Marriage Customs in China's Provinces

The marriage customs of the Li people are rich and colorful, and the procedures are varied, which include sending bride price, sending mother, welcoming the bride, teasing the mother, drinking blessed wine, singing songs, sending the bride, and collecting the seats. Among them, the "Teenage Mothers" is the most interesting.

"Teeming" in different branches of the Li people (the Li people have five branches: Sai people, Qi people, 侾 people, Mei Fu people, Run people, etc.), the form and method are different, the Sai people, 侾 people, "Teeming" is mainly carried out in the wedding banquet, the Sai people's escorting team. For the Sai people, 侾 people, the "tease the bride" is mainly carried out during the wedding reception, the Sai people's bridegroom's home to send the bride to the bridegroom's family, the bride and the bride's family members to feed the bride a little bit of rice that day, they eat, a lot of onlookers, they can only eat a few grains of rice per mouth, and every open mouth will cause a roar of laughter. In this atmosphere, how courageous the bride and bridesmaids dare not open their mouths to eat. So, they had to spend their wedding night starving. The same is true for the bride and groom, who are prepared in advance for the bride and groom. They prepared two big bowls of "lucky wine" for the groom and the bride in advance, and a big bowl of wine for the accompanying woman. All of them are required to drink it all in one go. They are particularly demanding of the bride and groom, requiring them to drink, one is not allowed to spit, two are not allowed to have wine dripping, such as violators must double the penalty. Asked them to drink wine for fast, drunk only that couples with sweet **** bitter, white head to old age, and for accompanying the bride, only drunk, only that their celebration is sincere.

Different places, different periods, the Li family teeming bride customs are different forms of expression. For example, the Qiongzhong County, Hainan Island, the Qi people, their bride teasing is carried out in the cave. They first light an oil lamp in the cave, and then set up two small chairs against the light, the people teasing the bride in the cave door onlookers, they watched the bridegroom and the bride compete for seats in the cave. According to the custom of the Qi people, the figure sitting in the front can cover the one behind, and the one in front is the master, and everything behind must obey the master's command. Therefore, the bride and groom in order to fight for the seat, in order to who the master and who thus fight to the end, this time the onlookers of the teasing and cajoling also went into a climax. If the bride and groom original love, in the fight for the seat, they will fight secretly let, if happen to forced marriage, the woman is often worried about marriage will be bullied by her husband and fight, the atmosphere, the scene can be said to reach almost white-hot degree. The Qi people in the area of the Hap Mu system are different in that they have their bride-guiding on the day after the wedding. On the morning of the day after the wedding, all the young girls in the team of accompanying and sending off bridesmaids gathered together, and they pounded the glutinous rice cooked by the groom's family in a wooden mortar, and after pounding it, they pinched it into a ball and brought it back to be distributed to the sizes of the children who didn't take part in the wedding. As they pounded the rice, the cheerful "rice pounding ballad" accompanied by the sound of the mortar and pestle crashing together made for a relaxing and enjoyable experience. The more they pound, the more they sing. By this time, the young men who had been teasing the girls had quietly come to the neighborhood, and they planned how to make a surprise attack so that the girls would not be caught by surprise. They only need to snatch the glutinous rice balls from the girls, and the girls will have to return empty-handed, and then their friends and relatives will scold them for not being useful. In fact, the girls were prepared, and when the battle to snatch the glutinous rice balls started, the giggling between men and women reached a climax. On such occasions, the most disadvantaged is not pay attention to the young man, they just play, reckless, not to the girls on the falling pestle and mortar knocking the head and hands, is the girls pulled the hands and feet, and some even by the girls with mochi patties all over the face, especially those who paste to the hair of the young man is even more troublesome, they not only have to scrub for a few days and nights, but also subject to ridicule by relatives and friends. The atmosphere of such bride-teasing activities is quite tense though. However, one will see many funny, humorous and laughter-inducing scenes. Young men and women enhance their friendship in teasing.

