The Wedding of Menba

Menba ethnic minority generally practices monogamy. When a girl and a young man fall in love with each other, their parents will usually agree on their choice. In Menyu, parents respect children's choice of spouse.

When the young man wants to marry the girl, his family sends two males and one female who are talkative to meet the bride and compulsorily escort her to the bridegroom's home. Since the transport in the north of Menyu is not convenient, the bride has to walk as the escorting people do, who should toast to the bride and her accompanying people three times on the way.

After the bride arrives, the bridegroom's parents dress her up in the prepared wedding suit. The new couple sits on a handmade woolen cushion facing eastward, because the east symbolizes the start of all.

And then the new couple, the bridegroom's parents and elders in the village have lunch together. As soon as the lunch is over, an elder presents hada and good wine to the new couple and tell them many principles of conduct, wishing them to smoke the calumet together and be filial to parents, etc.

On the next day, the escorting people go to greet the bride's parents and relatives for the wedding. From the noon, relatives and friends in the village dress themselves up and take highland barley wine they brew themselves to attend the wedding. On that day, the bridegroom's family shall prepare a grand wedding banquet.

On the third day, the bride's parents present the dowry, including cows, sheep, farmland and so on.

On the fourth day, the newly wedded couple take various delicious foods back to the bride's family and stay there for seven days. By then, the wedding ceremony comes to an end.