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Newlyweds do not live together
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THE Mulao people have a tradition, kept through the centuries, that few ethnic groups still maintain: Its newlywed couples do not live together.
With a population listed at 216,257, most Mulao people live in the mountains of Luocheng Mulao Autonomous County of Hechi in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A few of them scatter among the Zhuang, Miao, Han, Yao and Dong people in ethnically diverse Guangxi, while the rest are found in Guizhou and Guangdong provinces. They are also known as Mulams.
The Mulao ethnic group was long taken to be part of the Liao and Ling tribes in Chinese history before the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The Mulaos were not recognized as a single ethnic group until the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and were officially listed in the 56 ethnic groups of China in 1953.
The language of Mulaos belongs to the Tong language group of the Chinese-Tibetan family. The Mulaos have no written characters of their own but use that of the majority Han in most cases. Most Mulaos can speak Chinese and the Zhuang language. Mulao means “mother.”
Mulao villages are reasonably prosperous compared to those of many other minority groups. Most Mulaos are still engaged in agriculture, living by planting rice, corn and potatoes. A mining tradition among the Mulaos was established during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties, as abundant sulfur and coal resources were found in their region. Today, new industries have emerged to employ many Mulao people, including cement, chemical fertilizer, farm machinery and timber processing.
The Mulaos eat rice as their staple food, and glutinous rice as food for festivals and celebrations. They also eat pork, beef, fish, chicken and duck. “Pillow zongzi” (enormous glutinous rice dumplings) is one of the most popular cuisines during festivals. A “pillow zongzi” usually weighs 2.5 to 3 kilograms, big enough to be shared by the whole family.
Mulao people prefer sour and peppery food like the traditional salted vegetable Mulao pickles. It can be divided into water pickle and dry pickle. Every family has it and makes it every year.
Mulao people’s traditional dress is very similar to that of the Han and Zhuang due to the longtime close relationship among the people. But there are distinctions. Young women wear garments buttoned on their right side and trousers. The older women always cover their heads with black handkerchiefs and wear black aprons. The women wear narrow-headed shoes decorated with flowers and woven with knitting wool. For men, collarless jackets buttoned down on the front and long trousers are the norm.
The Mulao people are fond of singing, which they call “qi kuai yu,” to express feelings and spread knowledge. Mulao folk songs are divided into three types: “Sui Kou Da”, “Gu Tiao” and “Kou Feng,” varying in style, form and function. Filled with romantic verses, “Sui Kou Da” (freely answers) is widely used by young people for romantic occasions. Fifteen to 30 portions of songs constitute a collection named “Gu Tiao,” which contains popular legends in history and mythology. “Kou Feng” is an ironic style with no content limit.
Singing plays an important role in marriages and weddings.
Traditionally, young Mulaos enjoy the freedom to love and choose their own spouses, though they still need their parents’ permission for official marriage.
The “Zou Po” (slope-walking) festival is a most important occasion for young Mulaos to find their love matches. The festivals are usually held during spring or autumn, especially on days before or after mid-autumn day. Young people dressed in splendid attire will walk in groups to the slopes to sing folk songs. They ask and answer questions by singing on the hillside to know each other better. If they want to start a relationship after such communication, they exchange gifts as love tokens.
Singing is also essential on the wedding day — both for the bridegroom to receive his bride and the bridesmaids to induce the bride to enter her husband’s family.
Ten bridesmaids is traditional for a Mulao wedding. About one month before the ceremony, 10 girlfriends of the bride will help her prepare her wedding dress, shoes and dowries. On the wedding day, these girls will dress identically to the bride, accompanying her to the groom’s house.
Both the groom and bride will stay with their own families for the wedding night, and the bride will return to her mother’s home the next morning. The newlyweds will not spend nights together until the second year. And they will not live together until the birth of their first child.
Mulaos lack a uniform religion. What they have has gradually developed from nature worship to polytheistic beliefs. Most are adherents of both Buddhism and Taoism.
Since Mulaos believe in numerous gods, festivals occur almost every month. Exceptions are the 10th and 11th months of the traditional lunar calendar. The once-every-3-year festival “Yi Fan” (depending on rice) is the grandest one, aiming to worship ancestors, exorcise evil, pray for safety and a good harvest. Twelve kinds of food are often used as sacrifice, including ginger, eggs, sesame, soybeans, chicken, fish and pig’s entrails. Various activities such as dragon dances, singing and opera performances will go on for three days during the Yi Fan Festival.
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