Matchmaker Celebration ——A Strong Meishan Custom
Source:Shaoyang International CultureWriter:Liu QiguiTime:2014-03-25Clicks：次
A matchmaker’s job is to go between a man and a woman to make a marriage of them. Why was there a custom of celebrating the matchmaker? There are three reasons. First, in old times the social production was low and people’s spiritual life was dull. Second,“the night in the bridal chamber with candles lit”is a most happy time in one’s life. A happy marriage is the result of a matchmaker’s hard work and so deserves a celebration. And third, the celebration is a jolly, lively and humorous event. For these reasons the custom lasted long.
A Taoist is good at carrying out the celebration. A well-off family will certainly invite a Taoist . A poor family has to ask an out-going and lively man to act as a Taoist and organize the celebration freely and recklessly. When a Taoist does the job, the following tools are necessary: a religious stick, a gong, a drum, a pair of cymbals, a religious overall, hairpins, an ox horn and a horse whip. The host has to prepare a colored handkerchief, a hat of paper, a beard made of flax, a long smoke pipe made of sorghum stem, a pair of glasses made of sorghum stem too, a cotton coat and a string of pearls made of carrots to make up the matchmaker. He also has to prepare two pairs of new shoes, a sheet of red satin and three sacrifices for the Taoist to use.
The celebration is held after breakfast on the second day of the wedding ceremony. All the relatives and friends stay to watch it. The host has to prepare three more meals for them and gift money for the matchmaker. The gift money was a worth of a load of rice before liberation at the lowest standard. A rich family would give more or the matchmaker would ask for more. In order to make the celebration funny and humorous, an ugly woman is needed in his company if the matchmaker is a man, and otherwise a stupid man is needed. The purpose is just to make people laugh.
This writer once watched such a celebration when in childhood. It was a sunny day in the middle of December of Chinese calendar. After breakfast when I got there, the courtyard of Liu family’s home was filled with crowds. A Taoist was arranging for the celebration. On a table there was a container full of rice with memorial tablets of Taishanglaojun, the founder of Taoism, Goddess Nvwa, the creator of humans, and the celestial matchmaker Yuanlao. In front of the table there was a small table on which were cups, bowls, chopsticks and sacrifices of meat and wine for the immortal beings to enjoy
A blast of beating the gong and drum with the sounds of the ox horn and firecrackers marked the start of the celebration. The Taoist invited Taishanglaojun, Goddess Nvwa and Yuanlao to their seats. Then he began singing. The song lines were the following:
“What is said is false while what is sung is true.
All are present at this celebration of wedding.
On the left is a dragon-phoenix drum,
And on the right a gold gong.
We play them not to pay respect to the Heaven and Earth,
Neither to celebrate divinities,
But to celebrate the matchmaker,
Who has led to the sweet marriage,
Like a harp and a violin in harmony.”
At this time, the matchmaker should have turned up on the stage. However, the smart matchmaker refused. The Taoist continued to sing in praise of him for some time in addition to repeated advice. And a good sum of gift money was given to the matchmaker. Then the matchmaker went slowly onto the stage. Look! What a funny appearance he had! He wore a high hat of red paper on his head, a pair glasses made of sorghum stem on his nose, a string of pearls made of carrots around his neck,a beard of flax on his lip and a cotton coat inside out . He carried a smoke pipe made of sorghum stem, which he pretended to smoke though the pipe is not hollow through. Several people tried to light the smoke for him but failed even though half a box of matches were wasted. The humorous scene made all those present laugh wildly one time after another. Meanwhile, the Taoist sang about all his religious instruments, about what the matchmaker wore and finally about the matchmaker himself. The lines about the matchmaker are:
“The matchmaker has his own origin,
Just as water has its source and a tree has its roots.
After Pangu opened up the Heaven and Earth,
The three Kings and five Emperors ruled the country.
Nvwa used ash to stop floods,
Then she got married by kowtowing to the Southeast.
She gave birth to sixty sons and forty daughters,
Since which time marriage came into being.
