Wedding Ceremony

A Note on Legal Authority

Weddings in the Religion of Shabuwa are conducted under the same legal recognition given to “ethnic weddings.” When the very first wedding was performed, Navajo elders from Twisted Water village in Arizona traveled up with a group of attendees, went with the minister to the county attorney’s office, and formally presented the elements of righteousness needed to conduct Navajo weddings — establishing his authority on the spot. Every wedding performed since has carried that same authority. The ceremony itself is patterned after the worship Anokeesed conducted with the first parents in Eden, which turns out to share a great deal in common with Navajo wedding customs.

Arrival

The minister and groom enter first — the groom doesn’t sit on the wedding seat, choosing a nearby rock instead if one’s available. Groomsmen follow, then the groom’s family and friends, mother first. A runner is sent to the bride with a wedding feather and a yellow rose, inviting her to come; she makes her final decision there, either sending the feather back to call off the wedding or wearing it to accept. She then enters carrying a basket and kelly bread, and takes the wedding seat. Her father follows with two buckets of water, three-quarters full, set near the groom; her attendants come next, then her own family and friends, mother first, carrying the wedding ree to place with the bread in the basket.

Opening

A groomsman offers the opening prayer, blessing the altar with a sending fan and corn. The minister welcomes everyone and explains the ceremony’s practical elements — that marriage isn’t for show, that the father isn’t “giving away” his daughter, and the relevant legal standing of the ceremony. A sacred fire is lit with a cattail spindle. The minister speaks to the congregation about marriage and walks through the meaning of the Marriage Song. The groom then states his responsibility and determination, quoting the closing lines of Enoch 5:101, and leads the Marriage Song himself.

Seating the Couple

The minister takes the groom by the hand around the altar and seats him on the south side of the bride upon the bedding — a woman never shares a bed with any man, including her own father or brothers, before her wedding day. The couple faces east. Their hair is tied: the groom’s first, gathered into one bunch marking his unmarried days; the bride’s next, into two bunches marking her own. Crowns follow — four-braided prairie cordgrass, the groom’s topped with an upright evening primrose, the bride’s with a hanging great lobelia.

The Minister’s Counsel

The minister speaks to the couple about marriage as the most sacred thing in this faith — how the Eerkodeshiy come to recognize them by it — counseling trust in the Lord and pointing them to His own marriage counsel (quoting Enoch 12:106, 12:111-112, 12:119-124, 12:126-130, and 5:112-113).

The Marrying Acts

Their cheeks are painted with a thin red line using a small yucca brush. Their feet are washed to wash away the days of walking alone, patted dry with the wedding ree, and the water carried outside. Then, in the act that actually marries them, the bride and groom drink water from each other’s cupped hands. Their hands are patted with the ree as well, which is laid beside the basket, and the couple is reseated. Their feet and hands are anointed with cattail pollen, quoting Enoch 5:68. Their hair is retied into married style, and the bride’s feather is moved — hair ties exchanged between them, along with rings if they have them.

Breaking the Bread

The kelly bread’s top is removed, pollen placed on it in a set pattern, and a toothpick marks the original east side. If the couple has had no prior sexual contact, the basket is turned 180 degrees so east now faces west. Vows are exchanged, the groom first, beginning at the toothpick mark. The bread is reassembled carefully, aligned by the same mark, and the congregation shares in eating it while the couple stands holding the basket. The minister finishes whatever bread remains — none is left over.

Washing and Blessing

Heated water — mint, soapwort or yucca root added — is brought in, and the bride and groom wash each other’s hair and faces, a Passage Song or similar walking-in-holiness song sung to drums as the paint comes off. An elder or older couple may offer an optional blessing prayer. The minister then paints a thin white line at the corners of their mouths, marking harmony and lovingkindness in all that will be spoken in their new home. The highest-inscribed woman in the community gifts them flat bread — a ten-inch peach crepe — which they share together, a gesture of the whole community’s care for them. The congregation offers advice, recorded by scribes, and the couple prays together over the altar, hands raised in glory over cedar smoke, while the minister closes in prayer with their linked hands held in Harari smoke.

Departure

The groom’s mother and the bride’s mother exit first, followed by the congregation, then ushers collecting programs, with the bride and groom leaving last. The couple stays overnight in the church itself, and abstains from sexual activity for twenty-two days afterward — an offering to the Lord that any children born of the marriage will be raised up as His own treasure.

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