Amongst the ancient Inca Indians of Peru marriage was more of a business deal than a romantic joining of people in love. A young man would see a young woman he wanted to marry and would ask his parents to make the arrangements. They would approach the family of the girl and offer a bride price. The parents would negotiate and finalize the arrangement and the girl had no say in the matter.

Once the arrangements had been made a ceremony would be planned. Once a year all the young couples would appear before the chief of the tribe who would officiate in the ceremony. Occasionally, more than one man wanted the same woman. In this case the boy's father would make an argument as to why his son was the preferable choice and the chief would make the final decision. Typically, marriages had a trial period for one - three years. During this time either party could leave the marriage. The girl could return home to her family or the boy could send her away. Failure to get pregnant was the most frequent reason for ending the marriage. Only men of the royal class could take more than one wife.

By law young men must be married by age 20 or their family would chose a bride for them. Young women were about 16 when they would marry.

Although weddings were not the joyous affairs we think of today, they were a time of celebration and feasting. During the ceremony the couple would hold hands, exchange sandals and then spend time feasting together.

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