Tujia wedding customs

Marriage in Tujia history was relatively free. A man and a woman could become husband and wife after free love, with the consent of both parents, and with the testimony of a local teacher (wizard). In Enshi Shiyao, Dashanding and other places, there is a custom of "daughter clubs". On the 12th of the seventh month of the lunar calendar every year, young men and women sing and dance through the "daughter clubs", love each other, and become lifelong partners.

After the change of land and return to the flow, the Tujia people were forced to practice arranged marriages at the orders of their parents and the words of matchmakers. The Tujia people practiced monogamy. Before liberation, there were customs of cousin marriages and house-filling marriages. An uncle's cousin marriage means that the daughter of the aunt's family must marry the son of the uncle's family, which is also known as "returning the bone seed"; the brother who dies and the brother who dies will take the sister-in-law, and the brother who dies will take the sister-in-law is called "bed-sitting". But these customs no longer existed in modern times.

After liberation, the people's government promulgated a new Marriage Law. From then on, the Tujia people have truly enjoyed the happiness of independent marriage. Tujia marriage rituals generally include procedures such as "proofing","proposing marriage","soliciting red centenary","engagement"(commonly known as "inserting grass fragrance"),"viewing the date", and "welcoming in person", which are similar to the ancient "six rites" of the Han nationality. The more characteristic marriage ceremonies are accompanying ten sisters, accompanying ten brothers and crying for marriage. The day before the wedding, both men and women held a grand coming-of-age ceremony.

Wood leaf conveys emotion. Wood leaf is a popular single-reed gas-sounding instrument for Tujia people and a tool for Tujia youth to express their love. There is a story about the origin of blowing wooden leaves: Long ago, there was a young man named Jiang Xiongjiu and a girl named Jia Xiongjiu. Their homes were separated by a high mountain and they were not allowed to see each other all year round. Once, they fell in love at first sight when they were "wandering"(that is, young men and women used anti-song to talk about love). It didn't take long for the girl to come to Brother Jiang's house, but the boy's mother didn't like the girl and always wanted her to leave.

In order to retain the girl, Brother Jiang pretended to be sick and bedridden, and the girl stayed by his side to serve her. Brother Jia did not know what to do, but he served for three years without recovering from his illness, so he picked up his bag and left unhappily. Jiang Xiongjiu was very anxious and quickly chased after the door. He picked off the pepper leaves in front of the door and put them to his mouth to express his true feelings. The beautiful and sincere sound of wooden leaves flew across the fields and hills, and floated halfway up the hillside. The girl heard the sound and returned. The boy's mother saw the girl's deep affection and never drove her away again. So they formed a happy marriage and lived a harmonious and happy life.

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is in the Tujia Mountain Village and on the mountain paths. Waves of high-pitched and melodious music can often be heard. This is the intelligent ethnic minority people who use a kind of smooth and resilient oval leaves, and the crisp and bright music emitted through various blowing techniques are like a versatile folk singer singing happily. Muye is a natural musical instrument endowed by nature to humans and is deeply loved by the Tujia people. Although the leaves are small, the timbre is beautiful, the music is moving, and the style is unique.

The local family spends every day in the mountains with birds and cicadas. When they are lonely, happy, worried, or if they have any secret thoughts, they pick a wooden leaf and play Wuyu lyrics. These wood-leaf songs are either melodious or melodious, some are like weeping, some are happy and happy, or some are weeping bitterly and resentful. Listening from a distance, the birds are chirping, like a mountain spring is ding-dong, full of poetry. Blowing wooden leaves is not easy. It takes a long period of practice to blow the tune. Some young men and women love each other, but they are inconvenient to talk about it, and they don't like matchmakers to gossip. So they use wooden leaves to make love and write their love on them. The mountain people sing this: The mountains are piled with wooden leaves, ask whether you can blow it? One day I learned to use only wood leaves without media. Thousands of taels of silver are worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. It is difficult to buy a sister's heart. The matchmaker's mouth is grinding and bleeding, which is not worth a song of wood leaves.

