About two weeks later, the parents of the bridegroom make a feast exactly the same in character, but now the father of the girl occupies the seat of honour next to the big tesvino jar and acts as distributer.  He also makes the first speech.  The bridegroom gives to his brother-in-law a flint for striking fire, and six arrows.  No matter how many brothers the bride has, they all get this present.  It is considered an exchange for the girl.  The shamans avail themselves of jus primae noctis.

After the marriage the bridal couple separate, each staying in the old home for several weeks, after which the young man comes to live with his father-in-law for half a year or a year, until he has had time to make a house for himself.  In the meantime the young couple are fed, but they receive nothing else.  The young man has his own animals, which he got when he was small, and now his father gives him a piece of land.

Among the Christian Tarahumares the fiscal is advised of any contemplated marriage.  This functionary has charge of the church edifice and the teaching of the children.  It is his duty to take the young couples to the padre to be married.  But the padre is far away and comes around only once a year, and sometimes even less frequently, and then the fiscal, so to say, rounds up all the matrimonially inclined.  On account of their innate ardour to comply with all religious requirements the Tarahumares are willing to go through the ceremony, though to them it has no significance beyond the payment of one dollar.  On this account they do not mind waiting for the padre’s blessing for a couple of years, until they get ready to part with the dollar, thereby generally saving an extra trip for baptising.

As the padre’s visits are so few and far between, the fiscal even considers it incumbent upon himself to make up matches on his own account, telling the people that when the padre comes they should be ready to get married.  But so independent are the Tarahumare girls that it has happened that when the padre asks the portentous question, they cry, “Kaeke, kaeke” ("No, no"), and run away.

In my time there was a padre (now removed) who emulated the example of the shamans and was frequently in his cups.  On one occasion he was unable to perform the marriage ceremonies, and the sacristan accompanying him had to take his place.  All this man knew about the rite was to ask the man and the woman whether they would have each other.  On hearing their “Yes” he would say, “Where is the dollar?” and pocketing it send the couple off with, “Now you are all right.”