The unique courtship methods of different branches of the Yao nationality in various places
Due to the different internal branches of the Yao people, the marriage culture is also very different. However, monogamy is the basic marriage system of the Yao people in various places. When Yao young men and women reach a certain age for marriage, they or their parents will choose their partners through appropriate methods. Yao men and women have full social freedom before marriage. They generally make friends with each other's loved ones through activities such as production labor, holidays, attending weddings, visiting relatives and friends, and going to markets. Some courtship methods are also very distinctive, such as singing across the window, chatting in a hanging tower, choosing a partner on a fair day, or meeting under an umbrella. Let's take a look at the characteristic courtship methods of different branches of the Yao people in various places!
The "Love Hole" of the Yao people in Libo, Guizhou When a Guizhou Yao girl reached the age of marriage, she dug a "love hole" on the wall of her bedroom that led to the outside. Whenever the bright moon hangs high and the night is dead, the young man who loves her will quietly come to the "Love Cave" with a small stick and stick it into the hole. Send courtship signals. If he is the girl who has been admired for a long time, the girl will lean by the hole affectionately and share her heart with him. And if she didn't like this young man, she would pretend not to know and silently refuse. When the young man saw this scene, he understood it and retreated angrily.
Jinmen Yao in Mengla, Yunnan meets under an umbrella. The Yao people in Mengla, Yunnan have a unique love custom. Meeting under an umbrella is a way for Jinmen Yao in Mengla County, Yunnan to talk about love. That is, young men and women agree on a time and place with each other, and then everyone will gather together to sing duet.
During duet, the woman often covers her face with a small parasol. The man only listens to the song but does not see the face. When the two sides sing in unison, the man can open the woman's parasol, and both sides can confide their feelings under the umbrella. If you like them, give each other gifts such as silver bracelets, belts, satchels or silk threads. After a period of interaction, they became deeply affectionate and like-minded. They swore to each other. Moreover, the woman even bit the man's arm, leaving a scar, expressing her love and loyalty to the man.
Funing Yao people throwing flower bags throwing flower bags is a form of entertainment for young men and women of the Yao people in Funing County. It is called "Wuduo" in Yao language. The Yao people's flower bags are made of red, yellow, blue and white fabrics and contain corn. There is no limit to the number of people involved in the event. Men and women are on the same side. Each person holds two flower bags, about ten feet apart. They receive them with their left hand and throw them with their right hand. Men and women throw them in pairs, and the whole venue is in a reciprocating cycle. Colorful flowers are flying around for a while. Nowadays, the flower bag throwing activity of the Yao people in Funing is a social activity for young men and women. Many young men and women become lifelong partners through the bag throwing activity.
The "basket holding" and "basket holding" of the Yao people in the hilly areas of Hunan Province are a unique way for Yao youth in the hilly areas of Hunan Province to choose objects. Every holiday, groups of girls would carry exquisite small bamboo baskets and cover them with a woven handkerchief, wandering around the Weichang. At the same time, young men also dressed up and hurried to Weichang. When he met a certain girl in the Weichang, he took her basket away while she was "unprepared", bought snacks and put them in the basket, and then turned to the girl. So the two sides left Weichang and found a remote place. The young man invited the girl to have snacks. Then, they began to sing against each other, using songs to inform information and express their affection. After the song competition ended, the girl took back the bamboo basket and made an appointment to meet again. At that time, the girl was still holding the bamboo basket to the appointment, and the young man took the bamboo basket from the girl again as usual. If you like a young man, put a pair or more pairs of hand-made cloth shoes in the bamboo basket. The mutual understanding of men and women is the process of taking and delivering the bamboo basket. After many contacts and having an emotional foundation, the young man took two specially made big glutinous rice cakes to the girl's house to formally propose marriage. The girl's parents warmly received the young man and prepared a sumptuous lunch. After lunch, if the two big glutinous rice cakes picked by the young man are accepted by the girl's parents, it means that the girl's parents have agreed to the marriage; if the young man still carries the glutinous rice cakes and walks back, it means that the girl's parents have not agreed.
Love talks in Lajiayao Hanging Tower, Jinxiu Yao Mountain, Guangxi The courtship method is prevalent in the Lajiayao area of Jinxiu Yao Mountain, Guangxi. Houses in this area often have a penthouse outside the main building. This penthouse is specially used for girls to live in, embroider or have romantic relationships. When the young man goes to find a girl to talk about love at night, he has to climb up the penthouse from outside the building; if the girl is interested, she will naturally open the door, greet him with a smile, and give the young man a hand. Otherwise, the young man will be rejected. Choosing partners on the fair day, that is, every fair day in some places is a fair day every three days.) Young men and women choose each other's favorite person.
