What are the marriage customs of Zhuang nationality?

In Zhuangxiang, Guangxi, young men and women in some places fall in love, and it is still popular to throw hydrangeas, which is called "flying off" in Zhuang language. This custom of throwing hydrangeas at each other to choose a spouse has been very common in the Tang Dynasty. Liu Zongyuan once wrote a poem "Men and Women Playing with the Ball on the Branch". In the singing field, Zhuang boys and girls naturally divide into groups, singing folk songs to each other for a while and keeping a proper distance from each other for a while. The girls threw their elaborate cotton hydrangeas at their beloved boys. The young man was quick-sighted, grabbed the ribbon of the hydrangea thrown at him and threw it back to another girl. If the young man thinks it is desirable, he will tie a gift on the hydrangea and throw it to the girl he loves. The more gifts there are, the more urgent it is for a young man to pursue a girl. If the girl accepts the gift that the young man throws back on the hydrangea. A pair of young men and women, through many duets, get to know each other, deepen their understanding, and even decide for life. In this way, the love and marriage of young Zhuang men and women are more poetic by throwing hydrangeas at songs without matchmakers and re-employment.

Men get married and women apply.

There is also an ancient custom of "adoption" in Zhuang area of Guangxi. Especially in remote mountainous counties, such as Tianlin, Longlin, Xilin, Lingyun, leye county, Donglan, Fengshan and Bama, it is more popular.

Young men who voluntarily "adopt" often have too many brothers at home, or are dissatisfied with the area where their families are located and have the desire to leave their hometown. So they went out of the house by all means and inquired about their husbands' relatives everywhere. When you are a lover and feel satisfied, you can boldly confide in her and propose to her. You can be adopted by mutual consent. Young women, on the other hand, are determined to stay at home to support their parents out of filial piety, so they go from one village to another, first near and then far away, looking for a satisfactory "suitable partner", but their way of finding a partner is not as straightforward as that of men. They often go to the village to help them pay attention during busy farming hours and sing folk songs at night. Observe men's wishes and performances through labor and communication. Once you have a crush on a man, you try your best to find opportunities to chat and intercede. Once the man agrees, he will be "adopted" after a year or so. The other is some families with only women and no men. When parents call their husbands, they will come forward to be their daughters' lovers and send matchmakers to the man's house to intercede. With the consent of both men and women, they will be recruited as "son-in-law".

As a rule, young men who should be adopted by their wives and sons-in-law do not receive gifts when they get married and do not prepare "wedding" makeup. Everything needed for marriage is prepared by the woman. On the day when a man "gets married", there is generally no wedding or banquet at home. But the woman's wedding is very grand, and all relatives and friends will come to congratulate her. They must kill chickens and ducks and hold a banquet for her. That night, the family also lit candles and invited the elders of the clan to discuss around the table. According to the surname and the ranking of men of the same age, the son-in-law changed her name, the daughter was ranked as a senior, and the son-in-law was also ranked as a senior; He will be regarded as the son of the family in the future, and his peers will call him a brother. Even though he is older than his brother, his brother can only be called brother. It is absolutely forbidden to call "brother-in-law" or "brother-in-law". In the future, children will be born with their mother's surname.

A man adopted by his wife is respected by people both at home and in society. Capable and prestigious, the masses can elect him as a village cadre and enjoy the same status as local men. If his wife dies prematurely after marriage, he has the right to inherit property and his family must marry him another wife. Although this custom of Zhuang nationality originated in ancient times, it broke the bad habit of "favoring boys over girls". In places where "adoption" prevails, people, whether they have children or not, can be regarded as successors and reliable caregivers to carry on the family line.

The "gunmen" also summed up the experience of victory and prepared for the second "blocking". The bride can't enter the house without two or three "charges" The onlookers are three floors inside and three floors outside. Very lively. The groom is also squeezing and peeking, but he can't help the bride. Because this is a "test" for the bride to be "strong and brave", only a brave and vigorous bride can pass the "fire wall" at one time. The young man who is a "gunner" is civilized and polite, and does not run amok. After a hard struggle, the bride jumped up at the door and then crossed the hall to the bridal chamber, which was the last hurdle that was difficult to cross. Because "gunners" set off firecrackers as well as "guns". At this time, the timely and brave bridesmaids "scouted" around and jumped into the bridal chamber with the bride under their arms in the area where "gunfire" was sparse. Suddenly, the house was filled with cheers, warmly congratulating the bride on her "winning the flag" and "success at once"

After the bride enters the bridal chamber, accompanied by the bridesmaid and her mother-in-law, she has a rest. Then I came to the hall to attend the wedding banquet in the sound of gongs and drums. After the banquet, when it was time to light lanterns, guests flocked to the door and watched the bride go out to "carry water" in the dark under the guidance of ying niang. You can't take a flashlight when you go out. You have to fill a box of water to qualify. This is a lesson to test whether the bride has a hard time eating. If the moonlit night is fine, it takes a lot of effort to meet the dark night. The jar is quite big. You have to carry seven or eight loads to fill it. It's really difficult to carry water. Only a diligent and picky bride before marriage can successfully pass the customs at this time. When the bride carries water, she can lead the way instead of "carrying it on her shoulders". If there is fraud, the wedding mother should take full responsibility. It was late at night and the guests began to rest. At this time, the groom can enter the bridal chamber and shake hands with the bride.

