Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

In today’s world, matchmaking tends to refer to apps and internet sites that we use to do the dirty work of sorting out good candidates for relationships, but for much of human history, the matchmaker was a person. Choosing a life partner was often viewed as far too complicated a decision for young people on their own, and from the Aztec civilization to ancient Greece and China, their elders (often women) intervened to make sure they had the "right" kind of suitor. The matchmaker as a figure appears often in popular culture; think of the Fiddler On The Roof song Matchmaker, Make Me A Match or Mulan's disastrous encounter with a snooty matchmaker who declares she'll never bring her family honor. It also remains a pertinent part of several societies; in Japan, for example, the process of omiai involves two young people being matched by a matchmaker, or nak?do, who sets up meetings and sends pictures and messages between prospective families. If you are looking for love, today's matchmaking may involve dating