My girlfriend is from Shaoyang, Hunan, and wants to get married, but I am from Shandong, and my customs are very different. I want to know the customs here in Hunan.
The marriage customs in Shaoyang are old-fashioned. After the man received the woman's birth, he was pressed under the shrine incense burner for three nights, and there was nothing ominous at home, so he could get married. When engaged, the man prepares a new post, namely a red warbler post and a green phoenix post, which are called books. On the left side of the post, the man's birthday is written, and the left side is filled in by the woman, and then the matchmaker is asked to send it to the woman's home. After the woman fills in the girl's birth Geng, she keeps the warbler sound symbolizing the man and sends it back to the Feng Cambodia on behalf of the woman, which is called dialing Geng. Geng Tie also wrote about dragons and phoenixes. The red book is a double dragon pattern, and the Green Book is a double phoenix pattern. The old marriage customs in Suining and Chengbu are very powerful. A girl's daughter should be given priority in marrying her uncle's house. When her uncle has no children or doesn't agree, she can negotiate marriage with others. When engaged, the matchmaker brought an old oiled paper umbrella and put it on the shrine of the woman's house. The woman took down the paper umbrella behind her, hid the cloth and silk colored balls prepared in advance in the umbrella, and let the matchmaker take them back to the man's house. The colored ball is a pledge of engagement and should be kept forever. Once divorced, the colored ball must be returned to settle. When the matchmaker waits for a guest banquet, Shaoyang people love to spoof relatives and friends, and they like to spoof the groom most, such as dressing the groom as a beggar, hanging bottles and cans all over his body, and dragging the bride along the street with a tricycle. Haha, this is a common trick to test the openness of the groom.