What is the custom of engagement in Longyan?

It generally follows the six rituals of "accepting gifts, asking for names, accepting gifts, accepting invitations, asking for dates, and personally welcoming".

Nacai: The man asks a matchmaker to go to the woman’s house to arrange marriage. If the woman agrees, the matchmaker and the man's elders will bring the unmarried young man to the woman's house for a blind date - to "look at the girl". If both parties agree to discuss marriage, the man must give the woman a token (such as a gold ring). Commonly known as "over-mining".

Name question: Both men and women exchange Geng Tie, and then hand it over to the fortune teller to check whether their birth dates are consistent, which is commonly known as "combined marriage".

When a marriage is auspicious, a matchmaker will arrange the bride price and dowry, and the man will prepare a gift to betrothal to the woman's family, commonly known as "Xiao Zha".

Recruitment

The engagement is agreed upon and an auspicious day is chosen to formally appoint someone, commonly known as "Dazha". In the old days, marriages were mostly for sale, and the amount of bride price. According to a survey by the county government in 1937, it generally required about 200 to 300 yuan in legal currency. In rural areas, most people use grain as a bride price, usually ranging from 30 to 50 shi. Add eggs, cakes, fish, meat, poultry, etc. Fish meat is generally calculated based on 5 kilograms of fish per year for a woman. If the woman is 16 years old, she needs 80 kilograms of fish meat. The bride's family must prepare the bride's clothing, quilts, cupboards, tables, and the groom's clothing, shoes, and socks. The amount of the dowry depends on the bride's family background. An old proverb goes: "The upper-class families lose money to marry their girls, the middle-class families spend their money to marry their girls, and the lower-class families make money to marry their girls." Although the woman's actual income

is not much, the bride price is still a heavy financial burden for the man.

During the application period, the man chooses an auspicious day, prepares gifts and auspicious red stickers, and delivers them to the woman's family. This is commonly known as the "sending day". Welcoming

The day before the wedding, the groom’s family will put up lanterns and streamers, place a sedan in the hall, and ask a troupe to play music, which is called "bridal sedan". On the day of the wedding, the groom will wear red flowers and hang in a sedan or ride a horse, and the matchmaker will Leading the "in-laws" to carry fish, meat and other gifts, playing music and playing music,

accompanying the sedan chair to the bride's house to marry her.

The bride’s family sets up an incense table in the middle hall, and the elder women give the bride a make-up, open her face, comb her hair, and wear a phoenix crown and harem. The clan leader or head of family is in charge of writing the marriage certificate. After paying homage to her ancestors and her father and brothers, the bride gets into the sedan chair with the support of her bridesmaids. Hang Bagua, scissors, mirror and ruler on the sedan door to ward off evil spirits.

The bride must cry loudly along the way, otherwise it will be considered detrimental to her family. The woman must be escorted by an elder or brother in marriage, which is called "marrying the public". The bride must be sent to the groom's family along with the sedan chair and dowry, which is also called "marrying". After arriving home, if the auspicious time has not arrived, place the sedan chair in a large basket at the door and do not touch the ground.

When the auspicious time comes, the bridesmaid will hold an umbrella and help the bride with a red hijab step on the red carpet to enter the ceremony. In the hall, portraits of ancestors are hung, three animals are sacrificed, and candles are burned high.

The bride and groom sing praises, worship heaven and earth, ancestors and parents, and then enter the bridal chamber to drink and exchange glasses of wine. The groom distributed wedding candies to everyone. It is not considered rude for everyone to grab and have fun. Then the trumpet troupe will play in the lower hall, hold a wedding banquet to entertain the guests, and let them have a good time. In Wudong and other towns, there is also the custom of giving the bride to eat tofu mixed with sugar, which is called "Heshui color". In Zhongshan and other places, it is customary for onlookers to grab red eggs while drinking a glass of wine.

On the second or third day after the wedding, the groom and the bride Zhizhi meet the parents-in-law with courtesy, which is commonly known as "coming to the door". The bride's family holds a banquet, and invites relatives and friends to accompany her. The groom sits at the head of the table. The next day, the parents-in-law bring scissors, needles, drills and one or two pieces of the bride's old clothes, as well as pork and snacks. When the husband's family visits their daughter, it is called "making court", also called "Laimeizi" ".

In the old days, when a man married a woman, there were many red tapes. However, poor farmers in mountain villages are generally unable to make arrangements, so they have to make do with simple things and get married reluctantly, without the trouble of the above six etiquettes.