Marriage Customs of Nan’Ao Fishermen
Nan’Ao Peninsula is located beside the Mirs Bay in East Longgang District, Shenzhen. Since the ancient times, the Nan’Ao Fishermen’s marriage customs have had unique traditions.
First comes the engagement. Once a young fisherman reaches an adequate age for marriage, he is introduced to a young lady also of an adequate age, whom he pays a deposit to secure the engagement. The young lady’s family then consults a fortune teller, (as Asian cultures have a tradition of getting their fortune told according to their birthdate and the time of their birth) then delivering the results of the said divination to the young suitor to have it placed on the holy altar of his boat. He burns incense and lights candles on the altar afterwards. The engagement is only declared successful when none of the tableware is broken in the three days following their engagement ceremony.
Second comes the preparation for the actual marriage. The now-groom sends wedding gifts to the bride’s family, which commonly includes the steamed head of a pig, chicken, fruits, and flat cake, on a total of 10 plates. The groom and bride’s respective boats then meet and exchange gifts, hence completing the gift-exchanging process. Then, the groom is expected to transform his cabin into a bridal chamber, in which he supplies a new bed, and adorning it with the traditional red drapes of marriage. He is also expected to prepare and deliver the ceremonial words of blessings, to sing the “Song of Hanging the Drapes”, and to arrange children to “steal” nuts from the wedding bed. The custom, where the children fight each other to take nuts from the bed, wishes the couple fertility. The bride’s family will then deliver the “Song of Waiting” three days before the marriage. The grooms prepares a marriage gift, and holds a “Shanghua” ceremony, in which the groom is dressed in formal marriage clothing. There is also a practice of “Shanghong”, which consists decorating all items in red adornments.
The escort of the bride is the climax of the custom. On the day of the wedding, the groom wears a felt hat and a long traditional robe with two strips of red bands around the waist. He has one silver pearl flower on each ear, and a large flower on his chest. This is the formal marriage clothing he wears during “Shanghua”. The bride wears a red gown, with red flowers on her ears, and delicately embroidered shoes. A percussion band awaits them at the groom’s boat, and on an auspicious time of the day, the groom maneuvers his boat to meet the bride’s. After they meet, the couple burns incense and lights candles at the holy altar, then pay a deep bow to the sea, their lifeline. They do the same to their parents. Later, they will sing a farewell song for their home, and the sisters of the bride sing a song in reply, grieving the loss of a part of their family. Finally, a banquet is held at the groom’s boat for two days.
Although the current Nan’Ao Fishermen’s village marriage customs have adapted to their life on land rather than sea, certain traditional customs have remained to this day. Due to the fact that this unique custom is formed by the Nan’Ao Fishermen through their long lives at the sea, it holds certain historic value, as well as a value of the study of marine culture.
This piece is a translated work, translated from Chinese to English as part of the Shenzhen Nonmaterial Heritage Project of Shenzhen Polytechnic University and Shenzhen Museum.
