5. Aztecs Used Professional Matchmakers To Arrange Marriages
Marriage was an extremely formal affair for all classes in Aztec society. People did not directly approach or make offers of marriage to each other; instead, they followed a highly detailed set of customs carried out by professional matchmakers called ah atanzah. The Aztecs married later in life compared to different Mesoamerican cultures, with many not marrying until their late teens or even early twenties, at a time when other cultures often had arranged marriages in childhood.
The parents of potential grooms were traditionally the initiators of marriage proceeds with the ah atanzah. After consulting with the intended groom’s extended family, or kinship clan, they would ask a professional matchmaker. The matchmaker would then approach the intended bride’s family and make the offer of marriage. Brides were expected to be virgins upon marriage, but both sexes were supposed to remain celibate until marriage.
If the marriage offer was accepted, a wedding feast would follow. The traditional Aztec feast was a four-day event with the official wedding on the first day and various feasts and customs following after. Some of the traditions included the bride’s mother giving the couple mouthfuls of tamales, lighting a hearth and offering burned incense to various deities, and tying the groom’s cape to the bride’s skirt as a gesture of unity.