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Marriage

It was common practice to be married off young so parents could see their children succeed. During this time, the expectancy was to live a shorter life than today. The father of the bride took on the job of finding a good provider for her future. The father only cared about finding a groom that was financially fit in order to take care of his daughter. It was taught that after the daughter were to marry she would take on her new journey as a married woman and learn. Sometimes this transition wasn't smooth sailing and could cause abuse within the marriage. Within the first year of marriage, both the mother and child could die due to the young age of these women giving birth and poor practices with cleanliness and nutrition. This was the downside of sending a daughter to get married at a younger age. Usually, daughters were married from oldest to youngest. They had to be well-rounded, respectable, virgin women that had a dowry to offer.

The families took charge of deciding who was getting married to who. This usually happened between other family members. The rich married with other rich whether part of their own family or another rich family.

Weddings were made of special components. The bride was led throughout the wedding by being dressed and being taken by the man with a ring. She was not actually participating in the wedding although its considered the most important thing in her life because she had been taught about it since a young age. She does get to participate in a ritual bath. This signifies her purity. The women of her family get to attend the bath and assist the bride getting dressed. Throughout the ritual bath, songs are played which praise the bride.

After the couple was wedded, they were to move in with the groom's family which could cause a lot of tension. The women in the family would fight and could ultimately lead to a divorce.

Family Life

Growing up, girls had to learn how to cook and take care of the home. If she did not know, she would embarrass her family and reflect bad upon her mother who was suppose to teach her all of these things. Women were always cooking. They would spend majority of their time doing this. A woman had to present her self as a "nikuchira" or good housewife by taking care of the home and humbling herself. She would not cause conflict and would take care of chores in order to earn this title. Many chores were done in a public. These women had to share ovens, courtyards and other amenities. Women were expected to treat their husbands like royalty. She had to live up to this or she would be left behind and her husband would be on to the next wife.

Women's status were the weaker sex and they had to be protect by men. They were also seen as objects who tempt men and had to be toned down. If women owned property their husbands would take care of it. They got full freedom when they became widows.

Pregnancy

In the middle of a woman's pregnancy, a cortar fashdura, or diaper-preparation ceremony occured. Only women attended. The birth of a daughter would be sad because the family would now have to provide a dowry. The birth of a daughter also came with a fadamiento ceremony where the daughter would be named. A son being born would go through a circumcision ceremony. The people that attended would light candles to signify the daughters success in life.