Young men who voluntarily "adopt" often have too many brothers at home, or are dissatisfied with the area where their families are located and have the desire to leave their hometown. So they went out of the house by all means and inquired about their husbands' relatives everywhere. When you are a lover and feel satisfied, you can boldly confide in her and propose to her. With the consent of both parties, "wife support" can be adopted. Young women, on the other hand, are determined to stay at home to support their parents out of filial piety, so they go from one village to another, first near and then far away, looking for a satisfactory "suitable partner", but their way of finding a partner is not as straightforward as that of men. They often go to the village to help them pay attention during busy farming hours and sing folk songs at night. Observe men's wishes and performances through labor and communication. Once you have a crush on a man, you try your best to find opportunities to chat and intercede. Once the man agrees, he will be "adopted" after a year or so. The other is some families with only women and no men. When parents call their husbands, they will come forward to be their daughters' lovers and send matchmakers to the man's house to intercede. With the consent of both men and women, they will be recruited as "son-in-law". As a rule, young men who should be adopted by their wives and sons-in-law do not receive gifts when they get married and do not prepare "wedding" makeup. Everything needed for marriage is prepared by the woman. On the day when a man "gets married", there is generally no wedding or banquet at home. But the woman's wedding is very grand, and all relatives and friends will come to congratulate her. They must kill chickens and ducks and hold a banquet for her. That night, the family also lit candles and invited the elders of the clan to discuss around the table. According to the surname and the ranking of men of the same age, the son-in-law changed her name, the daughter was ranked as a senior, and the son-in-law was also ranked as a senior; He will be regarded as the son of the family in the future, and his peers will call him a brother. Even though he is older than his brother, his brother can only be called brother. It is absolutely forbidden to call "brother-in-law" or "brother-in-law". In the future, children will be born with their mother's surname. A man adopted by his wife is reborn at home and in society. Capable and prestigious, the masses can elect him as a village cadre and enjoy the same status as local men. If his wife dies prematurely after marriage, he has the right to inherit property and his family must marry him another wife. Although this custom of Zhuang nationality originated in ancient times, it broke the bad habit of "favoring boys over girls". In places where "adoption" prevails, people, whether they have children or not, can be regarded as successors and reliable caregivers to carry on the family line.

The bride crossed the river on the sailor's back.

Longsheng Autonomous County in northern Guangxi is an alpine mountain area. There are mountains, forests and rivers with eighteen twists and turns. Originally, there were only forty or fifty miles of mountain roads, but it was necessary to take five or six trips to the river and cross three or four roads. So when you get married, in order to ensure the safety of the bride, you should ask someone to carry it when crossing the river. People who carry the bride are called "sailors", and most of them are unmarried young men who are squatting. When the bride crossed the river, the gun rang three times and the horn sounded. The sailor immediately put his hands on his knees, bent down and asked the veiled bride to put her knees on her back, clasped her shoulders with her hands and leaned forward. The "sailor" immediately backhand to the lower back to hold the bride's little feet, and when ready, he got up and stepped into the water to cross the river (or cross the river). As taboo as the posture of adults when children stretch their legs. Bride-carrying pays special attention to civility and politeness, and can't be rude in action, let alone ridicule. Therefore, the "sailors" who carry the bride are mostly the best in moral character. When crossing the river, "Ying Niang" (held by unmarried young women) holds an umbrella for the bride to shade the sun (no matter whether the weather is good or bad), which means protecting the bride's happiness. After the whole team crossed the river and went ashore, the clever "Ying Niang" put the umbrella very low to prevent others from "peeking" at the veiled bride. At this time, the cannon exploded, firecrackers exploded, the band played cheerful songs, and the shore was crowded with people watching.

It is not difficult to marry a song.

Xu Ge is a traditional large-scale folk song concert of Zhuang nationality in Guangxi. Every autumn, winter and Spring Festival, young people should wear festive costumes, choose their own singing opponents and find their beloved couples in the local traditional song fair days. As usual, the young man has to ask the girl to sing first, and she won't pick it up until she is satisfied with the song. Young men with stupid mouths and cheekbones, even girls who have been singing for three or four hours, don't answer, just run away in confusion to make way for more talented young people. After the woman answered, the two sides, surrounded by their companions, sang The Song of First Love, Hymns, Inquiries, Dishes and Love according to the procedures of the fair. When they are full of affection, they sing intimate songs, gift songs and give gifts to each other. At this time, the lovers left their companions and both strolled into the jungle among the flowers. When they were about to break up, the two sang a farewell song and agreed to meet next time, which made them reluctantly break up. Many couples have made lifelong commitments. However, this kind of duet program also has many "risks", especially songs, in which women ask men to answer, ranging from as far away as three emperors and five emperors to as close as today's world; From the sun, the moon and the stars to the mountains and rivers; Everything about agriculture, seasonal flowers and fruits. , is all-encompassing. Its extensive content and clever singing often make the experts who come here stunned and fascinated.

Sing the song of accompanying the building before marriage

In the Zhuang and Yao areas around Jiujiahetou, Lianhua Township, Gongcheng County, Guangxi, every time a girl gets married, she has the habit of singing the song of accompanying the building. A few days before the girl got married, the host invited the village girl and cousin to accompany her for three days and five days. In the process of accompanying the building, in addition to helping the bride do some needlework, the more important task is to sing "the song of accompanying the building". On the one hand, celebrate a happy marriage for the bride and sing a happy future; On the other hand, it can be greatly lively, and the main family feels particularly honored. Whenever the news of "Song of Accompanying the Building" spreads, the descendants of neighboring villages try to finish the work for half a day, or finish the work for the next day overnight, wash their feet, put on new clothes, put on white hats and white beef belly towels, and come from all directions to climb mountains and wade, and come to the village where they got married. As soon as everyone arrived in the village, they gathered around the boudoir in small groups, let go of their throats and sang the most beautiful folk songs. Sometimes there are as many as twenty or thirty people, one or two hundred people, making it sound like frogs croaking on a summer night, and everyone is vying to sing with the girl accompanying the building.