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Chinanews, Nanning, Sept. 15 – In China, it is usually the tradition that women move to their husbands houses to start a new life after marriage. For the Yao ethnic group in the Bama Yao Prefecture in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, however, their marriage custom is just the opposite.
When men and women grow to be 18, they start to pay more attention to their appearances and how they dress. There, women look beautiful and men appear handsome. By attending open market fairs, visiting friends or relatives, attending songfests on festivals, or sports activities such as playing spinning, and kicking the shuttlecock, men and women get to know each other and be acquainted with each other. This is the beginning stage.
After they have got to know each other, they will invite each other to come to their own homes for a visit, so that the two will know more about each other, such as their character, family background, and family financial status. By doing so, they have actually begun dating. On holidays or on farm work days, the woman will invite the man to help her with work on the land, such as ploughing the fields, raking soil, sowing seeds, or harvesting crops, so as to see whether or not her boy friend is a diligent person. This is regarded as the most critical time for the woman to make up her mind. After they have got to know each other for a year or two, the two begin to fall in love. At this time, the woman will go out to buy some clothing without telling the man, and she will make a pair of cloth shoes as a gift for him. Receiving the gift, the man will buy bracelets, hair pins, a rings, earrings, or a watch as a gift for the woman. These are the tokens of love gifts exchanged between the two.
After that, the woman will ask a senior member from the man’s family to bring some wine, sugar, or cakes to her house to settle the marriage. The man should go to the woman’s house and announce their marriage to others. After that, the woman will prepare for the wedding. When everything is ready, the woman will let the man come to her house to live with her.
When the man goes to the woman’s house to live, he will change to her wife’s surname and become the son-in-law in the house. He is treated equally as the other family members, having the same right to use and inherit property in the home and in the village. He can also be elected village head or take other managing positions in the village. He will not incur any discrimination in society.
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