Indian Wedding in Sparkleberry

I was honored to be invited to join in as a photographer for an Indian wedding in Sparkleberry. It was described as being also a mini pow-wow. As a British man, I just didn't know what to expect and didn't know quite what a pow-wow was but I turned up, camera in hand ready to record the proceedings.

When I arrived, there were a lot of people already present. It was a blisteringly hot day with not a cloud in the sky. There was a TV crew in attendance with the cameraman wearing a hastily knotted handkerchief to protect his scalp from the fierce midday sun.

The ceremony started with a purification ritual performed by the medicine man. We were informed that later there would be a sacred fire ceremony during which no pictures would be permitted. Respecting tradition and my role as an invited guest, I did not step over the boundaries though the ceremony itself was interesting enough to need to be documented. Flash was not permitted but such was the strength of the sun, it was dubious as to whether flash would have been strong enough given my position on the sidelines and thus distance from the subject.

Purification ceremony

The one thing I found most interesting is how it was not quite as I had expected. I had expected an all Indian affair with native speech throughout. I expected everybody bar myself to be dressed in period costume. It was not really the way it happened. It was very much a mixture - a mish-mash of modern and traditional and virtually everything was done in English.

Left hand side of the arena

Right hand side of the arena

As can be seen from the two photos that I haven't actually stitched together, the arena was a huge circle marked out by bales of hay with everybody sitting in some quite modern-looking folding chairs. I would love to have seen a much more period rendition of things but realize that it is well over a hundred years since the Wild West was largely conquered and that Native Americans aka Indians have as much right to modern luxuries and modern conveniences as does everybody else.

Indian dancer

Indian dancer

There was a lot of dancing during the ceremony. To the left and right are two of the participating tribesmen that were dancing.

As can be seen in the background, not everybody was wearing attire that I would have considered to be of true Indian origin.

The event was open to the public though it was not publicly advertised. In the background beyond what can be seen, various tradesmen had set up tents - largely to sell Indian-like trinkets that bore "made in China" labels. This is, of course, my main concern about objects sold as being of ethic origin all over the world. So many items are actually made in China and clearly marked as such.

After the dancing, there was a parade with the groom-to be at the head. He wore what appeared to be a green beret and the flag bearers carried not just the stars and stripes but the MIA/POW flag as well. It was a reminder that though Indians have their own cultural and ethnic identity, they are part of the United States of America and that many Indians have served proudly and meritoriously in campaigns around the world. I believe these may be Pee-Dee indians or they could be Cherokee.

Parade with groom at the head

The parade reached the front of the arena where the minister stood, waiting to give his blessing to the couple. At some point the sacred fire ceremony had been held but I'm not quite sure when as I took no photographs, respecting the beliefs of the Indians.

The Groom and Bride together with the minister

I could not hear most of what happened during the ceremony as it appeared not to be broadcast over the speaker system. I assumed that this was due to the beliefs of the Indians.

The couple exchanged their vows and gave their promises to each other. And were each then anointed by the minister who also happened to be the Chief of the tribe. The Chief's name was Chief Silverheels whose claim to fame was that he was the son of the Indian who played Tonto in the Lone Ranger films.

Couple being anointed

The ceremony concluded with the happy couple being wrapped together in a blanket, the father of the Groom looking on while wearing his naval cap and ceremonial armor.

Couple wrapped in a blanket

The ceremony having been completed, there was a great deal of handshaking with queues of people lining up to shake hands with members of the bride and grooms families. This went on for quite some time as everybody seemed to be involved.

Much joyous hand-shaking

That was pretty much the end of the wedding. After that, people huddled into little groups and most of the bystanders began to leave. Not wishing to intrude and taking my queue from others who were leaving, I made my excuses and left. I did not wish to overstay my welcome.

One of the more decorated Indians

Chief Silverheels

Groom dancing

Bride and groom

I feel very honored to have been invited to attend an Indian wedding and shown a little bit of Indian culture. I wish the happy couple all the best in their new life together.