> > > I am looking for a group or list where members can post questions or > > > share info about marital rites (...what made a marriage given a > > > particular time and place, laws pertaining to marriage and family > > > given the region and time period), rites of passage and general > > > questions/info about customs. I looked at rootsweb. Didn't see a > > > list dedicated to this. Anyone know of a list/group I should try or > > > does anyone have a site to recommend? > > > > > > bransflakes > > > > As Cynthia (Roots Webmaster) says, it's long been a scholarly topic. > > So, try Cultural Anthropology groups or Sociology groups. > > > > singhals@erols.com > > i'm late in this reply, but read the other posts...contacted a > friend who works in cultural anthropology (oh, yea...he's a computer > analyst, too...the guy has to make a living)...anyway, he asked if > you had a particular country, region, culture, time period...and > apparently it can vary widely between all those and, bad news, > documentation varies widely, too. > > fsuedu Well, yes, there's the glitch in it all -- What Scots Presbyterians did in 1600 in Scotland isn't what they were doing in 2000 in Scotland; and neither are what they were doing in 2000 in North Carolina. If I had a *desperate* need to pinpoint something, I'd be in the magazine archives, praying someone somewhere had archived Bride's magazine for the US. But, as an identifier, this is gelatinous -- if a couple is "belled" after their wedding is it because THEY are (this ethnic), or because the party organizer is? If a bride has a penny in her shoe, is it because (celebrity name) did it and it was publicized, or is it because both of them share that ethnic heritage? Cheryl singhals@erols.com