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In early times
marriages were arranged for nearly all Shoshones; spiritual leaders
would conduct marriage ceremonies in those days. The spiritual
leader 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 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.
Northwestern Shoshone children like all children, loved to play.
Their toys were made of materials available to them such as sticks,
rocks, clay, and balls made of stuffed rawhide. A skill they liked
to develop was tracking. Playtime for the children was only done
during short periods between fulfilling their family obligations.
The children were expected to work hard and to share the family
burdens. Love of children was a dominant belief of the Northwestern
Shoshone and physical punishment was not highly employed. Shoshone
children were taught at a young age to be hospitable. They were
taught that guests were assumed to be cold, tired, or hungry,
and they were to be fed. Upon departure, a guest was to be given
a gift, with nothing in return. Children were taught to honor
and respect their parents, grandparents, and were advised that
wisdom and knowledge come with age. Teaching and storytelling
fell mainly to the elderly grandparents. The oral history, legends,
and customs of the tribe were passed on this way. Wintertime was
storytelling time, stories were told to children with a purpose
more important than just recreation. Children were taught to be
good listeners and never interrupt the storyteller. Most stories
included animals the Shoshone people lived around and interacted
with, in fact all things in nature had a voice & story, rocks,
mountains, trees, etc. Children were expected to stay awake during
the storytelling, if a one of the children fell asleep, the storyteller
stopped speaking and ended the session. |
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