- Title: BOLIVIA: President Evo Morales is best man at mass wedding for 350 couples
- Date: 8th May 2011
- Summary: MORALES LOOKING ON COUPLES LINING UP FOR CEREMONY INDIGENOUS WOMAN CARRYING HER BABY VARIOUS OF THE CEREMONY THAT HAD SOME INDIGENOUS ELEMENTS VARIOUS OF COUPLES GETTING MARRIED SPIRITUAL LEADERS PRESENT COCA LEAVES TO THE COUPLES AS PART OF THE CEREMONY COUPLES AT THE COLISEUM SOUNDBITE (Spanish) BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT EVO MORALES SAYING: "Taking marriage as a starting
- Embargoed: 23rd May 2011 13:00
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- Topics: People,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA50BMYFA4TNPS6TE7WNACX439R
- Story Text: Hundreds of indigenous couples got married at a group wedding ceremony in Bolivia on Saturday (May 7) in which President Evo Morales played the role of best man.
Over three hundred couples participated in the mass wedding in La Paz. The country's Office of Decolonization organized the event to "rescue" ancient nuptial practices and promote pride in ancient cultural and religious rituals, according to their website.
Willy Condori Condori was one of the grooms.
"Our identity had been abandoned, that is, our identity was being forgotten. That is why I want, more than anything as an indigenous person, and all of us who are getting married (want) that they (couples) have that fervor, that spirit of getting married with our identity by our achachillas (Aymara people gods)," he said.
Participants traveled from three different states -- La Paz, Oruro and Potosi-- to take part in the event.
The goal of the ceremony was to "transform" today's current family unions that the government says are patriarchal into "fair" unions where the woman does not take a back seat.
Archeological experts say mass weddings are not indigenous to South America President Morales served as a type of godfather, or best man, to the couples.
"Taking marriage as a starting point, to begin decolonization, to begin to recover our identity, to begin to recuperate everything that belongs to the native indigenous people," he said during the ceremony.
Indigenous spiritual leaders conducted the ceremony, which included the use of coca leaves and amulets. Notaries were also present to legally marry some of the couples as well. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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