Red Dao wedding

As society develops, many customs of ethnic minorities fade away over time, but the rituals and ceremonies of traditional weddings are still preserved by the Red Dao people of Cao Bang to educate their children and grandchildren.

The wedding of the Red Dao people involves many complex rituals (depending on the group or region, there are specific rituals). However, generally, the wedding ceremony proceeds through several steps: the preliminary proposal ceremony ("mịnh nại"), the formal engagement ceremony ("ghịa tịnh"), and the wedding ceremony.

When a son reaches the age of 13 or 14, parents often look for a girl they find attractive, well-behaved, and hardworking, then approach her family to propose marriage and establish a relationship. Parents are the ones who decide their children's marriages. If the girl's birth date and month are compatible with the boy's, they decide to hold an engagement ceremony. The engagement ceremony usually involves one of the boy's parents personally visiting the girl's family, with gifts including a bottle of wine, a roll of red yarn, and a length of cloth.

After the official engagement ceremony, the girl is allowed to stay at home for nine months to a year to embroider clothes, belts, scarves, etc. At the same time, if requested by the groom's family, she must also embroider trousers or belts for the groom's family (the groom's family must provide all the materials such as wool, fabric, and embroidery thread for each set embroidered). Besides fabric and thread for making new clothes, the groom's family must prepare sufficient dowry for the bride's family for the wedding day, including: pork, rice, wine, and silver for jewelry: 200 octagonal flowers, two necklaces weighing about 12 silver coins, a pair of bracelets... The dowry from the bride's family to her husband's home usually includes: a wooden chest, a woolen blanket, a pair of mats, and a washbasin.

On the wedding day (predetermined during the engagement ceremony), before taking the bride to her husband's house, the bride's family slaughters a boiled chicken and offers it as a sacrifice to their ancestors, informing them that their daughter will soon be getting married. The number of relatives from the bride's side accompanying her to the groom's house is announced in advance to the groom's family so that they can prepare a feast and meat to share with everyone from the bride's side, as well as some wine.

The wedding procession to the groom's house includes a musician playing a trumpet to bid farewell to the bride. If the two houses are close together, the groom's family may come to greet the bride halfway through the journey. If they are too far apart, the bride's family will bring their own food to eat along the way, and only come to greet the bride when they are near the groom's house. While walking, the bride is shielded by umbrellas by her bridesmaids and must keep her face covered throughout the journey with an elaborately embroidered veil and jewelry surrounding a triangular frame that covers her head. When leaving the house with the veil on, the bride is not allowed to turn around to look at her parents or siblings.

The Red Dao people maintain the practice of wearing traditional clothing during weddings and festivals.

When the bride's family approaches the groom's house, they blow a series of horns to signal the groom's family to come out and greet them. The groom's family also blows horns, drums, and gongs in response, circling the bride's family three times. Both sides bow to each other before entering the house. Afterwards, the groom's family begins the ceremonies to welcome the new bride and holds a lavish feast for both families.

In the marriage customs of the Red Dao people, if the son moves to the wife's house to live permanently as a son-in-law, he must change his surname to that of his wife's family.

Today, the cultural life of ethnic minorities has undergone many changes, and the Red Dao people are no exception. Their wedding ceremonies have also been adapted to current conditions; however, the basic steps are still preserved, especially regarding attire. Young people leave their hometowns to work elsewhere and embrace modern cultures, but they still maintain their traditional ethnic clothing during wedding rituals.

Hong Chuyen/ Cao Bang Newspaper

Source: https://baophutho.vn/dam-cuoi-cua-nguoi-dao-do-216947.htm