Taos

The Taos Pueblo and the Taos tribe lived in what is now called New Mexico, north from Albuquerque. The Taos were a very private, secretive, and conservative tribe.

They had two big enemies the Ute and the Comanche. Also the Taos were a north speaking tribe of Tiwa speakers.

The bride and groom would use the wedding vase for uniting the two families. The groom’s family would buy the vase and on the day of the ceremony the vase would be filled with nectar. The bride would drink from one of the two spouts as the groom would drink from the other spout meaning there different lives. It also had a bridge at the top which meant they were uniting. The loop that is made in the center represents the circle of life.

Because the pot is made of clay, the material is found in the ground. Around the Taos Pueblo the clay has mica which when the clay dries it looks sparkly. When they are ready to create a wedding vase they coil the clay up into the vase. Meaning, they make a long and thin tube of clay and then coil it up and up to the shape. After they make the shape they smooth it out and let it dry. After it is dry they use natural pigments to draw a icon or symbols on the front.

The wedding vase as it says in its named was used at weddings. They used the vase as a symbol of bringing two separate lives together and uniting. There are two spouts which on the wedding day is filled with nectar. The bride will drink from one of the spouts and the groom will drink from the other spout.

The pueblo is located next to a stream where there is a lot of clay. Around there, there is Mica which is a layered sparkly mineral. The clay is usually dried before used but it is still the same sparkly clay.

The wedding vase is still used in nowadays wedding around the pueblo. Also there are many people who hand craft them and then sell them on the internet. Almost every page I was researching with was selling wedding vase made by the people who live around the Taos Pueblo.