Yi people's marriage customs

After the young man and woman met and fell in love, they were congenial and satisfied, so the man's parents asked Jiemo to choose an auspicious day, and after obtaining the consent of the woman's parents, they held a wedding for him. A few days before the wedding, girls should eat less and drink less, and they are not allowed to eat or drink before marriage. This custom of "the bride is hungry for water" mainly comes from the legend of the Yi people's "tiger wife", and it is also to avoid peeing on the way to marriage-which the Yi people think is unlucky.

On the wedding day, the man's family was beaming, and relatives and friends gathered together. A green shed was set up in the middle of the yard with branches. The shed was hung with red inside and outside, with Yi Xishen's memorial tablet in the middle. Yi singers keep singing with national feelings (Qingpeng tune), relatives and friends get together, singing and suona sound constantly.

When the family reunion team of the man's house comes to the woman's house, it is necessary to accept the brothers and sisters of the woman and the brothers and sisters of young men and women of the same age to splash water to show welcome and celebration. Yi people believe that if water is poured, the girl will not go far to fetch water when she arrives at her husband's house. Even if it is dry, she should eat and drink. After the wedding procession entered the woman's house, they kowtowed at the altar and then began to show their gifts, such as clothes, shoes, Baotou, coins and so on. The woman also showed the girl's dowry, such as cabinets, boxes, clothes, stools, bedding, color TV sets, sewing machines and so on. At this time, the singer invited by the woman's parents began to sing the wedding song, sing a paragraph and show a paragraph. What he sang must be shown, otherwise the singer will hit the wedding person on the head three times with a dustpan, which will cause everyone to burst into laughter.

After the exhibition, the woman's family entertained the married people to drink water: tea first, then sugar water, the so-called "bitter before sweet", then champagne, asking her uncle to say something auspicious, then opening the red box and tying two red ribbons to the groom. After everything is done, the woman's family fetes the married people, relatives and friends, and villagers in the village. During the dinner, the groom will bow at each table and then make a toast. After all the guests have finished eating, they can marry the bride and leave for home. If it is a long way, the woman's family will warmly welcome the married person to stay and leave the next day. That night, people danced with their left feet all night in the yard of the woman's house or in the square outside the house. If the road is near, you can get married and go home on the same day.

When people do the above activities, the bride usually dresses up upstairs and makes some preparations before marriage. Before leaving, the woman's uncle took the groom to say goodbye to the ancestral grave tablet of the woman's house, and the bride was carried upstairs by her brother or younger brother to the door of the hall and walked with the groom. The matchmaker greeted all the guests in the woman's house and saw her off. A young couple is the main team to send the bride, and the companions or younger relatives of the other girls can always send them to the man's house.

The custom of the Yi people is that no matter how far the road is, it is always on foot, not riding a horse or riding a sedan chair. In recent years, some people also ride cars and tractors. So, the procession carrying dazzling * * * and dazzling dowry set off for the man's house in the loud speakers and the cheerful music of suona. Along the way, people also played Qin Yue, sang folk songs and danced with their left feet, which was very lively.

The wedding team returned to the groom's house to set off firecrackers and firecrackers, and invited Bimo to enter the wedding ceremony. Then the bride, accompanied by a girl with two torches, walked into the gate and sat down on the bed in the bridal chamber. At this time, a middle-aged woman presided over the ceremony, and the bride and groom raised their glasses to propose a toast. Then the groom walked out of the bridal chamber, and the female guests of the woman's family stayed in the room with the groom. According to the traditional custom, the bride is not allowed to eat two meals a day at dinner. The mother who accompanied her warmed up the food brought by her and invited Sina to accompany her.

Then, the man's house hosted a banquet to entertain the guests. After that, they made a fire in the courtyard of the green hut, played black boy, sang songs and danced around the fire with their left feet at home. At this time, the bride and groom also joined the dance. Everyone forms a circle, sings and dances heartily, and often dances until dawn.

After dawn, the bride went to pick two buckets of water to the kitchen and lit a fire in the kitchen at the same time, indicating that the bride began to cook at the groom's house and lived in the groom's house from then on. On this day, the groom's family will also entertain guests, most of whom are native, and all the foreign guests have already left. On the third day, the bride will return to her family, commonly known as Huimen. It usually takes four or five days for the bride to return to her husband's house. In some places, she will go back to her parents' home for months or even years, depending on local customs.

The Yi people in northwest Yunnan and south Yunnan still have the custom of robbing marriage. The so-called wedding robbery. In fact, it is the will of both men and women, the consent of parents and the agreement of the matchmaker. Marriage robbery is just a form of marriage. In the northwest of Yunnan, Xiao sent the bride price to the woman's house, and at the same time wrapped the girl forcibly with felt. At this time, the woman's family can use fake beating to deal with the man who robbed the marriage, and put the blame on the face of the man who robbed the marriage. When the girl was taken back to the man's house, all the people who robbed him were dusty and dark, and often made the guests laugh. In southern Yunnan and other places, the place and time of wedding robbery are arranged in advance, and girls are often robbed on the way home to work in the underground, mow the grass by the village or carry firewood. The grabbed girl was taken directly to the man's house. According to the local Yi customs, women didn't realize that they were officially married until they arrived at the man's house, and they couldn't run any more. No matter what kind of bride-snatching method is adopted, the bride will be taken to the groom's house, and the wedding will be held in accordance with the local Yi customs to entertain guests. For stealing marriage. Yi people say that this is handed down from their ancestors, and the man's robbing is a kind of respect for the woman's family, indicating that the girl won't give it away because she can't get married.