A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Crying Marriage in the Context of the Minority, the Oppressed Female and Local Culture

Abstract

Crying Marriage is a special ritual of the Tujia family in the west of Hunan province, China. The reason why the Crying Marriage appeared so is that Tujia women lost their rights to marriage. The emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty abolished local governments and dispatched officials from the capital to govern local people. Then, local people in different areas of China started to adapt the traditions of Han culture (the mainstream culture in China). In this case, since Han culture advocated arranged marriage, Tujia parents also started to arrange their daughters' marriages. Tujia women lost the right to marry so they started crying during their marriages, and then this behavior developed into a ritual. Also, during the development of Crying Marriage, more and more elements appeared, such as lyrics and skills. Although it seems like the purpose of Crying Marriage is to help Tujia women gain their rights, it backfired. On the contrary, Crying Marriage diverted people's attention from women's rights to appreciate this ritual. This study developed two concepts, Active Change, and Passive Change to explain this process.