The Mayan wedding ritual manages to fill with magic and mysticism that moment so longed for by every woman, such as her wedding, with just a few elements. The Mayan wedding ritual takes place in the most paradisiacal places in Mexico, including Cancun, Isla Mujeres, the Sian Ka’an Nature Reserve, Xcaret, or the Riviera Maya. If you choose an archaeological site, you must request the necessary permission from the competent authorities in advance.
The anthropologist Carlos René García relates that the Mayans had an initiation ritual before the official ceremony. The in-laws purified and blessed the place where the wedding would take place, which corresponds to «a duality of fulfillment between the Catholic and the pre-Hispanic ritual.»
For his part, the historian Juan Francisco Molina Solís points out that for the Mayans, marriage was considered an event of great importance.. Molina recounts that once the wedding day was set, preparations began for the banquet that included turkeys, deer, rabbits and other species of jungle birds, which occupied a great place as the favorite dish during the ceremony.
“The priest was notified in a timely manner – continues Molina – relatives and friends were announced; and the entire house of the future bride was decorated with fresh and fragrant herbs and with it the ideal flowers were carefully chosen from each garden during the morning of the wedding. The Mayans were pleased to surround with joy and rejoicing the celebration of this great act of life and even the name they gave him was poetic; they called the marriage ‘Kamnikté’ which means “the receipt of the flower”.
The Mayan wedding ritual begins when the groom offers his future wife a package of gifts called Muhul, which must have a gold chain, hair pins made of wood, and a long, sleeveless white dress, called a huipil. Then they must bathe together with indigenous steam, in order to purify themselves before the official ceremony.
Both the groom and the bride must wear white as a symbol of purity. The incense smoke of an aromatic resin called Copal, together with flowers, torches, and lamps will create the perfect environment to say «I accept». A shaman will be in charge of officiating the Mayan wedding. Before the bride and groom, he will evoke water, earth, wind and fire, natural elements that will aim to strengthen the bond between the couple. Just like the Catholic ceremony, during the Mayan wedding ritual vows and rings are exchanged between the bride and groom.
The banquet can play with different native dishes such as tamales, barbecued chicken, roast pork or also called pok chuk, and a local drink made with corn known as pozol. It is recommended that the atmosphere be enlivened by wind and percussion instruments, which will give the ideal touch of the pre-Hispanic era.