Marriages were brief and simple. The ritual entailed the exchange of gifts of lieu of vows between a bride and her groom and lasted half an hour. Meeting at the center of the townhouse, the groom gave the bride a ham of venison and from her an ear of corn to him, then wedding party danced and feasted for hours on end. Venison symbolized his intention to keep meat in household and her corn symbolized her willing to be a good Cherokee housewife.