on flowered shoes to show love is one of the important folk customs of the Tujia people. It is an important festival for Tujia men and women to choose a suitable partner. Embroidery shoes themselves are must-learn handicrafts for authentic Tujia daughters and are the top priority among embroidery products. There is a Tujia folk song,"Wear flowered shoes and step on three feet. The more you step on the flowered shoes, the more they fit your feet." Wear flowered shoes. Take three steps and climb mountains without hurting your feet." From this nursery rhyme, we can see the longing and pursuit of love of a group of innocent Tujia men and women.

It is even more interesting for Tujia boys to woo people by stepping on embroidered shoes. Tujia women will be extra careful and never let a man she doesn't like step on her embroidered shoes. Once she steps on her embroidered shoes, the girl will change her original intention and admire this man's courage and wisdom. Don't be discouraged if the Tujia guys really don't step on the embroidered shoes of the girl you like. You can also grab embroidered insoles, embroidered cigarette bags and embroidered belts. As long as you can snatch one of these tokens, you will have a good start and a beautiful love!

Send straw sandals to order relatives In the Tujia village of Shangxiaandaliao, there is a custom of mother-in-law giving straw sandals to a husband when she sees her. The man and the woman are about to get engaged, and the thing that worries the mother-in-law the most is the appearance and character of the boy Lang (the son-in-law is called Lang in this area). This is a lifelong event that concerns her daughter, and she cannot be careless at all! So, I invited the matchmaker and arranged a time and place to meet. When the day came, my mother-in-law quietly took the newly created hemp training straw sandals and came to the appointed place early, waiting for the boy to come and meet. Under the leadership of the matchmaker, the waiting Lang finally arrived.

The mother-in-law looked at the young man standing in front of her and began to examine her. If he was of good character and appearance, he would try his eloquence. If his words were reasonable, the mother-in-law's face showed a smile to show that she liked this son-in-law. Then, she took out the collected hemp training straw sandals from her arms and personally delivered them to Lang Zai. Why do you want to send hemp training straw sandals? Because the criteria for Tujia people to choose a Lang are to be loyal and honest, and to be hard-working and willing to do it. The first time his mother-in-law saw the Lang deliver straw sandals, she asked him to work hard and produce, wear water and grass shoes, climb mountains and rivers, travel like flies, and become a loyal and honest young Tujia boy.

The day before marriage, the man delivers the betrothal gift to the woman, which is called a "gift". On this day, the woman's relatives and friends all came to congratulate her. The bride asked someone to tear off the hair on her face called "face-opening".

Sister Jiutujia people have a strong patriarchal concept. All young men and women from the same village call each other sisters. Among the people in the village, as long as anyone marries a daughter to leave a cabinet, all the young men of the same age in the village have to go and sit down with her. However, there are prerequisites for this. You must drink and eat beef when you sit down at night. However, the wine and beef are not prepared by the woman and must be prepared by the man who is welcoming the bride. Therefore, when the woman asked for a dowry from the man, she ordered the escort wine and beef from the man. When the man gave the woman the dowry to accept the marriage, he also brought the escort wine and meat along with it.

The amount of wine and meat for the evening banquet depends on the number of young men in the woman's stockade. Generally, one person is provided for each household, with more than 100 bowls of wine or more than 2300 bowls of wine. The beef supply is half a kilogram per person. Wise and generous men can also send more. If the conditions are sufficient, the person accompanying the night must have enough food and drink, only more, not less. If the man sends less wine and meat, and the accompanying guests cannot be satisfied, then he will violate the etiquette and "make trouble" and insist that the man return to the house that night and send wine and beef to make up for it. Otherwise, you will forget about carrying the bride tomorrow morning, making you anxious and unable to escape. However, such embarrassing scenes rarely happen.

