This bride price will include a variety of things such as a truck, a radio, money, food, cloth, basketmaking materials, ironwood carvings, etc. The marriage takes place when the girl's family gives its permission. The ceremony now is usually held in the local church. In earlier times, no formal vows were exchanged. Then, as now, the young couple began their married life in a room built near the home of the boy's parents.
Divorce is rare.
As with marriage, the local Christian church has affected some of the practices formerly associated with death. Until recently the burial was performed by one of the deceased's burial sponsors, who are specified male relatives. The burial sponsor painted his hands black to avoid the danger involved in handling the corpse. A few of the deceased's most-used possessions were buried with him. His house, often constructed of ocotillo and brush, was burned.