Most Miao women wear bracelets, earrings, large collars and silver locks on their chests, and some have silver beads of different lengths hanging down from their collars and locks, making them look luxurious and rich.
One, on the "marriage".
The string of pairs: is the Miao young men and women love to talk about a way to get married, the first to the fifth of each year, the Miao people to have a "Huashan Festival", the Miao young men and women string of Huashan each other on the song, dance, and find an object is called the string of "pairs of", Huashan Festival of the last day, the string of good "pairs of", "pairs of", "pairs of", "pairs of", "pairs of", "pairs of". On the last day of the festival, the string of good "pairs of" private fixed for life, each home to tell their parents.
Proposing marriage: After the young man tells his parents about the object he has found, the man asks the matchmaker to go to the woman's house to propose marriage three or seven days later.
Engagement: the matchmaker with the corresponding items as a gift to go to the woman's home, and the woman's parents on both sides of the marriage matters agreed to determine the date of marriage, generally not straight out of six months.
Marriage: After the wedding date is set, the woman prepares her own dowry and waits to get married.
Second, on the "pull marriage".
"Pull marriage" is also known as "grab marriage", "drag the girl" or "grab sister", this kind of This kind of marriage custom is incompatible with modern civilized society and is gradually being eliminated.
If a young Hmong man meets a Hmong girl on the road, if the girl is taken, no matter whether the girl is willing or not, the young man can snatch the girl back to his own home, ask the matchmaker to go to the girl's home to propose marriage in three to seven days, and then set a date for the marriage and eat the wedding wine that is, the girl from the day of the girl's robbery is the young man's daughter-in-law.
Third, on the "recognize marriage".
Hmong cottage, which family has a child, the village knows, the son's father or mother in the neighbor's home to give birth to a child to run to the door of the family, if the neighbor's home is a "raw girl" will say loudly "" my son recognized! " From this point on, these two children are equal to counting the recognition of the marriage contract, the little girl in her mother's home up to three years old, was received by the male side of the family to raise, and the boy grew up with the boy until the age of eighteen, the two sides were married, to do the wedding ceremony, send "gifts of silver" to recognize the family.
Fourth, on the "marriage".
Nayong County in the territory of the Miao marriage customs, "said marriage" is more common, "said marriage" than its "pull marriage", "recognize marriage
Proposal of marriage: Miao youth through the "Flower Hill", "Catch Street", meetings, the mountains, the fields and other social activities to meet each other, and then fall in love, once the love matured into endowment suction parents, by the male family to ask the matchmaker to accompany the young man's uncle with wine to the female family to say goodbye. If the woman has the intention, immediately drink wine that "can", and about the matchmaker *** with the discussion of gift silver, marriage, dowry, etc. Gift silver, including the value of silver, milk money, diapers, wine, meat and so on.
The booking: If the woman's family is willing to marry the man, according to the date discussed in the marriage, the man's family will send a pig to the woman's home, the woman's family invited to dinner, to complete the "booking", that is, betrothal.
Giving marriage: If the male family wants to ask for a daughter-in-law, the matchmaker must go to the female family two months in advance to negotiate, and the female family has to hold a banquet to decide the date of giving marriage.
Welcome: the male family to choose an auspicious day, two days before the matchmaker to inform the female family ready to welcome the newborn. Welcome the day, the young man's uncle with a bird cage picking two chickens, take the gift of silver, led by the groom, accompanied by the groom and a couple of good family, the two pick zhouwu young man accompanied by the matchmaker to go to the woman's home to meet the bride. The bride's family stayed overnight, and after the bridegroom and his companion had paid their respects, the groom's uncle gave the gift of silver to the bride's uncle to pass on to her parents. The next day, the uncle will bring a chicken to the woman's home, a bring back, that the bride has a soul along with the bride with the male family to turn the family name to pass on to the next generation. At this time, the female family to send nine people along with their relatives sent to the male family, midway (the distance between the two families, etc.) after noon and then go. To the man's home, the door set up three seats, each with pig liver, pig, tofu, cigarettes, a plate. Welcome the people in the center, the newcomer on the left, the matchmaker on the right, each based on a seat, after the meal into the room, sitting in the middle of the hall, smoke and tea reception. To be worshipped after the hall, to welcome the people a new person sitting around the grand handover ceremony, the handover ceremony by the two sides of the "elders" in the form of a song to sing the handover of the tune to express the wishes of the two empty. After singing, the bride is officially handed over to the male family. In the evening, indoor bonfires, friends and relatives and people sitting around the fire to talk about family life based on the song or solo, enjoy the theater. Only to welcome the relatives to send relatives of people shall not leave without authorization, must be accompanied to dawn, to be over breakfast party will send relatives lost sent away.