Sipping the night wine is also called sipping the Mao Xian seat or sister wine. When night fell, the woman's wedding cry became more tactful and moving. The pain of parting and the sorrow of family love were like waves of cold wind blowing through the night sky, making people sad and emotional. Early tomorrow morning, the sisters with the same surname will be carried away in a sedan chair. From then on, they will be separated from each other and become daughter-in-law from a family with a different surname. The brothers and sisters who got along with each other in the morning and sun gathered together again on the eve of their parting to express their concern. As a result, all the young men who grew up naturally came to the woman's house for a party without having to invite each other. Everyone sat silently, gently talked about the past relationships and recalled unforgettable past events.

As soon as the hour arrived, the sad wedding song gradually stopped, and the main room suddenly boiled, and the banquet began with the night wine. People sipping night wine had a rice bowl in front of each person, and a wooden basin of steaming soy fried beef was placed in the middle of a large square table for drinking wine and cooking. According to regulations, each person participating in the night escort must drink three bowls of alcohol, stir-fried beef and soybeans, and must not eat rice. At this time, the young guys showed their ability to drink heavily and eat fiercely, guessing punches and performing orders, and the house was full of noise and excitement. In less than a moment, they were already drunk and clean. They were drunk one by one and fell into the clouds.

Why should we stipulate three bowls of night wine per person? Because "three" is the highest number taboo in Tujia, nothing can exceed "three". The young boys used binge drinking and pride to express their sincerity in marrying their sisters, and their binge eating of beef and soybeans showed the boldness of Tujia youth. According to custom, all wine and beef stir-fried soybeans served on the table must be eaten cleanly, and no residue of wine and soup must be left behind. In order to express the meaning of prosperity, auspicious and smooth sailing. The custom of drinking sisters 'wine fully expresses the simple and sincere friendship and inseparable affection of the Tujia sisters.

"Crying to marry" Crying to marry stems from the fact that women are not free in marriage. They use the song of crying to marry to accuse the evil marriage system. Today, marriage is free. Tujia girls also cry to marry when they get married, but now crying to marry is just a ceremony. Accompanying ten sisters is a unique form for Tujia girls to cry for marriage. On the night before the bride was married, her parents invited 9 unmarried girls from their neighbors, including the bride, to sit around the table and sing all night long, so they called singing with the ten sisters.

Tujia people usually start crying for marriage three or seven days before the bride gets married, and some start crying in the first half a month, one month or even three months. However, it was done intermittently at the beginning. You can cry freely. Relatives and neighbors came to visit with gifts, and whoever came would cry as a courtesy of thanks. From the night before the wedding ceremony to the next day when we boarded the sedan chair, crying for marriage reached its climax. Crying and singing during this period must be carried out in accordance with traditional etiquette and cannot be cried indiscriminately.

Generally speaking, the content of crying singing mainly includes "crying for parents","crying for brothers and sisters-in-law","crying for sisters","crying for uncles","crying for accompanying guests","crying for matchmakers","crying for combing hair","crying for ancestors","crying for getting on the sedan chair", etc. The "lyrics" are both traditional and handed down from generation to generation, and also improvised by the bride and her sisters who "cried". The content mainly expresses gratitude to my parents and elders for their nurturing and the care of my brothers and sisters; and cries about the sadness that the happy life in my girlhood is about to pass away and the confusion and uneasiness before the new life comes. There are also some who vent their dissatisfaction with marriage, their lifelong hatred for matchmakers, and so on.

The girl is about to get married and is a member of other people. From then on, she will be far away from other places and be far apart. Married girls from Tujia must kneel down to their ancestors in front of the hall on the morning they go out and share incense with their parents and brothers. Tujia people pay most attention to filial piety, with special emphasis on the reunion of the family. Once a girl gets married, she leaves this happy family forever and can no longer live with her parents and brothers. She should also have a share of the incense of this family. Therefore, Tujia girls get married and have the custom of worshiping their ancestors before the hall and sharing the incense. On the day she left the house, the bride had eaten the meal of leaving her mother and drank the wine of farewell to her new sisters. The visitor personally lit two bamboo pole torches, led the E from the room, wrapped her in a gauze, and was supported by the visitor to kneel down to the ancestors in front of the hall. After kneeling three times and nine times, the visitor separated the two burning bamboo pole torches, placed one in the main room, and the other was carried out by the visitor to go out. The two torches should be the same length and size, and the momentum should be the same.

