Shoshone+people-dc

Shoshone Customs

In early times, marriages were arranged for nearly all Shoshones; a spiritual leader would conduct the ceremonies in those days. This person gave the couple rules to live by, among which they were counseled to be chaste and avoid breaking up their marriage. Sometimes the spiritual leader would pull hair from both the bride and the groom and tie it together. The bound hair was then taken by a relative to hide. If later the couple could not get along and wanted a "divorce", they would first have to find the bound hair and untie it.