Science

History

Art &
Literature

GIS &
Mapping

Library

Camp Internet History & Social Studies

Marriage

The Maidu had three methods of courtship and marriage that were practiced based on their geographic location. For example, a young man living in the Sacramento Valley would select a woman he wanted for his wife and then send a representative with shell bead money to the parents home. Usually the girl was asked if she consented to this marriage, which was often not a part of other tribe's marriage decision process. If the family favored the marriage, they accepted the beads as a bride payment - sometimes demanded more to meet their satisfaction - and once they appropriate amount of beads had been received, the marriage consent was given.

In the foothills, money did not regularly get passed from the suitor to the parents. He instead made personal visits to the family, engaged the father in general discussions, and then began hunting and fishing for the family, bringing them food. If the young man was accepted by the family, and found worthy as a provider and companion, a small bed was prepared for the daughter and the young man and they began to live together with the parent's consent.

Up in the backcountry, this method of prepayment - whether through money or through hunting - did not take place. Very simply, if a young man found a young woman he would like to marry, he visited her home one evening and they stayed together for the evening talking. If she did not want to marry him, they talked until dawn and then he went home and did not return again. If she did want to marry him, he began living with them that night. Presumably there was enough contact previous to this night to ensure that the young man thought he had a likely chance, but it gave the young woman the ability to make the final choice herself. Then the young man stayed with the family for part of the year, hunting and working for them as a kind of post-marriage bride price.

· Why do you think there were these differences in courtship styles and marriage requirements with in one tribe?

· Which one would you have chosen?

Answer: It is probable that the type of courtship, where the young man presented himself and was examined at varying distances, had to do with the density of population, meaning the number of choices the young woman had. In the valley area where there were many, many young men to choose from, a family needed to filter through the unacceptable men until they found one suitable for their daughter. The act of presenting a bride price with out the suitor being present allows the family to filter through the potential son-in-laws with out having to go through awkward or difficult individual screenings. In the foothills where there was a less sizable number of men to choose from, they had to personally compete for the daughters favor themselves and earn the parents trust and goodwill, as well as the girls acceptance. In the backcountry, where populations were more limited, and survival took a lot more of the villagers attention, there was not time for elaborate screenings, and the number of men to chose from was smaller. In the backcountry the young couples probably had usually already made their mind up before the evening conversation, and if they hadn't, it gave the girl a way to filter out the young men she did not find desirable.