In this way, both sides can have great blessings and no loss to either side. The torch led the way in front, and the brother carried his sister (bride) and followed closely behind the fire. When the bride was sent to the sedan chair, the brother took the torch and guarded the sedan chair in front until the torch burned out. Then the brother let go of the armrest., walk slowly in front of the sedan chair. At this time, it showed that the brother and sister had separated from then on and each had their own homes. Although the incense was divided, the two families would prosper. The bamboo pole torch symbolizes good fortune. Therefore, the bigger the fire burns, the better it will be. However, it should not be too long, too long, too long. Generally, after the bride goes out, the bamboo pole torch can burn for about a mile and a half. It is best to burn out two pole torches at the same time to indicate that the two families are peaceful and the family is prosperous. The custom of worshiping ancestors in front of the hall and distributing incense is still prevalent in Tuzhai Mountain Village.

"Stealing daughter-in-law" Tujia villages in Houping, Maogang and other places in Zhangjiajie have a special rural custom: marrying a daughter-in-law is usually night, so outsiders laugh at them for "stealing daughter-in-law."

Legend has it that long ago, these Tujia people also married daughter-in-law during the day. However, at the end of the Tang Dynasty, one day, a family married to a daughter-in-law and a family who had a funeral met on the official road. One party was dressed in red and decorated with colorful colors, blowing and beating, and in high spirits; the other party was dressed in hemp and wearing mourning, singing sorrows and crying. They refused to make way for anyone. Those who get married are afraid of missing the time to pay homage to heaven and earth, and their joy will be ruined; those who go to the funeral are afraid of missing the burial time and damaging the feng shui, so you push them and start a fight, refusing to let anyone else go. In the end, the two sides dragged each other to the Tusi King Yamen.

Hearing the litigation between both parties, the Tusi King had a thought and immediately sentenced: "Those who attended the funeral were wearing heavy filial piety and carrying the coffin on their shoulders and crying. The act of loyalty and filial piety should leave first." When the mourners heard this, they hurriedly kowtowed to thank them and walked forward. The Tusi King also sentenced: "Those who are happy to get married should give way to those who are loyal and filial. Just leave later!"

Unexpectedly, the married couple held their breath together with the mourner. When they saw that the mourner had left first, they were already dumbfounded and confused by the verdict that followed. The person who filed the lawsuit returned to the wedding crowd. People gathered around and asked. He said angrily: "Stupid official, you have to leave for the wedding at night." Therefore, a misinformation was passed down as a local custom. Even now, those places still marry daughter-in-law at night!

On the day of the Tujia folk wedding ceremony and at the fifth watch of the rooster crows, the bride is "tied" in the main room. There is a rice measuring bucket in the main room. There is a rice sieve on the bucket, and two chopsticks are placed on the sieve. The bride kneels on the bucket sieve and holds two chopsticks in her hand. She wants to cry "Sprinkle Chopsticks Song". While crying, she will tear the two chopsticks in her hand into the courtyard in the main room and outside the door respectively. The lyrics: "Sprinkle gold in front, sprinkle silver in back, and sprinkle a grain drying field in the center; follow me with gold in front, and lose silver with brother behind..." After scattering the chopsticks, the cousins wore red "back cloth" and carried the bride onto the sedan chair. At this time, the bride's mother followed behind and sprinkled the grain and blessed: "Three days before sowing, three thousand yuan will be paid; one day after sowing, one thousand yuan will be paid; if you sow quickly, you will be paid quickly, you will be rich and prosperous for thousands of generations..."

