The Eighteen Monsters of Yunnan--Yi Marriage Customs Falling in Love Behind Their Dolls

One of the eighteen monsters in Yunnan, carrying a baby in love. This is too strange for mainlanders, and many people who come to Yunnan are particularly interested in this issue. The media said that engagement, betrothal gifts, marriage, return to her parents 'parents, pregnancy, giving birth to children, taking back to her husband's house, carrying the doll and retrieving the time that should have passed in the past, doubling the romance, under the moonlight, next to the stream... In fact, this custom of "not leaving the husband's family" only exists among some ethnic minorities.

One day in May last year, in Lanping Bai and Pumi Autonomous County, we accidentally ran into an Yi wedding without a groom. A bride with a colorful head handkerchief on her head was lifted off her horse by her relatives and sat on the lawn. The head handkerchief covered her face. There were many onlookers, but there seemed to be no joy of the wedding. After the bride's sisters set out the wine, boiled pig's head and eggs that had been prepared for her, the bride's aunt lifted the veil for the bride, took off the head of her head and combed her hair, so that the top of her head was directly bathed in the sun. The bride's haggard face was shyness. A pair of feet wearing red cloth shoes were hidden in long colorful pleats. Silver ornaments and blue silk threads were hung on her ears. Shouter-length jewelry hung on her temples. Various ornaments were hung all over the chest. Then the bride sat back to her place, put on a brand new black felt, and put on her bag and color handkerchief again. Most of the participants looked solemn. The wedding entered a critical process: five bowls contained three eggs, a beautifully painted plate contained pig's head meat, and a bottle of white wine. The three foods were neatly placed in front of the bride.

An elderly man seems to be Bimo (a priest with rich knowledge of traditional culture) chanting a mantra and praying for good fortune for the bride. Then the bride's relatives wearing a red turban shared the eggs, pig's head meat and wine with the wedding elder, and speculated whether the eggs were normal and whether the marriage was successful. After seeking good luck, everyone drank the wedding wine and blessed the bride. Then happily send the bride back to her parents 'home at sunset. At this point, we felt very strange. Why was there no groom at the wedding? After inquiry, I learned that today's wedding is very important to the bride. The fact of her marriage has been recognized in the hearts of the villagers and is regarded as an auspicious marriage. She only had to wait for her parents at her mother's home for three years before she could be picked up by her husband and live a little life of her own. Today, all the groom does is drink at home with his family and wait for good news. From then on, he has become a married man in the hearts of the villagers, and the world of social interaction has been limited.