How Marriage Customs Evolved in GD in 20th century (Ⅱ)

"Crying songs 哭嫁歌 " for the wedding day

Among the marriage customs in the old days, it was common in Guangdong for the bride to sing "crying songs" at night before the wedding day, or on the wedding day when she left home. The singers "sigh" for their destiny, "blame" the matchmakers, and stressed on their emotional link to their family. The singing became one of the standards to consider whether the bridge was good or not.
 
The "second" wedding ceremony 重行花烛

In Guangzhou, couples celebrated the 60th anniversary of their marriage by holding the wedding ceremony again. On the "wedding day", the wife was dressed exactly as the bride and set off from her own family to her husband's. The old couple would worship the Heaven, the Earth and their ancestors, after which their children and grand-children would pay courtesy to them. At the end of the ceremony, they would be lead by their grand-children into the "bridal chamber".

Marriage on water 疍家婚

Marriage customs of those living on boats (the Danjia 疍家 people, or Residents on Water 水上居民) were simpler than those on land. If there were unmarried girls in a family, a pot flower would be placed at the end of the boat. On the wedding day, the groom went for the bride on a flower-decorated boat and scattered some rice into the river. When he arrived, the bride would be carried by a woman (the woman is called Hao Ming Po 好命婆by the Danjai people, she must come from a happy family and suppose to bring happiness to the new couple) to the groom's boat.

Marry with a cock as the "groom" 公鸡代婚

A great number of men of Guangdong living abroad "married" girls in their hometown so that their aged parents would be taken care of by the brides. However, as it was difficult to travel back home, they were represented by cocks in the wedding ceremony. There, the bride had to worship and pay courtesy together with the cock, and spend the first night with it. If her husband was away for too many years, she could adopt a boy. Most of such marriages were tragic stories.

Women who combed themselves 自梳女

In the old days, women wore plaits before they married, and changed them into buns when marriages were set. Which was unique in Guangdong, a woman could declare to stay single for the whole life by changing her hair-style. In Guangzhou, when a good day was selected, the best friends of such a woman would comb the hair for her on a boat in the middle of the Pearl River, and later set off firecrackers. Afterwards, she would worship ancestors and have dinner with her relatives to announce her decision.
 
"Wives" that did not live with their husbands 不落家

This was a variant for those determined to stay single yet unable to resist the pressure from their parents. After a normal wedding ceremony, the bride of this kind, equipped for self-defense with a scissor and a special suit made by her "self comb" sisters, would not sleep with her husband and left his home for good after spending the first three days there. Still bearing the title of a "wife" even in their own funeral, such women returned only on grand events and when they were too old.

"Ghost marriages" 冥婚

In order to follow a rigid Age Order (from elder to younger) of getting their children married, many people in Guangdong held "ghost marriages" if the elder sons or daughters died before their younger brothers and sisters got married. With the help of a special matchmaker, a late boy could "marry" a late girl in a formal ceremony just like those for the alive, usually on festivals including Qingming (in March (according to the Chinese lunar calendar), for worshiping the ancestors), Yulan, (in July, for the ghosts), and Chongyang (in September, for the people to climb mountains).

"Ghost marriages" and the above ways for women to stay single gradually disappeared since the Marriage Law in 1950 was in place.

(by Jiang Jianming, Alan Devey)

Source: www.lifeofguangzhou.com

Editor: Carrot Chan