Back to the door: Miao; back to the door on any date, in the birth of a child before the line. On this day, the man's parents or brother and sister-in-law to do brown sugar one. Fried noodles a liter, two pounds of white wine to lead the newcomer to the woman's home back to the door. Stay in the woman's home for a few days. The female family carries the daughter with the waist, son-in-law's shoes, hats with the in-laws to the male family to recognize the door. After the male family to kill chicken hospitality from now on.
The Hmong worship ceremony is held by the groom, accompanied by the groom, the bride does not participate. The rule is that the elders are sitting in the center, and the peers are sitting on the left and right. The groom, accompanied by the groom according to the eldest and youngest one by one kneeling to toast, after the ceremony into the meal.
Hmong widows can remarry, but the children married to the father's name, if you want to change your father's name, you must be ex-husband's clan permission, and to give a chicken to take to do the ceremony to change the name before you can change your name.
Miao marriage customs
Most of the Miao areas have a high degree of autonomy in marriage, and there are traditional forms of free socializing among young Miao people in various places, mainly for the purpose of choosing a spouse. In western Hunan, it is called "catching the edge of the edge of the field" or "meeting the girl"; in southeast Guizhou, the Miao are called "touring the party"; in Rongshui, Guangxi, it is called "sitting sister" or "walking"; and in the south of Guizhou, it is called "walking". Rongshui in Guangxi is called "sitting sister" or "walking village", northwest Guizhou is called "stepping on the moon", and Qianzhong and some western Miao are called "jumping flower", "Jumping Field" and so on. In this kind of social activities, young men and women can sing and talk to each other in groups of three to five or individually, openly or quietly. Love in the form of song pairing is the most representative of the Miao marriage culture and a custom rich in ethnic colors. Some Miao communities also have special places for young people to fall in love, such as Youfangping in Southeast Guizhou, and Girls' Room in Northeast Yunnan. The Miao youth choose their spouses not on property and family, but on personal talent and character.
After finding a suitable lover, the two sides can exchange love objects. In the case of marriage, it is usually necessary to obtain the consent of the parents. In most Hmong areas, the youth independent marriage and parents arranged marriage coexist, these two situations are not necessarily irreconcilable contradictions, only to see which tend to be more heavy. Generally speaking, parents and children respect each other and seek each other's advice, and forced marriages are rare. Moreover, social customs allow and uphold the free choice of young people. Therefore, more often than not, marriage is conducted by parents after free love. The specific steps are that the young people talk about it, and the man consults his parents and then invites a matchmaker to the woman's home to talk about the marriage. Under normal circumstances, the woman's parents will not object to the marriage, and sometimes it is necessary to use chicken divination to decide whether the marriage is feasible. Once the matchmaking is finalized, the two sides will discuss the date of marriage and the bride price. Before the marriage, the man must send a sum of money or other property for the girl's uncle's family, called "uncle money". If the parents do not agree, young men and women can elope, seeking the support of relatives or social forces, over time, the parents will recognize the fait accompli. Of course, there is also the order of the parents, there are a few parents to make the emotional tragedy.
There is also a form of marriage or similar forms of marriage. Young men and women through free love, willing to be a lifelong partner, the man in a day and night, invited a few friends or brothers to bring the woman or "snatch" to the home, that is, into marriage. Three days later, only to ask a "full blessing" of the old man with a chicken to go to the parents of the woman "reported marriage", please ask them to recognize the marriage. Then both sides agreed to "return to the door" (back to the bride's home) to do the wedding date and specific matters.
The age of marriage of Miao youth is generally between 16 and 20 years old, and there is also the phenomenon of early marriage, about 14 or 15 years old, early marriage couples usually have to live together until both sides reach adulthood. In the choice of marriage, the same clan (with the same family name) does not marry, aunt and uncle cousin marriage is preferred, and different generations do not intermarry. Different ethnic groups and even different branches of the Hmong also basically do not intermarry. Many areas of the Hmong have married couples on the day of the custom of different rooms, the bride and the bridegroom's sisters to accompany the bride and bridegroom's sisters **** degree of the first night. Some places to do wedding is mainly in the woman's home. Qiandongnan Miao have "not fall husband's home" (sit home) custom, that is, the bride back to the door that is long lived in the mother's home, only in the New Year's festivals or busy farms by the summons to return to the husband's home to live, until after the pregnancy to live long husband's home. Sitting home for as long as one or two years to four or five years.
After marriage, divorce is possible for reasons such as incompatibility. Generally, the divorcing party is required to compensate the other party in kind and in money. Widows are allowed to remarry, and there is also a custom of transferring houses, usually to the same generation, but not mandatory. The Hmong are all monogamous families. The nuclear family and the main family are the main family structures in Hmong society. The status of women and men is relatively equal before and after marriage, and women have some say in family affairs, but overall it is still a male-dominated society. Children's descent is from the father, lineage is calculated according to the father's lineage, and family property is inherited according to the father's lineage. The Miao have a system of hyphenated names for fathers and sons, which is now typical of Qiandongnan, but no longer exists in other regions. The Miao have their own ethnic surnames, but now most of them are common Chinese surnames.