What's strange about the marriage customs of the Gelao people?

Unique and ancient marriage customs of Gelao nationality

In the culture of Gelao nationality, the marriage customs of Gelao nationality still retain many ancient customs. Gelao people call themselves "Mudi people", also known as "aborigines". Gelao nationality is an ancient nation. Generally speaking, the Gelao people do not intermarry with other ethnic groups. Let's learn about the marriage customs of the Gelao people and see what's strange.

The marriage custom of Gelao nationality is a kind of folk ritual activity with complicated procedures and standardized etiquette. Early marriage of the Gelao people is free. Young men and women get to know each other and fall in love through contact in work and life. The folk song "a new set of thin bamboo poles, a dozen hogweed, two watchmen, quickly beat the hogweed out of the water and prepare a family dinner under the big tree."

"The mouth of the new hoe is very thin, and weeding is like scraping the skull. As long as my sister is willing, weeding can be successful. " It is about the free love between Gelao girls and lovers in the wild, with heaven and earth as the evidence and trees as the medium.

In the feudal society, marriage was restricted after absorbing the wedding customs and etiquette of China culture, with the emphasis on "the words of the matchmaker", "the words of the three matchmakers" and "the words of the matchmaker", and so on, and marriage was gradually formed. In other words, if a man falls in love with a girl, he must arrange the match through a matchmaker. Only with the consent of the woman can the two sides negotiate on the specific issues of marriage.

Men can't propose to women directly, and women won't propose to men on their own initiative. Even if she has a certain relationship with a man, a woman can only subtly disclose information to the man, and then the man can propose to the matchmaker instead of "matchmaking". A man's procedure is to propose marriage, send tea, wrap incense, celebrate his birthday, announce the date and get married. This woman's action is to release news, arrange media and get married.

I. Dowry

After the matchmaker put the needle through the barbed wire, if the woman has no other opinions, she will start to give the bride price. Human emotions are divided into "one human emotion", "two human emotions" and "three human emotions".

The first busy is easier. It is called simple human feelings, including sugar, local wine, noodles, eggs and so on. Wuchuan's Nanyuan Chronicle said: "Weddings don't cost money. At first, the media will cast a flood pit, and the title will not be given. It is called the "chief media" and currently only involves the woman's parents and immediate family members. "

There are two kinds of human feelings, meat and human feelings. Besides preparing sugar and wine, pork is also essential. This should be extended to grandparents, cousins and michel platini's foster mother.

The third pet is also called "Shangxiang", that is, on the basis of the second pet, a woman's daughter wants cloth, shoes and socks. The woman's parents want to cut the leg of the pig. This is very important. This preference should be expanded, wine should be notified, and then relatives can come forward. At this time, women will burn incense and paper in front of the incense shrine. She will have a New Year's Eve and a new birth month to decide the wedding date.

A girl who has eaten three times is a daughter-in-law who has never entered the door. Men can go to women at any time, especially in busy farming season, and women's families are duty-bound. After three favors, the girl will sew clothes, shoes and insoles for her future husband.

Two. marry

As the wedding approaches, parents will choose the best wood. The best carpenters are busy preparing dowries, including tables, benches, cabinets, wardrobes, brazier stands, washbasins and other daily necessities, sometimes in pairs. Rich families have to send cows, fields, contracts and even women.

1. Crying to get married

A few days before the wedding, the girl cried loudly to get married, and all the relatives and friends in the stockade stood together tightly. Girls usually don't eat when they cry, but only eat sesame cakes and shortcakes. The order of crying marriage is usually parents, living immediate grandparents, michel platini's foster mother, immediate elders and contemporary parents from the oldest to the youngest, and relatives and friends arrive in turn.

