Study of Institutional Culture in Ancient Tujia Society—Marriage System Culture (I)
Chapter 5: Marriage System Culture. Marriage and family are social forms that emerged only at a certain historical stage of human social development. Like other ethnic groups, Tujia marriage forms evolved from group marriage to pairing marriage and then to monogamy. Due to differences in ethnic cultural traditions and geographical environment, the development of Tujia marriage and family shows...
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Chapter Five: The Culture of the Marriage System
Marriage and family are social forms that appeared only when human society developed to a certain historical stage. Like other ethnic groups, the marriage forms of the Tujia also underwent a process of evolution from group marriage to pairing marriage and then to monogamy. Due to differences in ethnic cultural traditions and geographical environment, the development process of Tujia marriage and family shows certain uniqueness and differences, displaying the marriage and family culture peculiar to this ethnic group.
Section One: Forms of Marriage
Marriage is the source of the reproduction and flourishing of an ethnic community. In the historical process of the formation and development of any ethnic group, it is inevitable that the group will produce its own unique marriage system and marriage customs. "Our ape-like ancestors were social animals. Man, the most social of all animals, obviously cannot have developed from a non-social immediate ancestor." In traditional Tujia society, its marriage underwent three forms: group marriage, pairing marriage, and monogamy. "These three forms of marriage correspond roughly to the three main stages of human development. Group marriage corresponds to the age of savagery, pairing marriage to the age of barbarism, and monogamy supplemented by adultery and prostitution to the age of civilization. Between pairing marriage and monogamy, in the upper stage of barbarism, there was inserted the rule of men over female slaves and polygamy."
I. The Earliest Form of Tujia Marriage
In primitive society, before the emergence of individual families, brother-sister marriage was the earliest form of Tujia marriage. Like other ethnic groups, the Tujia also experienced the primitive marriage form of consanguineous marriage in history, expressed as brother-sister marriage. Some myths, legends, and mythological stories circulating in Tujia inhabited areas provide historical information about brother-sister marriage from different angles. For example, the "Hand-waving Song" describes the process by which a brother and sister overcame the taboo of blood kinship and married. "Busuo" and "Yongni" were originally brother and sister. When the heavenly god Motieba sent a vast flood to punish humanity, they survived because they had shown kindness to the Thunder God and were protected by him. Because all people on earth had drowned, the brother and sister had to marry as blood relatives in order to reproduce humanity. Under the repeated mediation of the deity in charge of marriage, Shiyi Tujie, the brother and sister underwent three tests: rolling millstones, burning smoke, and chasing each other, and so complied with heaven's will and married. In addition, many folk legends also record historical information about Tujia brother-sister marriage. For example, "The Transformation of the Mulberry Tree and the Origin of the Hundred Family Surnames," circulated in southeastern Chongqing, says: In ancient times, the mulberry tree grew as high as the sky. A monkey climbed up the mulberry tree to the heavenly court, entered a forbidden place, and was captured and taken before the Jade Emperor. Afraid of punishment, it lied and said that the lower world was suffering drought and had come to heaven to beg for rain. The Jade Emperor believed it and tipped over a golden basin of water, so that the flood in the human world rose higher than the sky. At this time, a gourd floated into the Southern Heavenly Gate, and inside sat the brother and sister Luo Ye and Luo Niang. They too were captured by the heavenly patrol guards and taken before the Jade Emperor. After they explained the flooding in the lower world, the Jade Emperor sent Li Laogu to control the flood. But there was already no human habitation left in the world, so the Jade Emperor ordered the brother and sister Luo Ye and Luo Niang to return to the human world and reproduce humanity. After Luo Ye and Luo Niang returned to the ground, Goddess Luo said, "How can full siblings marry?" She refused to marry her brother. Then the Earth God came forward to mediate and told them that one should take the upper millstone to the eastern mountain and roll it down, and the other should take the lower millstone to the western mountain and roll it down; if the upper and lower millstones came together, they could marry. The two agreed, and indeed the upper and lower millstones came together. But Goddess Luo still would not agree to marry. The Earth God then told them to split bamboo, one splitting from the root end and the other from the tip end; if the two cuts came together, they could marry. They split it, and indeed the two cuts matched, but Goddess Luo still would not agree to marry. The Earth God then told them to plant gourds, one on the eastern mountain and one on the western mountain; if the vines of the two gourds became entwined, they must marry. The gourds they planted grew, and the two vines indeed became tightly entwined, but Goddess Luo still did not agree to marry. The Earth God then told them to walk around Guwang Ridge in the same direction; if the two met, they would marry. They walked around Guwang Ridge seven times and became so disoriented that they no longer knew east, west, south, or north. The Earth God then told Grandpa Luo Shen to turn back, and as a result the two ran into each other. Goddess Luo had nothing more to say, and the two married under the joy tree. One hundred days after the marriage, Goddess Luo gave birth to a string of grapes. The two carried the grapes out to throw away, picking one and throwing one; as a result, each one thrown out became a person. Those thrown onto a shed became people surnamed Peng, those thrown into a field became people surnamed Tian, those thrown under a plum tree became people surnamed Li... This is the origin of the hundred family surnames.
