The Investigation Of Marriage Consumption In Ningxia Xihaigu Hui

Marriage is the fundamental form to constitute a family and the basic element of human society. And wedding ceremony is the most significant in concluding a marriage contract. Although different peoples in different regions have their own ways to conclude marriage contracts, consuming behaviors are produced as a result of any kind of marriage ceremonies. Marriage consumption has distinct features of the times. The form of marriage consumption varies from symbolism to practicability to utilitarianism from the perspective of human development. However, it may acquire new features under the circumstances of social and economic development.The paper explored the basic situation of the marriage consumption of Hui in Xihaigu from the perspective of economic anthropology by applying the method of field investigation, clarified the motivation of marriage consumption of the local Hui people, and analyzed the functions of marriage consumption. In addition, the paper analyzed different types of marriage consumption of Hui people, explored the inner motivation of marriage consumption and the relationships between economy, cultural functions, religious ideas of Hui and marriage consumption.The paper includes three parts. The first part is introduction, which covers the significance and the methodology of the research, and a brief introduction to the location of field investigation from the perspectives of humanity, geography, history and economy. The second part is the body of the paper, which illustrates the variation of marriage customs in Xihaigu and the current situation of marriage consumption of the region from 2012 to 2015. The third part is conclusion of the paper. The paper discusses the compensation of female marriage consumption, the basic functions of marriage consumption and its internal mechanism, finds that what makes the marriage consumption of the region at a higher level and much higher annually is the consumption compensation of holding the wedding ceremony. In Xihaigu, the main compensation of holding the ceremony comes from the wedding largess, which is equal to or more than the compensation. Therefore, the local marriage consumption is typical debt consumption. This higher level marriage consumption deviates from the traditional culture of Hui. Based on the discussion of customs, religion, society, and economy, the paper concludes that the higher level marriage consumption will last for a period of time and remain, and the scale of the situation and the time duration depend on the process of adjustment between the ethnic culture and the development of society and economy.