Before going out to get on the sedan chair, people should have a special cry in front of the ancestral temple in the main room. This shrine is called Ancestors. The time for crying marriage ranges from 1 day to 4 days. Girls cry to get married, and those who cry can cry with them, mainly to encourage relatives and elders, or to give cash, which is the so-called "eye drops". Most of them are ordinary relatives and friends. Crying lyrics have their own series and a complete set of lyrics. When girls are crying, they can also write lyrics in combination with their family background and situation.

Greet relatives

When the Gelao people in Wuchuan marry a girl, the girl usually gets married in a sedan chair. Men must dress up the sedan chair and prepare the bride price in advance. In the riverside area between Hongsihe and neighboring counties, the wedding dates of men and women are staggered. On the first day of the woman's wedding and the second day of the man's wedding, the man must prepare a special team to meet the bride. At about noon on the day when the woman is seated, the man must bring the bride price, auspicious paper and other necessary items to the woman and wait for the wedding outside the yard. This man and a woman each have a special receptionist named Mr. Li Yao.

Both Yali teachers should bow and reach out, say four or eight sentences, take a few steps and sit in their seats. Only when he walked from the outside of the yard to the main room did he pass. Since the 1990s, this process has gradually simplified and become a form. In ancient times, it was very particular. If the invited teacher Li Yao can't speak, he may not be able to enter the house.

After that, put the basin. The woman put two square tables in the room and connected them together. Men put away the bride price one by one. The man presided over the ceremony. The groom bowed and kowtowed in front of the room and invited her relatives to bow, drink and accept the dowry. Next, the men's reception group is seated according to their qualifications, and the women are accompanied by special personnel, according to Yao Santao's highest etiquette.

During this time, the bride will come out to pack cigarettes and cry for the matchmaker and guests. Everyone who cries will get "eye drops" according to the ceremony, no matter how much. Of course, the groom only needs to pay 800 yuan or 1200 yuan. There is also a special way to eat at parties. First tea, then wine, then rice. When tea, wine, rice and vegetables are served for the first time, corresponding gift boxes will be sent.

After the banquet, the male reception team can do some free activities and then spend the night. At night, a woman has a person who keeps warm by charcoal fire and the night sky. The suona should be played once, and the bride should come out to watch it several times intermittently. Every time, the crying person will receive' eye drops' as usual.

At dawn, the bride washes her face, combs her hair, dresses up and packs up what she wants to take away. After dawn, the man's reception team began to tidy up the furniture and work separately. The bride cried goodbye to her parents and relatives. She was led out of the house by a special person. She stepped on a sieve with a tung oil lamp lit by seven rushes.

There are 12 or 24 copper coins in the sieve, which is a great wealth. Some "lighting" needs chicken, paper and money. After saying some incantations, Mr. Wang threw the chicken on the top of the sedan chair and predicted the girl's good luck after marriage. At this time, the bride took a foot or two of red cloth from the groom, tied it to the sedan chair, put a bronze mirror on it, and was led into the sedan chair by a lucky person. The sedan chair is on, and the groom will burn paper in the main room and bow under the incense before leaving.

When a girl arrives at her husband's house, she will be taken away by a lucky person. At this point, the man's room and incense shrine have been decorated red and bright, the paper money has been burned out, and two big candles engraved with dragons and phoenixes have been lit. The bride and groom kowtow to the man's ancestors, parents and etiquette officials, and hand in wine and gifts prepared in advance.

The man's parents "sealed" a few auspicious words with the couple kneeling on the ground. Then "shout gifts". The person who presided over the ceremony stood at the gate and shouted, "Uncle, Uncle, Bao Ye and Bao Niang, come to the front of the hall to accept the ceremony!" " Relatives came, kowtowing to the bride and groom one by one and receiving gifts in front of the hall. "。

At the end of the ceremony, the bride and groom greet each other and then enter the new house. After the bride enters the room, her husband's brother will give her bath water. My sister-in-law will give her little brother a red envelope. If you don't have brothers and sisters, you should also look for them among your immediate family members.

