Native American Pottery: Wedding Vase

The wedding vase has been a part of Indian culture for centuries.  In the southwest, you will see many styles and types of these popular vases in gift shops and specialty boutiques. The shape of the wedding vase bears two spouts and represents the lives of the groom and the bride.  The bridge between the two spouts is thought to unite these two separate lives together as one.  

In Indian culture,  the parents of the groom-to-be provide the wedding vase for the ceremony.  Usually a few weeks before the wedding,  a party is thrown and gifts and advice are given. It is a very festive time.  On the day of their wedding, the wedding vase is filled with special Indian holy water that has been blessed and given to the bride.  She will drink from one side of the vase while the groom drinks from the other.  This ceremony is much like our exchanging of wedding rings.

This special wedding vase will hold a cherished place in the newlywed couple’s home for the rest of their lives.  Actual ceremonial pottery is sacred and will not be sold to the public but given as a gift among tribal families.  Many replicas are available today which are to be enjoyed as a work of art for your southwestern decor.