Brother-sister marriage is one of the most primitive forms of marriage in human history. It mainly arose and existed in the Paleolithic period in archaeological chronology and the Homo erectus period in anthropological chronology; for the Tujia, it mainly existed in the "Jianshi Man" period, contemporary with "Yuanmou Man," and was a manifestation in marriage of the childish culture of humanity's remote antiquity. This historical phenomenon of brother-sister marriage centrally explains two issues: first, the Tujia once experienced the marriage stage of consanguineous marriage; second, the mating principle of this marriage form was still the clan endogamy system. In the era of brother-sister marriage, the form of marriage was expressed in the existence of different marriage groups, and marriage groups were basically formed and divided according to generation. "Within the family circle, all grandfathers and grandmothers are husband and wife to each other, and so are their children, namely fathers and mothers; likewise, the children of the latter constitute a third common circle of husbands and wives." The brother-sister marriage peculiar to the Tujia is precisely one of the manifestations of consanguineous marriage.
II. The Tujia Clan Endogamy System
Marriage between people of the same surname was a form of marriage that once appeared in Tujia history. It excluded sexual relations between full siblings and was a marriage relationship occurring between paternal cousins and between men and women of different generations. This was a major advance in the Tujia marriage system, just as Engels pointed out: "If the first advance in the organization of the family consisted in the exclusion of sexual relations between parents and children, the second consisted in the exclusion of such relations between sisters and brothers."
In the Tujia areas of western Hubei during the Tusi period, the phenomenon that Tujia marriage did not prohibit same-surname unions was very prevalent in history. Its formation was mainly due to two reasons: first, the powerful clans and great surnames in Tujia areas mostly lived together as clans and had fewer opportunities to come into contact with other surnames; this closed residential environment was the main reason for same-surname marriage; second, Tujia inhabited areas were long influenced by a special concept of endogamous mating. The idea governing same-surname marriage was that "the same surname means the same virtue, the same virtue means the same heart, and the same heart means the same purpose"; with the same virtue, same heart, and same purpose, a stable family could be formed. The Tujia form of same-surname marriage roughly underwent three stages of development: first, intermarriage between paternal cousins within the five mourning degrees; second, same-surname marriage outside the five mourning degrees; third, same-surname marriage within the same clan or between different clans of the same surname.
The Tujia marriage form of same-surname marriage contains the cultural connotation of pairing marriage. It is an intermediate form in the transition from group marriage to monogamy, and it prepared the conditions for the emergence of monogamy in terms of blood relations and family structure. The existence of this marriage form can be corroborated by records in the "Tian Clan Genealogy" of the Tujia in Changyang: "Among the male descendants of seven generations in three branches, those whose spouses were of the same surname accounted for sixty percent, thirty percent, and sixty-six percent respectively." In addition, many historical works and local gazetteers also contain records of "same-surname marriage," such as the "Yongshun Prefecture Gazetteer," which records the custom that "same-surname marriage, brides are carried on the back"; the "Baojing County Gazetteer" also records: "Same-surname marriage; in weddings, no sedan chair is used, and the bride is carried on the back." Another example is the Tian clan of the Rongmei Xuanwei Office, whose same-surname marriage was relatively typical: Xuanwei Commissioner Tian Xuan married the daughter of the Tian clan of the Zhongdong Xuanfu Office; Tian Xuan's daughter then married back to Tian Guifang of the Zhongdong Xuanfu Office; Tian Xuan's eldest son Tian Peilin's wife was called "first wife Lady Tian," and Tian Xuan's second son Tian Jilin's wife was called Lady Tian; Tian Jilin's daughter Lady Tian then married Tian Yugong, son of Tian Guifang of Zhongdong.
From the above table, it can be seen that the Rongmei Tian clan and the Zhongdong Tian clan intermarried for virtually every generation, forming a stable Tian intermarriage group. From the marriage custom of same-surname marriage maintained by the Tujia people during the chieftain period, we can infer that in the late primitive clan society, the Tujia had already established a patriarchal family centered on males; the group marriage system, in which one knew one's mother but not one's father, had already given way to the pairing marriage system with males as clan ancestors.
"The overthrow of mother-right was the world-historic defeat of the female sex," marking the arrival of the era of male authority, in which women were "degraded and enslaved, turned into slaves of the husband's lust and mere tools for bearing children." The enslavement of women by men occurred simultaneously with class antagonism, and it laid the foundation for the monogamous marriage form that emerged in class society. In The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, Engels affirmed the role of the patriarchal family, pointing out that this was a great advance in social development, "though a relative one, for the happiness and development of some is achieved through the suffering and repression of others."