The Mobilians are even more amusing. The day of the wedding, specifically arranged for an older woman for the bride to pick the dowry, when the dowry picked to the groom's home, the groom's home suddenly rushed out a few men, a moment on the dowry snatched, followed by lightning out of a pot of already prepared cooked pork, aiming at the top of the woman's head will fall. At this time, if it is agile people immediately pull open the corner of the coat, it can hold a lot of pork, but encountered slow-moving women, can only let the pork soup drenched like a chicken, two hands empty nothing. And the more onlookers happen to be in this situation, applauding, cheering mood is higher, the higher the reward for the recipient of the shower. Although it takes a great deal of effort to wash the hair, body and skirt of the pail of the shower recipient in this kind of activity, for the sake of the wedding celebration, the women of the Meifu branch are happy to take on such a role. They believe that the more accurate the shower, the more pork showered down, the higher the sound of the crowd, the more people look at the newlyweds, the couple's future life will be more affluent.

In addition to the above characteristic activities, most of the activities are arranged to send the bride's moments. Li sent the bride when the bride's family to the village village girls are mobilized, the more people the bride feels the more glorious. Sending the bride team generally start in the morning, they climbed the mountains and crossed the water, to the groom's village, when the night has fallen. At this point, the "bride" will begin. Participate in the wedding boys, they brought torches gathered at the entrance to the village, to send the bride team arrived, they can not wait to raise the fire, want to take a picture, to see the bride and send the bride team in the girl. However, the more anxious they were. The more the girl and the bride do not want to let them see, they hide their faces in the bamboo hats. The more the boys wanted to see, the more tightly they covered their faces. At this time, the boys can not think of more ways, with love songs to seduce, or with provocative language to try to get the girl to answer. However, the more so, the more the girls ignore, and finally the lads had to be ruthless with a torch smoked their faces, with a stick to trip their feet, causing the girls to hide in the east and west, the village road is full of noise, laughter. The young man and the girls so while teasing, while walking, although the bride and the girls face are smoked by the torch black a, purple a, but, they are excited, happy.

The Li family's "play bride" not only adds a happy atmosphere to the wedding, but also gives more young men and girls to provide the opportunity to contact. As a result, it has been passed down from one branch of the Li family to the next.

Whether it is a young love, childhood sweethearts, free love combined marriage, or the so-called "matchmaking" marriage, the Tujia people in the marriage customs gradually formed a kind of non-provisions of the practice, that is, to invite the matchmaker to say marriage? The marriage proposal? The marriage ceremony is held at the same time as the wedding ceremony. Sending bride price? Ask for the woman's birthdate? Ask for the woman's birth date? Engagement? Ask for the woman's permission to marry? The wedding ceremony is a very special event, which includes crying, passing the ceremony, opening the door to the bridegroom and the bride's family. In the wedding of the distinctive episodes are crying marriage, over the ceremony, open face, wearing flower wine, carrying the bride, welcome the bride, worship, sitting in bed, haunted room, back to the door, and so on, and its typical links are crying marriage, sitting in bed, and back to the door. The typical links are crying marriage, sitting on the bed, and returning to the door. It preserves and demonstrates the differences between the Tujia wedding and other ethnic groups.

In January or half a month before the wedding, the girl has to cry for marriage. "Song mourning crying marriage" is a unique ethnic custom of the Tujia people. "Crying for marriage" began to cry overnight, and later on, the whole village of sisters and aunts and elders to take turns to accompany the cry, crying while singing "crying for marriage song", such as sobbing, if the sadness and joy, sadness and happiness, rich in content, strong feelings. Crying marriage songs include "crying parents", "crying sister-in-law", "crying sisters", "crying flowers", "crying on the sedan chair", "crying matchmaker", "crying ancestor" and so on. After generations of women's oral creation, continuous enrichment and processing, some content gradually stereotypes, the formation of a long poetic structure of the lyrical sad song, the mood of sadness and misery, the language is simple and simple, full of rich flavor of the terroir, often clever use of simile, puns, anthropomorphism, repetition, comparison, hyperbole and other rhetorical devices, with a strong people's and literary.

When the wedding day comes, the man sent to the bride to send clothes, jewelry, cloth, as well as to the in-laws of the family wine, meat and even salt, tea, rice, beans, etc., called "over the gift". Over the gift to be held in front of the shrine of the woman's family grand, to offer to the female ancestors of the three generations of the medieval seal, lighting incense and candles, and discreetly placed their gifts on the table in front of the shrine, the list of gifts to the female elders.

