, kinship networks are based on relationships of blood, marriage, association and spiritual significance. An Aboriginal person has brothers, sisters, mother, fathers, uncles and aunts, who are additional to relationships by blood or marriage.
Corroborees/Rituals
Ceremonies including corroborees and rituals, are held frequently and for many different reasons. These include mythological (Dreamtime) stories outside of initiation and within, secret events at sacred sites, home comings, births and deaths.
These ceremonies provide structures for instruction in traditional knowledge, but, more important, they reintegrate an individual into kin, community, and cosmos when new status is attained. Ceremonial initiation into adulthood is widely practiced among South American peoples, for both males and females.
Smoking ceremonies have been performed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for thousands of years to cleanse people and places of bad spirits and to treat sickness.
You might be aware that the bride's family is expected to cover the majority of the wedding day costs, while the groom's family pays for a variety of extra activities, like the rehearsal dinner and the honeymoon.
Traditionally, the bride's family pays for the wedding, but that custom is rapidly changing. Couples are increasingly choosing to handle at least half of the wedding expenses on their own. Early planning and a written budget can help avoid miscommunication when deciding who pays for what.
Bride's Parents and/or Family Members
If you're going the very traditional route, the answer to the question “who pays for the wedding?” is “the bride's family.” But you'll see that even in traditional roles, the bride's family doesn't actually pay for everything—but they're definitely a big part of the equation.
For a Customary Marriage to be valid, the following requirements must be fulfilled: Consent of Parents and guardian of the bride and Consent between the parties to marry each other. This consent must be given before celebration of the Marriage.
the primary established form of marriage recognized in a given country or religious or social group at a given time: In that culture, traditional marriage requires the families of the future bride and groom to engage in ritual visits and exchange gifts.
Traditional marriage in Nigeria involves four main parts namely, (1) Introduction, (2) Family requirement, (3) Taking a date and (4) Bride price payment and handing over of the bride.
The cultural practice of male initiation involves circumcision. Male initiation prepares young men to be responsible men in society.
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is 'reborn' into a new role.
In some cultures the crossover from childhood to adulthood is marked by a biological change, while for others it is more of a social occurrence. In some non-Western societies, 'coming of age' occurs at a particular age with traditional initiation ceremonies that may include male circumcision and female genital cutting.
Subincision of the penis is a traditional ritual mutilation unique to the Aborigines, the indigenous people of Australia. The mutilation is a urethrotomy in which the undersurface of the penis is incised and the urethra slit open lengthwise. Subincision is one element in the initiation of Aboriginal youths.
Different Indigenous nations have their own religious institutions and sacred practices. Many Plains Indigenous peoples participate in the Sun Dance, while Coast Salish peoples typically engage in sacred winter ceremonies. The Haudenosaunee celebrate the Green Corn Ceremony, and some follow the False Face Society.
Aboriginal spiritual beliefs are intimately associated with the land Aboriginal people live on. It is 'geosophical' (earth-centred) and not 'theosophical' (God-centred). The earth, their country, is "impregnated with the power of the Ancestor Spirits" which Aboriginal people draw upon.
Perhaps the most important difference between Aboriginal marriage patterns and those of white Australia is that the marriage is not seen as a contract between individuals but rather as one which implicates both kin and country men of the parties involved.
Doing your family history may help you obtain proof of your heritage. You might find a birth, death or marriage record that traces your family to a particular Aboriginal station or reserve. Or you might have oral history stories that can connect you to a particular area or person or photograph.