RSSChinese Miao’s Silver Necklaces And Their Funny Marriage Customs
Nov 20
China China, Chinese Culture, Hainan Island, Miao, Miao culture, silver bracelets, silver earrings, silver jewels, Silver Necklaces, silver rings No Comments
There are about 60,000 Miao people on Hainan Island in the south of China. They are offspring of Miao soldiers who guarded this island 400 years ago. As one of the tribes of the Miao ethnic group, they keep their unique culture and tradition quite well. Women like to dress up themselves with glistening silver necklaces and batik clothing. Young people start to look for their life partners when they are only 17-20 years old. Their funny dating and wedding customs are different from that in any other areas of China.
Singing love songs is a good way to get to know each other. Usually the men first go outside, singing loudly. Hearing the songs, girls will come out and join in the singing. Sometimes they sing for a whole day until the evening. If a man finds his lover while singing, he would tell his parents to send a matchmaker to go to the girl’s home to propose marriage.
Lots of weddings are held in lunar November or December when people are free from their farm work. On the wedding day, the groom will go to her future wife’s home to bring her back. He usually has a big team, which includes the matchmaker and groomsmen. A nice colorful umbrella is an essential decoration for the wedding.
When they arrive to the gate of the girl’s village, the matchmaker puts on a new set of clothes and a special hat. Then they set off firecrackers. Girls who wear beautiful silver necklaces in the village use a piece of rope or a branch to block the way to their village. Until they get some gifts from the matchmaker, they won’t let the groom and his team into their village.
When the groom and his team finally get to the village, they will first take a rest in a villager’s house. In the evening the wedding is held at the girl’s home. The matchmaker breaks 10 pairs of chopsticks to symbolize that the new couple will live together forever regardless of any difficulty they may have in the future. The couple then kowtows to their parents and relatives, and share one cup of wine to vow they will be together forever.
The wedding lasts until late in the evening.
Miao brides in Hainan keep an old custom during the wedding: crying loudly. Before she leaves for the groom’s home, she will cry to show she will miss home and her parents. The bride’s parents, siblings, and cousins also join to cry loudly together. The crying ceremony can last a few hours.
The wedding also offer a good opportunity for the bride and groom’s ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends to express their anger. When the groom goes to meet the bride, the ex and their pals will suddenly rush to pinch sharply the bride and groom.
In the evening when the bride arrives to the groom’s home, she will ask her bridesmaids to pinch the groom. While the bride is also pinched by the groomsmen.
Miao culture allows a man to live together with his wife’s family after the wedding, if there is no boys in the family.
The beautiful Hainan Island claims to be the Hawaii of Asia. Visit this island to experience Chinese Miao’s interesting life and watch their handcrafted silver necklaces, you will have lots of fun.
C. Liu writes about Chinese culture, especially Miao silver necklaces, professionally. She prefers the handmade silver necklaces with flowers. Don’t miss her website with great samples of fine silver necklaces here.
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