The day before the wedding is the woman's "flower round wine", to "flowers and moon" meaning, wishing women a happy marriage. On this day, the woman's family will be all dowry out, wipe clean, bangza punched point. Friends and relatives come to congratulate, send congratulatory gifts, at the same time on the bride to dress up, "open face", "on the head", "wear flowers". The "open face" should be operated by aunts, aunts-in-law or sisters-in-law, using a gray thread bag to strangle all the sweaty hair on the forehead, strangling the hairline, and strangling the eyebrows as a crescent moon, braiding the hair into a "bun", wrapping it around a red headband, inserting silver hairpins, putting on silver jewelry, wrapping the head in a green silk handkerchief, wearing silver bracelets, silver hairpins, and wearing silver flowers on her hands. They put on silver jewelry, wrap their heads in green silk handkerchiefs, and wear silver bracelets and rings on their hands, making them look like a different person compared to young girls. The lyrics of the song "Weeping and Wearing Flowers" are:

Golden flowers and silver flowers are not seen on the vine,

Only the golden flowers are not seen.

Golden flowers and silver flowers on the head,

Ringing bells on the head to make a lot of noise.

The eight treasures earrings gold circle,

Toothpick inserted into the chest when the door ......

After the above description of the lyrics, a colorful, flamboyant decorative Tujia brides are displayed in front of people's eyes. Bride "open face", "on the head", the night of crying marriage reached a climax. Since ancient times, the marriage of a man and a woman has been regarded as the first "happy event" in life. The ethical concepts of "the order of parents, the words of matchmakers" and "to be married from the beginning to the end" that permeate the marriage system and rituals of China's long-standing feudal society are also reflected in old Beijing's old-fashioned wedding customs; from betrothal to the final union, there are many cumbersome etiquette procedures to be gone through.

The marriage ceremony was held in Beijing.

Baozheng

Baozheng, that is, the introduction of marriage, commonly known as matchmaking. Through the introduction of the matchmaker, the parents of both sexes agree, first of all, the portal post, the two sides each with a red paper folding, written on the name, age, place of origin, three generations (great-grandparents, grandparents, parents), etc., by the matchmaker to pass, that is, the "rituals" in the "ask name". Subsequently, the elders of both sexes choose auspicious days and appropriate occasions to visit each other, to understand each other's family property status, family reputation, the girl's character, the aunt's life, whether the door is right.

Marriage

After visiting each other, both parties have no objections, and then over the "eight post". Men and women each with a red paper folding, write the birth year, month, day, time, please "star fate family" measurement of men and women, "eight characters", called "marriage". Because each person's birth has four parts of the year, month, day, time, each part of the account of the stem, the branch of each word, four parts of the *** counting eight words, so it is called the batch of "eight". Star fate family said that men and women must be compatible with the two sides of the genus in order to get married, so as to avoid the marriage of the couple or hinder the family fortune.

Then by the "yin and yang" Mr. according to the men and women of the birth of eight characters and phases, write the identification (such as "Zi and ugly and", etc.), and then according to the "auspicious day" and the God of joy! Square to choose the date of marriage and what to avoid the phases of the genus and other items, written on a red paper folders, called "dragon and phoenix post". This is the old marriage certificate.

Put fixed

Put fixed that is married. In the old days, there are put a small fixed and enlarged fixed. After the engagement of young girls, it is customary to change the head hair style, the past girl to stay braided, generally do not tie the root of the braid, a small fixed, we must tie the root of the red braid. Speaking of some of the family put a small fixed time, the male party to send the female side of the jewelry four: a ring or a pair; bracelet a pair; a pair of earrings; a collar, gold, silver or silver wrapped in gold, etc.. Enlarge the fixed means that the marriage between men and women has been finalized. At this time, the male side to the female side to send gifts, the female side also openly demand, sometimes both sides of the bargaining, become the centralized performance of the sale of marriage.

According to the old Beijing rituals, the first day of the woman's marriage to send the dowry, please male guests (four to eight people), will be accompanied by the mother's family dowry sent to the man's home, called "trousseau".