See the bride off

When a girl gets married, the family will organize a special dowry. Generally speaking, there are 8 to 12 people, or even more. There are men and women in the parade. Men mainly want to ensure that girls will not be disturbed by the sedan chair, and the sedan chair should be stable, that is to say, they should follow the sedan chair. The escort team takes the girl to the man's house, and the man will warmly receive her, and then the groom will send her back.

4. Build a new house.

After the bride entered the new house, men, women and children crowded into the new house and asked the bride for candy, sunflowers, peanuts and so on. She brought it from her mother's house. The rich woman's family also put some coins in the candy sunflower peanuts. The custom of the Gelao nationality is "three days in the bridal chamber, regardless of seniority, age and marriage."

Go back to the door

Three days later, the newlywed groom took his newlywed wife with wine, cigarettes and food to visit his parents-in-law. It's called going home. In the old society, other marriage customs of the Gelao nationality included: early marriage, "pointing to the belly as a relative" and so on.

The little marriage pointed out that the doll was still on her back and her parents were engaged. They won't get married until they are adults. Some people 1 1, 12 years old get married. Kissing refers to the abdomen of a child whose parents are still pregnant. If the child is born of the same sex, the child will be married as a brother or sister, and if the child is of the opposite sex, the marriage will be confirmed. The two sides will begin the ceremony and continue their careers. When they come of age, they will become husband and wife.

In addition, the Gelao people also have customs such as "chicken wine", "bride knocking on her teeth", "concierge", "pick up girls" and "wet relatives". These customs are also very distinctive in the wedding customs of the Gelao nationality.

"Chicken hanging wine" for engagement

Gelao people will eat "chicken wine" when they are engaged, that is, after killing the chicken, the femur of the chicken is used to predict good or bad luck. "Chicken divination" and "Ji Bu" are homophonic. At present, it is no longer the initial "sacred judgment" to pay close attention to whether the design on chicken femur is auspicious or ominous. But to eat engagement wine called "chicken wine".

"Chicken is not nine" was held at the girl's house. The future son-in-law recognized his fiancee's son-in-law and gave it to his parents-in-law. When the first bowl of wine must be given to the mother-in-law, the father-in-law should also praise his wife and say, "She raised the child and his mother decided." Some people say that this is the legacy of human mother's husband's right.

The bride knocked out her tooth.

Gelao women will automatically knock out 1-2 big teeth on the maxilla when they get married. It is said that this is a custom because they are afraid that women will hurt their husbands' families. My husband's family thinks virgins are terrible. If you dare to marry them, you need to knock out their teeth. This is a profound relic of medieval and distant folk customs.

door lock

"Door lock" means that when the bride leaves home and gets married, she must hold the door lock tightly with both hands to show that she will never leave. At this time, the matchmaker will come and forcibly hold the bride's hand and take her away from her family.

Chasing a girl

"Chasing girls" means that a girl should cry loudly and sing "crying to get married" before getting married. Before getting married, we must let female relatives bring her back when people are "unprepared" and "running away", such as her married aunt and sister-in-law. Before leaving home to get married, the bride's father should pay tribute to her ancestors. The girl's father should unbutton her collar to show that the married girl is no longer a member of the clan and has joined it.

Wet kiss

"Wet kiss" means that when the bride marries her husband's family, she pours clean water prepared by his husband's family on the person who receives her. Legend has it that you can pour clear water to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck.

Different from other ethnic groups, when the bride gets married, the Gelao nationality usually carries an umbrella and is escorted to her husband's house by the person who welcomes her. When I arrived at my in-laws' home, I was directly introduced into the new house without a formal visit. On the wedding day, the bride's wedding dress will not be brought to her husband's family, and only after the first child is full moon will her family give her a dowry.

The marriage of the Gelao people is mostly arranged by their parents, and the bride price is very heavy. Now they have changed. After choosing an auspicious day, the bride will walk to her husband's house under an umbrella accompanied by relatives and take them to the bride's new house instead of going to worship.