Wearing a cool hat, a big blouse, carrying a child, holding a plow, barefoot in the field, is a traditional image of Hakka women. The custom of Hakka women wearing cool hats began in the late Song Dynasty. At that time, Hakka ancestors moved south from the Central Plains, and in order to survive, women also cultivated and worked like men. However, it is indecent for women to go out of boudoir and make public appearances, so they wear bamboo hats and cover their faces with a piece of black cloth with two small holes. Later, in practical use, I felt that it was inconvenient, so I cut the cloth short and sewed it around the brim to become a cool hat that was both practical and beautiful. It is precisely because of the need of work that Hakka women have never bound their feet. They
The big-breasted shirt is also shortened from the original robe.
The custom of putting a silver hairpin on the bun tied at the back of the head is still maintained by all elderly women in Hakka area. Silver hairpin is generally made of silver, about 10 cm long, narrow in the middle, large at both ends, sharp at the end, carved with patterns, exquisite and exquisite, and its shape is similar to the present "earpick Zi". In the past, Hakkas, especially Hakka women, were often bullied by bandits, bandits or evil forces (including hooligans, local ruffians, unscrupulous people, etc.).
In order to defend themselves, they began to carry some short and sharp iron tools with them. After a long time, they began to evolve into the silver hairpin that Hakka women put on the bun behind their heads. The silver hairpin has other functions: First, in case of headache, brain fever and other diseases, the Hakka ancestors would wrap the boiled egg white and the silver hairpin in cloth and wipe them back and forth on the patients while they were hot. It is said that the effect is very good. Second, when Lou Hakka girls want to get married, mothers always send a silver bun wrapped in cloth, and repeatedly tell their daughters that if the groom suffers from "sudden detachment" during sexual intercourse, they can take a silver hairpin to stab the man's coccyx again and turn the corner. Third, if you are bitten by a poisonous snake, stab the snake with a silver hairpin and bump out poisonous blood, which can prevent snake venom from entering the heart.
After the Hakkas established a firm foothold in Lingnan, men had to go out to make a living or study for an official job because of the mountainous environment and few fields, while their families ranged from "parenting" (raising children) to "cooking the kitchen" (running the housework) to "sewing the clothes" and "farming the head"
The end of the land (farming land), regardless of size or life, is shouldered by women. They work at the end of the day, and they live in the end of the day. They have been silently and selflessly dedicated all their lives. Even after their centenary, there is not even their own name on the tombstone.
Hakka women can live independently, so they have a certain independent personality, but they are as hard to get rid of the limitations of the times as Hakka men. On the issue of their marriage, on the one hand, many of their sisters can express their love by singing folk songs and form a good marriage with their favorite men; On the other hand, in many places, finger-belly marriage, child bride, changing marriage and buying remain.
The bad habit of selling marriage makes Hakka women become direct victims, so there is a saying that "men are afraid of entering the wrong line and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man" However, the strict rule of "marry a chicken with a chicken, marry a dog with a dog, and marry a fox all over the mountain" has made them complain about this unfortunate marriage, and Hakka areas have the custom of "crying marriage" On the wedding day, the bride cried in front of the sedan chair, thanked her parents for their upbringing with sad folk songs, ashamed that she had nothing to repay, and expressed her worries about her new husband's family, pitying that she was not a man. The weeping song, almost every word is blood, and the stone will cry. If it weren't for the persuasion of three aunts and six grandmothers, I'm afraid it would be difficult for the wedding procession to make it. Nowadays, the society has improved the marriage and fate of Hakka women, and they all have the bright colors of the times.
The highest "reward" for Hakka women is probably that they can drink Niang wine when they have a baby sitting on the moon. This kind of Niang wine is brewed from glutinous rice. When lying-in women sit on the moon within one month after giving birth to their children, it is cooked with pork, chicken, eggs, etc. It has the effects of beautifying, expelling wind, removing blood stasis, promoting blood circulation, strengthening body and promoting lactation. At the same time, the main family will cook ginger wine and give it to relatives and neighbors to show good news. If ginger is sliced, it means a girl is born, and if ginger is shredded, it means a boy is born. Hakka women have a strong physique, and Hakka Niang wine is indispensable.
Robert Smith, an American missionary, once lived in Hakka area for many years. In "Hakka in China", he thought: "Hakka women are really the most admirable thing among women of any ethnic group we have ever seen". Edel, an Englishman, also commented in his book A Brief Introduction to Hakka Species: "Hakka women are typical of the most beautiful working women in China". A history of Hakkas is enhanced by Hakka women.