First of all, a unique wedding
Shiken Township in Shunde County and its neighboring Nanhai County belong to Qibao area. By the early 1930s, there was still such a special wedding: not only different from other counties, but also different from other places in the county.
First, Cai Yu will return every other day. If the first day of a month is the wedding day, then the real wedding day should be the next day. According to local regulations, after the sun goes down on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Cai Yu must go to the woman's house for the man's wedding ceremony. Only after Cai Yu arrives can she dress up as a married woman. However, not only parents can't do it, but even maids and maids can't do it for them. They can only be dressed by group companions in the boudoir, and group companions are not allowed that night. They will start working slowly until dawn the next day. Therefore, when Cai Yu returned to the man's home, it was already noon the next day. This practice actually prevents the bride and groom from getting married on the wedding day.
Second, there is no drum music when welcoming the bride. This applies not only to poor families, but also to children from rich families. This practice has its historical roots. It is said that Liang Sandian, the third son of Liang Chu, a college student, was from Shiken during the Zheng De period of the Ming Dynasty. He used his father's influence to run amok and plunder women. As soon as I heard the drum music, I went to my neighbor's house to meet the bride and get married. I led a pawn with him and suddenly went to the "wedding banquet" to occupy the position of the guest of honor at the wedding. If the bride is slightly attractive, the groom will be imprisoned, or driven out and occupy the bride. If you meet a fierce woman and resist, you will often be killed by her, so I don't know how many people died tragically under her violence. Those who are afraid of their own power endure humiliation, those who refuse to accept power sue officials, and officials are afraid of their own power, but they accuse them of false accusations. Therefore, in hundreds of nearby towns and villages, drums and music are not allowed to celebrate weddings, and they are passed down from generation to generation.
Second, dress yourself up and don't stay at home
In the old society, unmarried women in Shunde County wore braids and buns after marriage. Braids and buns are used as signs of unmarried and married. However, there are still many women who comb their hair and stay at home, including Panyu, Zhongshan and Nanhai counties, and similar situations have occurred.
The so-called "self-combing" is to easily braid and bun through a specific ceremony to show that you are determined not to get married until death do us part. This is the so-called "self-combing" or "self-combing", that is, self-combing.
Shunde self-grooming girl
The so-called staying at home is another kind of girl, or forced by her parents' orders, she can't tidy up, so she has to go back to her parents' house after the wedding ceremony to avoid living with her husband; Or, if you don't marry yourself first, you will visit a reliable man when you are half old and invest in setting up a concubine for him. You will be a nominal husband and wife to show that you are not unmarried; Or, although they are married, their parents pay a dollar a day for their women to reeling, which does not urge them to leave home, even if they return to their husbands' home, it is only once or twice a year. Some even contributed money to set up concubines for their husbands, saying that they were married, but they were actually alone. These people are called women who never leave home.
However, this kind of life at home has also been broken. According to the newspaper at that time, there was such a story. Luo Jinxiu of Banjiang Village in Shunde lives on reeling silk and has considerable savings. His father married Deng, a native of Xiqiao, Nanhai. After his wedding, after two years of marriage, he never lived in a man's house again. Deng is doing business in Guangzhou. Whenever he returns to his hometown this season, his mother will be invited to meet Jinxiu, but they are all refused or avoided meeting him. Deng had no choice but to tell his brothers. Tomb-Sweeping Day is coming, and Deng wants to go back to his hometown to visit the grave. His brother A gives him a plan to cheat his wife to other places. Deng was cheated to death at the junction of Shun and Sheng provinces, and was covered with rotten seats. A sent his mother to bury Deng's wife, saying that Deng died of phlegm at the intersection on his way back to the provincial capital. My mother-in-law believed it after listening to it, and even sent Jinxiu to cross her condolences. Jinxiu wept bitterly and saw her husband covered with a rotten mat, so she sang a sad song and hung him up: "Sister came to see you with a bow!" " Goodbye, young man, alas! At this time, the ferry had already left, and Deng immediately pushed open the rotten seat and sat up, scaring his wife to disgrace. I know the secret, but the ship has sailed and can't escape, so she has to live in Guangzhou with her husband.
The appearance of self-combing women in Shunde is directly related to the relatively developed silk reeling industry in Shunde before the 1930s. Shunde women are silk reeling women and sericulture women. They are quite self-sufficient economically, so many girls are satisfied with "self-grooming". They are richer. Pay more attention to eating, you can cook and cook well. In 1930s, Guangdong's silk industry was hit by foreign silk and plummeted. These women who comb themselves or stay at home are unemployed because of the closure of silk factories, and they go to Guangzhou and Hong Kong to work as "housekeepers". Because of their tenderness and cooking ability, they are very popular with their owners. At that time, 90% of the maids in Hong Kong were Cantonese, and Shunde was the most popular.
However, the custom of staying at home is not desirable, and "immoral" things will always happen from time to time. According to the report in Yue Hua Bao 1930 on July 4th, "Yesterday, there was a Feng Mou in Rongqi Jia Peng Lane who was selling medicine in Xiaolandu. His daughter had an affair with a calf, so she was pregnant with cardamom. When neighbors complain, they will have children in private. He died of an overdose. After listening to this, the beef boy went to his daughter's house to attend the funeral, and performed a strange drama of Chen Cun's elixir buying water, and often wiped his tears with a towel along the way. Those who know this matter become the true feelings of private performances. "
Third, drink the wedding banquet.
In Chencun, Shunde, there is a custom of wedding reception, that is, when a wedding is held, the uncle should be the chief. After my uncle is seated, all relatives and friends can sit down. If my uncle leaves, so must all my relatives and friends.
It is reported that on May 6th, 2008, Li of Chencun Old Tea House married Longjia. On the same day, he married and held a banquet to celebrate. According to the custom, his uncle first entered the banquet. Soon, he suddenly suffered from dysentery and was anxious to leave his seat to go to the toilet. However, as soon as I sit down, if I leave, as usual, all my relatives and friends must leave with me, and I am forced to hold back. However, as the saying goes, "it's better to eat shit and urinate than to go to court". Although I work hard, I'm really embarrassed, anxious, tasteless and inconvenient to say it. As a result, I got into trouble, and my pants were full of stench and embarrassment. Friends and relatives are also disappointed. My uncle's face is red and his ears are hot, so he has to go home to cook. All the relatives and friends in the audience think that this custom should be abolished.
Fourth, Chinese Valentine's Day
On the evening of July 7, it is said that the two stars meet once a year, which is called the Double Star Festival. Throughout the ages, it has been handed down as a myth. Generally speaking, women with little knowledge do not hesitate to spend money to hold large-scale exhibitions to prepare for great reverence and worship. This bad habit should also be abolished. However, women in Shunde are very enthusiastic about this move, especially those who reeling silk. At that time, more than 10 people or dozens of people will gather to form the so-called Chinese Valentine's Day. Some people gather in advance, pay money monthly, and keep it for later use. This is for long-term meetings. Some temporary meetings and meetings are organized. The money for short-term meetings is paid in one lump sum. Whether it is a long meeting or a short meeting, it is a few days before the festival, and each subject has its own duties. After several days of preparation, it was finished. For example, flowers, clothes, chairs, tables and bedding, and other gadgets made of paper, wood, sesame seeds and colored beans are all kinds of bizarre. Cover the sunflower shed, arrange the table for display, fill it with antiques and light it. It is said that it is for the gods to appreciate and let people watch. Its scale is large and it costs hundreds of gold. The simplest one also costs several hundred gold, or one or two hundred gold.