The amount of dowry is generally determined by the financial situation of the woman's family. In old Beijing, there was a nursery rhyme that said: "The moon, the moon shines in the east window, the Zhang family girl good dowry, gold leather cabinet, silver leather box, tiger skin chair ivory bed. Ingots of powder, sticks of incense, cotton rouge two hundred ......"

Marriage

Marriage is also called "welcoming the bride". The wedding has built a happy tent, set up a happy room, arranged to marry the personnel, the sedan chair, ceremonial, ringing, sedan chair, the new man on the sedan chair off, marry the new way back, after the marriage of the trivial rituals and many other detailed instructions and rituals. The lively situation of the wedding, all rows in the marriage ceremony has a centralized performance. Manchu people are very careful to get married, there is a set of agreed rules. The day of marriage, the girl came to the door of the male family, the groom to bend the bow and arrow, to the bride not uncovered false shooting three arrows. Then in the bridesmaids assisted by feet on the floor red felt, to the courtyard in front of the God table, with the groom to worship heaven and earth ceremony. Manchu worship ceremony is commonly known as "worship of the North".

After the worship of heaven and earth, the groom to use the weighing rod (or with a whip) to pick off the bride's head cover, placed on the roof of the tent in the courtyard, with the weighing rod to pick the cover, in order to show that the heart is as it should be. When uncovering the head, the groom touches the bride's hair with his hand, meaning that they are married. The bride crosses a pre-set fire pit, then crosses the saddle and walks into the tent to face the south, "sitting blessing", and performs the sitting tent ceremony. Sit tent ceremony, by the bridesmaids for the bride open face, that is, with a red line strung off the face of sweat, while combing the head to change the hair style.

Newlywed night, a pair of candles lit in the bridal chamber all night long, the bride and groom to eat a cup of wine, but also eat half-cooked dumplings, "raw" to take the meaning of fertility, meaning "childbearing". Outside the bridal chamber by one or more people singing happy songs (Manchu called "Lakongqi"), known as the "loud room".

Shanghai wedding customs - the bride change shoes

away from the mother's home all the way to the husband's home, the so-called countryside in each case, China's different provinces and origin of the people in the wedding ceremony, but also have their own unique marriage customs. Although some of the interesting traditional rituals have been omitted due to the development of civilization or the simplification of weddings, these old and interesting wedding customs are still very interesting to read. If your significant other is from a different country than you, take this opportunity to get a glimpse of some of the special and interesting marriage ceremonies in his hometown.

In the old days, Shanghai's customs were very traditional, and the complicated six rites of passage, including the nativity, asking for the name, naji, nazheng, the invitation to the date and the welcome to the marriage were also according to the full tradition of doing things meticulously, because in the old days, young men and women didn't have the opportunity to meet and fall in love freely, from the proposal of marriage, the engagement and the wedding period rely on the matchmaker as a go-between, contacting the man, the woman and the two families and co-organize the wedding ceremony. The first thing you need to do is to give the matchmaker a gift of money to thank him or her for making the marriage possible.

In the old days in the countryside, not all families can afford to make dresses for the bride's financial burden, so many rural girls get married, will wear a red tunic or red suit, instead of dress.

Before the groom goes out, he has to eat a bowl of sweet soup (sugar water) boiled with lotus seeds and lilies at his mother's house, which represents the female family's wish for their daughter to live a sweet and carefree life after getting married. During the process of giving away the bride, a female elder of the female family who is a person of full happiness (i.e., a person with two parents, a person who is in harmony with her husband and has children), or a female master of ceremonies, holds up a red umbrella and accompanies the bride, in order to protect her from the invasion of evil spirits.

The female master of ceremonies in the bride to go out with a brand new pair of embroidered shoes, when the bride boarded the sedan chair, it is necessary to immediately replace the new shoes, said the bride away from home to marry a man, will not bring any belonging to the female family to the husband's home, implying that the future of life in the hands of their husbands.

If the woman's family did not host a banquet for her friends and relatives, or if there is an omission when the invitation is sent, afterwards these friends and relatives should be sent to the wedding candies (i.e., printed with the word "happy" or red wrapped candies) instead of the official notification of the daughter has been married