III. Monogamy Among the Tujia
Monogamy is a relatively complete marriage system in the history of marriage development, and the correct choice humanity made after summing up all previous forms of marriage. The emergence of the concept of private property and of private ownership gave rise to monogamy and made it the principal marriage form of class society. This marriage form takes the shape of the man marrying and the woman being given in marriage, with the wife residing with the husband, the children taking the father's surname, and enjoying the right of inheritance. Monogamy was a major transformation in the history of marriage development: "It was founded on the rule of the husband, its evident purpose being to produce children of undisputed paternity; and this paternity is necessary because the children will in due time inherit their father's property as his natural heirs. The monogamous family differs from the pairing marriage in the much greater solidity of the marriage bond, which can no longer be dissolved at the pleasure of either party."
After the feudal dynasties implemented the loose-rein (jimi) system in Tujia areas, monogamy became the mainstream marriage system in the region. Of course, as local rulers, the chieftains regarded a household of wives and concubines as perfectly justified, protected and confirmed by law and ritual; but polygamy and the system of one wife with multiple concubines among ordinary commoners were restricted to a certain degree. Monogamy was therefore the most common form of marriage contracted in Tujia areas.
In Tujia areas, the conclusion of a monogamous marriage was confirmed through the holding of a wedding and a coming-of-age capping ceremony. The husband-wife relationship is a social contractual relationship, and also the most common legal form for the public union of a man and a woman once both have reached maturity. As a marker of the maturity of both sexes, a coming-of-age capping ceremony presided over by the Tulaosi (Tujia ritual master) had to be held. Once the capping ceremony was held, it meant that the man and woman had entered adulthood, could socialize independently in society, and could establish a household and a career. The Tujia held the coming-of-age capping ceremony and the wedding together, and with great solemnity. "In ancient times capping and marriage were two separate matters; in Changyi they were combined into one. One or two days before the marriage, the bride's family bound up her hair and put in the hairpin, called 'shangtou' (putting up the hair)... The groom's family gave him a courtesy name, and relatives and friends pooled money for a golden plaque, escorted it with drums and music, and ascended the hall to offer congratulations, called 'hehao' (congratulating the name), not 'giving the name.'"
The man's capping ceremony was usually held on the day before the bridal sedan chair was dispatched. The groom put on new clothes, new trousers, and new shoes, wrapped a new turban, and first held an ancestor-worship ritual, then hosted a banquet, attended and toasted by nine "yellow-flower boys" (unmarried young men). When the capping ceremony began, a declaration ritual had to be performed first, with the master of ceremonies giving an address; when the address was finished, the band struck the gong three times, and then the eulogist offered words of praise; when the praise was finished, the master of ceremonies led the golden drum and the Eight Immortals (musicians) onto the hall, circling the hall three times. Afterward, each of the officiants took a stick of incense, circled the hall while playing movements of music, one leading and the crowd responding, singing three stanzas in succession. The master of ceremonies led the groom out of his place, adjusted his cap and cleaned his clothes, and brought him to the washing place, where water was poured and a towel handed to him to bathe. After bathing, the master of ceremonies led the groom in turn to each of the places set up for worship; at each place, the eulogist had to offer words of praise. After paying respects at all the places set up, the master of ceremonies led the groom before the ancestral tablets to bow to the ancestors; after bowing, the master of ceremonies led the groom to the capping place to be capped. The capping had to be performed three times, each with words of praise. After the capping was completed, the poem-singer sang the poem "Guan Ju," and the assembled crowd offered congratulations, while the guests at the feast toasted the groom one after another.
The woman's capping ceremony was generally held on the day before her marriage. First the incense and candles on the ancestral shrine in the main hall were lit, and the bride-to-be, supported by two sisters-in-law, bowed before the ancestors in the hall; after bowing, the two sisters-in-law gave the bride-to-be "shangtou" (putting up the hair) and "kailian" (opening the face), dressing her in the attire of a married woman to signify that she had come of age. "Shangtou" meant combing the braid she had worn as a girl into a married woman's "baba bun," pinning it with a silver hairpin and inserting a red flower. "Kailian" meant using the red string sent by the groom's family to twist three times on the bride-to-be's brow, three times at the ends of the eyebrows, and three times at the nape of the neck, and then using a hard-boiled egg sent by the groom's family to roll three times over her face, which was called "kailian." Once the "shangtou" and "kailian" ceremonies were completed, it meant that the bride had bid farewell to her girlhood and had formally become a daughter-in-law of the groom's family.
The Tujia wedding was held together with the coming-of-age capping ceremony, and it had a dual significance. On the one hand, it proclaimed that the young Tujia man and woman had obtained society's permission to marry, and the capping ceremony was a marker of their entry into adulthood; on the other hand, the strict ritual procedures told them of the family responsibilities and social responsibilities they were about to assume, and at the same time indicated that their husband-wife relationship had gained society's recognition.