Forgot about the wedding...

With all the talk about the storm, I forgot to mention the wedding we watched on the beach earlier this week.

We went out for an evening bike ride and ended up watching a traditional Mayan wedding ceremony. I could hear conch shells being blown and music playing on the beach, so of course I had to investigate further. What we saw on the beach was amazing, probably 100 people all dressed in white, most were barefoot. They were listening to music being playing by a Mariachi band, who were also dressed in white. There were lots of candles and herbs burning. Smoke was pouring into the night sky. When the Shaman arrived we knew we were at a ceremony of some sort. She was dressed in brightly coloured clothes, unlike everyone else in white. It was hard to tell what she was up to because out of respect we kept our distance - unlike one tourist who walked right into the middle of the ceremony taking pictures, wearing only a pair of shorts. Topless overweight hairy men should not crash weddings!

I finally figured out we were at a wedding when the bride arrived in her gorgeous wedding gown. She looked about 16 and so did the groom. The most interesting part of the ceremony was when the bride and groom were taken down to the water and their family and friends made a circle around them, I couldn't see what was going on inside the circle, but it was neat when everyone in attendance around them raised their arms up as if in prayer.



I'd never seen anything like it. When I got home I wanted to learn more about what we'd just experienced so I Googled it. Here's what I found on Google:

The Mayan Wedding Ritual is based in the Maya's connection with the universe and their gods. Which is described in their sacred book the Popol Vuh. The ceremony brings the couple to the four cardinal points (north, south, east and west) to unite them to the feminine Mother Earth and the masculine Cosmic Energy, symbolized by a central sacred candle.

Family and friends circle around the couple and they celebrate the union of the bride and groom by presenting gifts of flowers, music, food and drink. Mayan music with pre-Hispanic instruments and the sacred conch shell is performed before and during the ceremony.

The bride and groom wear simple natural clothing of white or off white. They wear no shoes so they can absorb the energy of the ceremony. It is suggested that family and guests wear natural cloth clothing in white or cream, preferably barefoot, so they can share in the spiritual energy created by the ceremony.

It was all very interesting and I'm glad I got to see it. It seems when you're on vacation in Mexico you never know what you're going to experience next.

Adina