"The Wedding Lament" Of The TuJia People

The custom of marrying with brides’ crying is a ritual for wedding ceremony. Songs sung in this ritual are called "the wedding lament". This traditional ritual for wedding ceremony is widely practiced among minority groups. Brides’ crying in minority group-Tujia is especially representational. Brides’ crying in wedding ceremony is a typical and influential activity in Tujia minority. Guzhang county of Xiangxi autonomous prefecture populated mainly Tujia minority and Miao minority, has picturesque scenery and gives birth to many great people. Famous singer Song zuying, He Jiguang are born in this auspicious land. Within Guzhang county, it has been a widely accepted tradition in a long time in Tujia dialect for brides to cry songs with an unique form and diversified contents. This kind of song with a profound history, distinctive characteristic and unique style fully demonstrates the wisdom and thought of Tujia women.A month or half a month before wedding ceremony, brides begin to cry, with their female relative crying with her or persuading her to cry. Brides are expected to welcome their life’s turning point in this way of crying songs. The crying is soaked in grief and sorrow accompanied with woeful melody and its music format and style is very unique. It also involves the fertile thoughts and emotions of Tuijia female, expresses brides’ unwillingness to part with their parents, infective to match-maker, flay to feudal marriage and brides’mother premarital instructions.The writer as a Tujia girl from Guzhang county is intend to investigate and study "the wedding lament" out of great curiosity and fondness of brides’crying song and set it as the subject of graduation essay. Author will employ theory knowledge and learning method accumulated in university to analyze and comment the format, content, music feature, origin and development, inheritage and protection through investigating brides’crying song of Tujia minority in Guzhang county, collecting materials and adopting the research method of providing examples, analysis, induction etc. it is hoped that a positive and beneficial instruction and a humble contribution of mine can be made to the transmission of a unique traditional custom through the analysis of the content of brides’ crying in Tujia minority and discussion on the realistic meaning of brides’ crying ritual.