Ember (2002, p.343) defines marriage as “a socially approved sexual and economic union, usually between a woman and a man”. Because marriage customs differ widely according to culture, it is obviously of great interest to the cultural anthropologist. For example, marriage rites in some cultures may involve highly complex ceremonial rituals, whereas marriage rites in other cultures may be relatively simple. The Chinese (in this essay, meaning native inhabitants of China) seem to have an affinity for elaborate rituals; like other Chinese celebrations, a traditional Chinese marriage involves several elaborate rituals, some of which are performed before the actual wedding day. This essay will examine each part of the wedding from the perspective of a particular Chinese subculture.
‘Visiting girls’ is a courtship ritual practiced by the Dai ethnic group that typically takes place during the agricultural slack season (An & Liu, 2002). When the lights in their houses have been put out, bonfires are built outside the village (ibid). Young women sit around the fires with their spinning wheels (ibid). Young men drape themselves with red blankets and walk around the young women as they play musical instruments (ibid). When a young man sees a young woman who strikes his fancy, he approaches her slowly (ibid). If the attraction is mutual, the young woman takes out a small stool which has been concealed under her long skirt and invites him to sit beside her (ibid). The young man then seats himself and wraps his red blanket around the young woman (ibid). A heart-to-heart talk then ensues (ibid).
Two weeks before the wedding takes place, the Hokkien matchmaker delivers the dowry money to the bride’s parents inside a red packet (Blu Inc Media (S) Pte Ltd., 1999). This traditional practice is known as “lup chai” (ibid). It is considered good etiquette for the bride’s parents to leave a small amount of money in the red packet to be returned to the groom in order to convey the message that they are neither greedy nor selling their daughter to him (ibid). Other customary gifts are traditional biscuits, two bottles of brandy, and a whole leg of pig (ibid). The gift of brandy is expected to be reciprocated with two bottles of rice water (ibid).
A large part of the Hakka wedding rites are performed in the bride’s home (Chinats.com, 1995). When night has fallen, the bridegroom and his relatives walk in a procession to the bride’s home, bearing torches and beating drums and gongs (ibid). Upon reaching their destination, representatives of the bride and groom hold a mock negotiation for the groom to obtain his bride (ibid). After the elderly lady who is acting as the master of ceremonies helps the bride put on her makeup and go over the articles of her dowry, the “passing over the rice sifter” ceremony is conducted in the ancestral hall, in the middle of which are two red candles planted in a barrel of unhusked rice (ibid). Also placed on the rice are a ruler and a pair of scissors (ibid). A rice sifter is put in front of the wedding guests and the bride’s new clothes are passed over it and sent into the side room for the bride to put on when she has finished bathing (ibid). The articles of the bride’s dowry are passed over the sifter before being packed in a new wooden suitcase (ibid). The groom’s sisters walk three times around the red candles carrying the rice sifter to ensure that the bride brings nothing but good luck to the groom’s home (ibid). Because it is considered unlucky for the bride’s feet to touch the ground, one of her family members carries her into the ancestral hall (ibid). The master of ceremony combs the bride’s hair and washes her face three times respectively, and feeds her three mouthfuls of rice before giving her a bronze mirror, which is supposed to protect her from evil, as well as a small pouch of rice and other grains (ibid). Mournful music played outside the ancestral hall cues weeping in the bride, who is then carried out of the ancestral hall (ibid). When she passes the threshold, one of her relatives splashes a basin of water in front of the door as a form of blessing for the newlyweds (ibid).
When the procession bringing the Cantonese bride to the groom’s home reaches its destination, the groom hits the door of the sedan chair three times with either a folded fan or a bamboo stick (ibid). The groom then removes his hat and taps the top of his bride’s head with it before allowing her to enter his home (ibid). These actions are intended to signify the groom’s authority over his new wife. Soon afterwards, the bride and groom offer tea to the groom’s parents (ibid). In some cases, the groom’s mother shows her authority over the bride by not immediately accepting the tea from her (ibid); the bride is not allowed to rise from her kneeling position until the person she is serving has drunk the tea. On the third day following the wedding, the bride, accompanied by her husband, returns to her family for a short period of time (ibid). This is the designated day for the groom to officially meet the bride’s family. It is customary for the groom to bring a whole roast pig as a gift, indicating that the bride was a virgin before the wedding night (ibid).
In conclusion, it should be noted that because each part of the marriage rituals were discussed based on different Chinese ethnic groups, the information contained in this essay cannot be generalized to represent a typical Chinese wedding.
References
An, C. & Liu, B. (Eds.). (1985). Where the Dai People Live. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
Blu Inc Media (S) Pte Ltd. (1999). Chinese Dowry Traditions. Retrieved March 14, 2004 from the World Wide Web: http://www.femalebridesonline.com/articles/wedetiqu e/amain.php?article=oct2000
Chinats.com. (1995). A Hakka Wedding. Retrieved March 20, 2004 from the World Wide Web: http://www.chinats.com/fujian/folk_customs/hakka_village/002.htm
Ember, C.R., Ember, M., & Peregrine, P.N. (2002). Anthropology. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Russell, C. Y. (n.d.). Child Bride. Retrieved March 20, 2004 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.boydsmillspress.com/pdfs/ChildBride.pdf.
