The Wedding of Qiang

The Qiang ethnic minority mainly practices monogamy and the bride is usually older than her bridegroom.

When the boy and girl have not grown up yet, the boy's family asks a matchmaker to the girl's home to make a proposal. If her family agree, the boy's family arrange a banquet in the girl's family on a predetermined date and the two sides discuss the amount of bride-price, thus the boy and girl are engaged.

Several months later, the boy's family arrange another banquet in the girl's home to entertain her close relatives. At the banquet the boy's family will deliver some betrothal gift. The two sides decide the wedding date. Then, the bride's family should arrange a large-scale feast again to treat the guests and the bride's friends and relatives and the bridegroom's family should pay off the bride's price according to the agreement they've made.

The bride's parents put homemade shoes and socks for the bridegroom in a bag and let her take to the bridegroom. After everything gets ready, a band plays suona and many people carry boxes and cabinets to accompany the bride to the bridegroom's home.

If they pass houses of the bride's relatives on the way to the bridegroom's home, the relatives arrange a tea banquet and prepare some cakes and fruit to treat them. After they arrive at the bridegroom's village, all villagers come to greet the bride. Upon arrival at the bridegroom's home, he should give a little money to bridesmaids. After the bride dismounts, the bridegroom scatters a handful of rice on the ground, then a cook takes a chanticleer to the door, kills it and spreads the blood on the gate to drive away evils. After that, the bride and the bridegroom enter the gate and scramble to get seated.

After the new couple enter the nuptial chamber, the big feast on an outdoor dam begins. The guests sing and dance while eating. The next day, the host arranges another two banquets to thank all the guests and the wedding ceremony comes to an end. On the third day after marriage, the bride and his brothers take wine and meat to escort the bride to her parents' home. Her parents arrange a banquet and the guests present gifts to the newlyweds and say something good to bless them.