The largest Yi ethnic group are located in Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Liangshan, Sichuan Province in China. ‘Crying for Marriage’ is one of the most distinctive forms in their traditional wedding. The day before Yi wedding, the bride is accompanied by bridesmaids, crying and singing “Crying marriage song” which could be traditional lyrics, but also improvised. Although ‘Crying for Marriage’ can be seen in Hani ethnic group and Lhoba ethnic group but the method and occasion of crying is different.
On the wedding day, the bride wore a beautiful and new pleated dress, embroidered clothes, and cloak, whose head wrapped in layers of veil. Whether the distance is near or far, the bride must be carried to groom’s home by groomsmen, and she can’t stand on the ground, otherwise it is viewed as not attaching importance to the bride. In the same case, in Uygur ethnic group when the bride enters the groom’s house, the bride is not allowed to tread on the ground but is carried by four young men. Along the way back to groom’s home, as the groomsmen are tired and could have a rest, the bridesmaid lay prepared new mats and blankets on the ground for the bride to sit. Yi always hold wedding ceremony in the evening, but the bride must be escorted to the groom’s home before sunset.
When wedding group pour into the groom’s home, dozens of beautiful girls splash spring water to the groomsmen without hesitation. They have no alternative but to rush to the house, despite knowing that it is difficult to resist the heavy rain. What’s worse, it is just starting. After they become completely drenched, these girls wipe their faces with dark pot ash one by one. And then these girls begin to dress for the bride and comb one braid to show her chastity. The wedding ceremony is over along with dancing, singing till dawn.
apple ipad future…
Glad to see that this site works well on my iPhone , everything I want to do is functional. Thanks for keeping it up to date with the latest….