[Aztlan] Modern Lowland Maya Marriage Custom

[Karen Bassie]

 Traditionally, a marriage petition involved the groom's family hiring a 
marriage negotiator to petition the bride's family. The negotiation 
involved numerous visits to the household of the future bride by the 
negotiator and his entourage of assistants to obtain the family's 
consent. Each visit required substantial gifts of cacao, liquor and 
fruit. The numerous petitions could last for over a year so it was not a 
cheap courtship. Then there was a payment of a final bride price in 
cacao beans, and the groom's family supplied the bride with new clothing.
Redfield and Villa Roja indicate that the bride price at Chan Kom 
included two or three silver coins. I would suspect the bride price in 
cacao beans have been replaced over the years by silver coins.