Miracle sleep together before marriage of the Ma

In the custom of the Ma, couples sometimes get to know each other if their "belly" they will sleep comfortably. In the dusk at the corner of Cat Tien forest, the life of the Ma (in Ta Lai commune, Tan Phu district, Dong Nai province) is still familiar with the croaking of the loom. On the side of the jar of the village of K'Gõ, 84 years old, which is known as the "living culture treasure" of the Ma in Ta Lai, many unique stories about customs and habits from ancient times. In particular, the most interesting is their relatively new concept of marriage.

The marriage of the Ma in Dong Nai according to the patriarchal system, the monogamy and the absolute no respect for male contempt. In particular, when the children in the home to adulthood, about 15-17 years are free to explore. Except for cases where the bride and groom get married from childhood, the grown up child will have to obey and not be free to choose a spouse. The custom also stipulates, if any party to the agreement must conduct "pay ceremony" to the other party. For example, the boy gets married first, the girl will have the right to ask the boys "pay ceremony". This is a form of "fine" has long existed in the Ma community. "If a party goes ahead, they will be fined a lot, equal to the amount of the wedding. The offerings include two buffaloes, four pigs, many wines, pies, rice, rice, poultry ... ", said village elder K'Ge. In love or finding a partner, parents do not prohibit or bind. If you feel "belly", boys and girls can walk to the forest or the desert to find out. Even after G'base, they can range (sleep together) as long as they are not of the same bloodline and are not allowed to get married before marriage. Worth saying, this does not affect the girl's hundred years later. In the past, a pregnant girl before marriage will be severely punished village as expelled from the residence, unless the recipient father the baby in the abdomen. Today, this custom is gone. If the daughter of the daughter "no owner," parents must prepare offerings in the house such as pigs, ducks, chickens ... to avoid bad luck. According to K'Lâm, a culture cadre of Ta Lai commune, although the customs of the Ma are very "airy" in virginity, but a girl does not eat sleep at the same time with many boys will be judged ethical. more than a girl with a loose lifestyle. In case a girl is noticed by two boys, between them must have a gauntlet challenge (a tool for field trips and a weapon for the forest of the ethnic). Whoever wins all will win the girl. When the two of them agree to live together, the boy will go home with his family to prepare for the ceremony. Along with the well-intentioned offerings, the boy's family will ask a reputable relative to lead the bridegroom to the bride's home. When he went to ask his wife, the Ma man became a real man with a spear in his hand, a knife in his back and on his shoulder as a gauze. At the same time, he will be wearing the traditional costume of the Ma, which is the loincloth with many strings of red striking, copper jewelry, buns up high and a set of horns deep. The girl will dress up with a dress with many beautiful features of the Ma, with accessories such as a colorful belt, beaded necklace chain with many beads. The girl is like a boy, with a bun and a buffalo but with a small knife attached. When he arrived at the girl's house, the man himself would put his toes on the ground, right in front of the girl's house and ... wait. Some time later, the representative of the girl may be the father or his biological brother directly to meet the boy. After hearing the reason why the boys arrived, the girl's house nodded in agreement. At that moment, the boy would pull up the spear and join everyone in the house. Like many other ethnic minorities, the first thing that Ma would have to do when he walked into the girl's house was in front of the ancestral altar and prayed to bring the spear to the bar. Spears will be left at the girl's house seven days and seven nights. After the rituals they were celebrating, the newcomers sat together at the jar of wine. At the wine party, the boys leave, the boys will stay in the foster home to work. In particular, a strange custom only in the Ma are after the fact that the sex of men and women will be strictly forbidden, even before it is completely comfortable. If a couple wants to sleep together, they have to go to the forest and set up their own hut to live together. When the couple get married, they will sleep together. In the process of cohabitation, if the young couple does not match or the girl can not give birth to her husband's house, the boy can return the girl to her mother's home. Although the bride is guilty of being beaten, especially in front of her parents and her children, it is like fighting the girl's parents.