In Heaven Yuanlao is in charge of marriage,
Who holds a red thread,
To tie one end to a man and the other to a woman,
Under Heaven it is the matchmaker who plays the role.”
After singing about the matchmaker’s origin, the Taoist sang flattering him about his good deeds by mentioning some happy old stories, which made the matchmaker very delighted to the bottom of his heart with a big smiling face. He sang the following:
A Taoist is good at carrying out the celebration. A well-off family will certainly invite a Taoist . A poor family has to ask an out-going and lively man to act as a Taoist and organize the celebration freely and recklessly. When a Taoist does the job, the following tools are necessary: a religious stick, a gong, a drum, a pair of cymbals, a religious overall, hairpins, an ox horn and a horse whip. The host has to prepare a colored handkerchief, a hat of paper, a beard made of flax, a long smoke pipe made of sorghum stem, a pair of glasses made of sorghum stem too, a cotton coat and a string of pearls made of carrots to make up the matchmaker. He also has to prepare two pairs of new shoes, a sheet of red satin and three sacrifices for the Taoist to use.
The celebration is held after breakfast on the second day of the wedding ceremony. All the relatives and friends stay to watch it. The host has to prepare three more meals for them and gift money for the matchmaker. The gift money was a worth of a load of rice before liberation at the lowest standard. A rich family would give more or the matchmaker would ask for more. In order to make the celebration funny and humorous, an ugly woman is needed in his company if the matchmaker is a man, and otherwise a stupid man is needed. The purpose is just to make people laugh.
This writer once watched such a celebration when in childhood. It was a sunny day in the middle of December of Chinese calendar. After breakfast when I got there, the courtyard of Liu family’s home was filled with crowds. A Taoist was arranging for the celebration. On a table there was a container full of rice with memorial tablets of Taishanglaojun, the founder of Taoism, Goddess Nvwa, the creator of humans, and the celestial matchmaker Yuanlao. In front of the table there was a small table on which were cups, bowls, chopsticks and sacrifices of meat and wine for the immortal beings to enjoy
A blast of beating the gong and drum with the sounds of the ox horn and firecrackers marked the start of the celebration. The Taoist invited Taishanglaojun, Goddess Nvwa and Yuanlao to their seats. Then he began singing. The song lines were the following:
“What is said is false while what is sung is true.
All are present at this celebration of wedding.
On the left is a dragon-phoenix drum,
And on the right a gold gong.
We play them not to pay respect to the Heaven and Earth,
Neither to celebrate divinities,
But to celebrate the matchmaker,
Who has led to the sweet marriage,
Like a harp and a violin in harmony.”
At this time, the matchmaker should have turned up on the stage. However, the smart matchmaker refused. The Taoist continued to sing in praise of him for some time in addition to repeated advice. And a good sum of gift money was given to the matchmaker. Then the matchmaker went slowly onto the stage. Look! What a funny appearance he had! He wore a high hat of red paper on his head, a pair glasses made of sorghum stem on his nose, a string of pearls made of carrots around his neck,a beard of flax on his lip and a cotton coat inside out . He carried a smoke pipe made of sorghum stem, which he pretended to smoke though the pipe is not hollow through. Several people tried to light the smoke for him but failed even though half a box of matches were wasted. The humorous scene made all those present laugh wildly one time after another. Meanwhile, the Taoist sang about all his religious instruments, about what the matchmaker wore and finally about the matchmaker himself. The lines about the matchmaker are:
“The matchmaker has his own origin,
Just as water has its source and a tree has its roots.
After Pangu opened up the Heaven and Earth,
The three Kings and five Emperors ruled the country.
Nvwa used ash to stop floods,
Then she got married by kowtowing to the Southeast.
She gave birth to sixty sons and forty daughters,
Since which time marriage came into being.
In Heaven Yuanlao is in charge of marriage,
Who holds a red thread,
To tie one end to a man and the other to a woman,
Under Heaven it is the matchmaker who plays the role.”
After singing about the matchmaker’s origin, the Taoist sang flattering him about his good deeds by mentioning some happy old stories, which made the matchmaker very delighted to the bottom of his heart with a big smiling face. He sang the following: