Newsletter: Exploring the Marriage Customs of Dayao Mountain
China News Service, Nanning, October 6th, title: Exploring Dayao Mountain's peculiar "married man" marriage custom
Author Zhang Wenqian Wei Jiaxiu
Early in the morning, at dawn, a group of dozens of people was surrounded by a handsome Yao guy, walking mightily on the winding and rugged mountain roads of Dayao Mountain, which is unique to the Panyao branch of Guangxi Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County The scene of marriage custom "marry a man".
In 2004, Zhao Caihong and her husband Pan Wenyi formed a couple through the unique form of "marrying a man".
Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County is the earliest Yao autonomous county established in China, and it is also the county with the largest number of Yao tribes in the world.
There are five branches of Panyao, Chashanyao, Hualanyao, Shanziyao and Auyao in the local area. The Yao culture and folk customs are very intact, and the marriage custom of "marrying a man" is one of them.
Recently, the reporter went to Jinxiu to explore this simple and mysterious Yao family custom.
As the name suggests, the ancient marriage custom in Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, "marry a man", means that a man marries a woman, and after marriage the man lives in the woman's home, and the husband and wife are equal.
According to locals, "married husbands" are more common in the Yao family.
This kind of "home visits" is regarded as the virtue of respecting the elderly of the same race and taking into account the rise and fall of the nation.
Therefore, all families with boys in the Panyao tribe are happy to let their children go out.
Zhao Caihong, 38, is a native of Liuguantun in Jiajiang Village, Jinxiu County. Her husband Panwen is from Langbangtun in the same village. The two met when they were in elementary school and later came together through free love.
Back then, Zhao Caihong's father and a respected elder from the village went to the man's house to propose marriage. Because of the long distance, they did not bring gifts to the man's house, but only gave the man's family a few hundred yuan as a "beach gift."
Zhao Caihong said that their ethnic group doesn't pay attention to the bride price, so they can buy new clothes and new footwear for the man when they get married.
Although 16 years have passed, Zhao Caihong and Pan Wenyi still remember their grand and lively wedding.
When the wedding was received, when the bridegroom walked one kilometer away from the bride's home, the bride greeted the bridegroom with traditional Yao ceremonies such as blowing suona and drumming.
When the bridegroom stepped into the house, a famous old man specially invited by the woman from the village to wash the man's feet, and then helped him put on new shoes and new clothes, which meant that the man became the woman's side from now on.
After the bridegroom entered the door, Zhao Caihong wore the Yao wedding gown embroidered by his mother, and married the Pan Wenyi following the ancient ceremony of worship.
At the wedding banquet, the bride and groom came out to toast one by one, Zhao Caihong carrying sugar and wine, this process is called inviting sugar.
Zhao Caihong recalled that the people who came to drink the wedding wine at that time didn't go home at night, and they gathered together to sing folk songs and chat around the campfire all night. The scene was very lively.
According to local custom, the first child of Zhaolang’s family follows the mother’s surname, and the second child follows the father’s surname.
Zhao Caihong and his wife have two daughters. Regarding whether they will let their daughters stay at home to recruit men in the future, the couple behaved very ambivalently: On the one hand, they hope their daughters will develop outside instead of being tied up in the village like their parents and ignorant.
But on the other hand, they also regret that more and more young people choose to start a family outside, which makes the custom of "marrying a man" unsustainable.
Like most local villagers, Zhao Caihong's wedding lasted three days and three nights.
"Nowadays, young people are all over in one day. Some even just set up a banquet in the hotel and walk through the scene. Everything is simplified. And now it's not as fun as before. Everyone bows their heads and plays with their mobile phones. It's not as lively as before. "Zhao Caihong felt lost.
Over the years, there have been occasional "married husband" banquets in the village. Zhao Caihong and her husband will participate in it no matter how busy they are-they try to relive that wonderful time in their past.
"In a while, there will be a'marrying husband' ceremony in the village. You can come and have a look when you have time." Zhao Caihong enthusiastically invited reporters.
The reporter noticed in the interview that in recent years, while vigorously developing eco-tourism, Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County has strengthened the inheritance and protection of the unique traditional folk culture of the Yao nationality, including "Jia Lang", and used stage plays and exhibition halls. As well as books and other forms, some traditional cultures that are on the verge of being lost are restored and presented to Chinese and foreign tourists.
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