Bed grabbing When the bride is brought home and completed a series of rituals, the bride and groom will rush into the bridal chamber and compete to sit on the newly married bed, commonly known as "bed grabbing". According to legend, whoever sits in the center of the bed first will be the master in the future. In order to gain status and power in the family and not be "bullied" by the man, some brides often break free of the supporting hand before the ceremony is over, rush to grab the bed, and sit proudly in the middle of the edge of the bed, while the groom has no choice but to accompany her. If the groom takes the lead, the bride can squeeze the groom and strive for an equal status.

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hides joy, is funny and witty, plain and strange. On the first morning of the bride's passing through, when the sedan chair landed in front of the bride's house, the picking up the mother, sending off the bride, the matchmaker, and the altar manager were all very busy. The groom was also mixed with sorrow and joy, and did not know what to do.

At this critical moment, the parents, who were the heads of the household, quietly left the home and hid. This mysterious and hidden place was difficult for anyone to find.In the moment of extreme anxiety, only the wedding officiator, who was in charge of the wedding ceremony, knew very well that before the groom's parents arrived at the door, the two parents left the house and went to the neighbor next door to hide. According to Tujia marriage customs, the man's parents are not allowed to meet the bride too early on the morning of the bride's first visit. Tujia people believe that when the newlyweds first marry, they are young, resentful, and blessed. If they meet too early, it will be a burst of joy, which will be unfavorable to the newlyweds. Secondly, the newlyweds meet too early. In the future, if the mother-in-law or mother-in-law discord between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, there will be frequent quarrels and endless quarrels, which will make the family uneasy.

As long as theavoids this upsurge of new wealth, it will alleviate the conflict, benefit the whole family, and have great blessings. During the period when the man's parents were in hiding and celebrating, all etiquette should be done one by one under the command of the Guan Tan master. After the bride receiving guests finished performing the ritual at the Tuolaosi, they carried the masked bride into the bridal chamber. The bride receiving wife helped the bride remove the tightly wrapped dream handkerchief, and with the help of other accompanying relatives, she re-dressed the bride. After all the costumes are ready, you must leave the bridal chamber and pay homage to your ancestors in front of the hall. At this time, a helper went to the neighbor's house to invite his parents back, sat down on both sides of the center room, and was bowed down by the groom and bride. It was not until then that his parents met the bride in a relaxed and candid manner, and they were completely relieved.

When parents first saw the bright and gorgeous daughter-in-law standing in front of them, their pursed lips burst into a smile, which brought infinite happiness and laughter to the whole family. The Tujia people's custom of hiding and celebrating may seem absurd and bizarre, but when we look deeper, it is a carrier of Tujia life and a profound cultural connotation of marriage customs.

Huimen An important part of Tujia weddings is the custom of returning to the door, which is also called thanking people. That is, the couple went back to their parents 'home together to thank their parents for their upbringing and hard work. Returning to the door is divided into "returning to the foot door" and "returning to the three dynasties door". The day after the wedding, the couple carried gifts and went back with the wife to send their relatives. "Going back to the three dynasties" means that the couple will go back three days after getting married. If the woman's home is far away from the man's home and she returns to her mother's home in a month, it is called "returning to the full moon door".

When returning to the family, the son-in-law, regardless of his status, rich or poor, must kneel down to his father-in-law. At the same time, the daughter has to take a bath at her mother's home to tell her parents that the couple has closed the quilt. On the second day after marriage, men's families across Hunan will hold feasts to entertain relatives, friends and guests. Relatives, relatives and guests will congratulate and salute the men's family, commonly known as "Dao Xi". In the Lingchuan area of southeastern Shanxi, the woman's parents also asked women from relatives and friends to come to the man's home to congratulate him, which is called "serving meals". In the Anze area, when relatives, friends and guests come to a man's house to congratulate him, they also compete to ask for fruit cakes brought by the bride, called "begging for dry food." In places such as Yanbei and Pinglu, a worship ceremony is held on the second day after marriage, with the groom and bride bowing to relatives, friends and guests who come to congratulate them in turn.