Chashan Yao people in Dayao Mountain, Guangxi "climb the building" to seek love. The Yao compatriots living in Dayao Mountain, Guangxi, basically maintain traditional customs in marriage due to the influence of their place of residence. Chashan Yao, who lives in Dayao Mountain here, is a branch of the Yao people, meaning people who live on the mountain. In order to seek love, Chashan Yao's young men have a popular custom of "climbing stairs", which has a unique ethnic style.
Chashan Yao villages are generally large and concentrated near mountains and rivers, and their residences are all two-story wooden buildings. The facade and penthouse parts are carved with dragons and phoenixes, and painted with oil, like a sedan chair hanging in the mountains. The quiet penthouse is a place for adult girls to socialize.
As long as Chashan Yao's men and women become adults, they can socialize freely. At that time, the young men climbed up the gate house where the girl lived and fell in love with the girl. Generally, it is carried out in groups. Several men climb up several gatehouses together, sit on each side, sing "fragrant songs" and talk with the girls to find confidants.
If a man and a woman have established a romantic relationship and hear a familiar voice from their sweetheart, the girl will come out and help the young man climb the stairs smoothly. After climbing the stairs many times, the two sides became more and more deeply attached and gave each other gifts. The girls often give their embroidered belts and woven straw sandals to the young man, and the man gives the woman silver bracelets and colored silk threads, so that it is settled.
Baikuyao Weiri Weichang, Nandan, Guangxi Many unmarried young men and women from Baikuyao in Nandan County, Guangxi, wear bright national costumes to Weichang on Weiri Day to find their "goals"; some also gather in groups in the streets and alleys to choose their favorite person. When young men and women in Baikuyao seek courtship, the woman is more proactive than the man. When the woman saw the person she liked, she took the initiative to sing and woo each other, and the way was different. They both stood face to face, only half a foot away, singing quietly and with endless love. When the song reached a certain point, the woman unexpectedly snatched away the umbrella, bracelet or belt and other items that the man was carrying with him, and fled happily. The woman ran after the man until he stopped in a secluded place in the mountains and rivers.
If the man is unwilling to get close to the woman, he will also surprise him to retrieve his belongings from the woman and part ways. If the woman is in love and the man is also interested, the woman will take the man to the house to stay for a few days, and the woman's parents will inspect his personality and labor attitude. If the woman's parents are satisfied, the man and woman can exchange tokens with each other to show that they will meet again. Generally, the woman presents a cigarette bag to the man, and the man presents a silver bracelet or red silk thread to the woman. But this is not yet an engagement. Getting engaged or getting married requires the father's consent.
Guangxi Bama Yao tobacco marriage is a special way of love for Yao young men and women in Bama Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi. The main medium and token for Yao young men and women to talk about love is giving tobacco leaves. When the woman liked the young man, she wrapped the tobacco leaves in a black turban embroidered with various colored flowers, tied it with red lines, and presented it to her boyfriend. When the boyfriend opened the gift, he didn't need to say a word or sing a song to know his girlfriend's intentions. Then the man gave his girlfriend several times more yellow tobacco leaves and other gifts to his girlfriend. This was the lovesickness cigarette of the Yao nationality.
Babai Yao singing across the window is popular in Liannan County, Guangdong Province. Before or after the bedroom of the local Yao girl, there is usually a window for courtship. In the middle of the night, unmarried boys come to look for girls to sing with torches or flashlights. No matter whether the young man is from far or near, knows him or not, the girls will not open the door easily. The young man only stood outside the window and sang duet with the girl inside the window, that is, he announced his family name, narrated his life experience, and poured out his love. For example, through duet, they are in tune with each other. The little girl opened the door, led her lover into the room to meet her parents, and warmly welcomed her to settle for her life.
The Yao people's doorwall songs in Libo, Guizhou are popular in Libo County, Guizhou Province. They are songs sung by young men and women of the Yao people when they are in love. At night, the young man brought a Hu shaped like an erhu with only one string to the house of his beloved girl, playing beautiful music and singing sincere love songs. If the girl agrees, ask him to enter the house and sing duet. This way of love is called "quarrelling over the door", and the song you sing is called "door-wall song". The tune is in the five-sixth fine-tuning style, lingering and elegant.
The above are the characteristic courtship methods of 10 different branches of the Yao nationality in various places. Doesn't it make your eyes shine? Of course, there are many more, so I won't introduce them too much here. The next issue of World Customs Network will take you into the traditional wedding ceremony of the Yao people. The wedding ceremony of the Yao people is ancient and mysterious. It not only has many legendary colors, but also has a deep national cultural heritage.