What
immediately comes to mind when one hears of ‘Chinese weddings’
is the image of a young bride, dressed in red, sitting on a
sedan enclosed in curtains of red silk. Blame the imagery made
famous by the Chinese classic The Dream of the Red Chamber,
I suppose.
When
the Chinese traded and eventually settled in the Philippines,
they carried with them their values, beliefs, culture, and
customs. Centuries of living in a foreign culture introduced
changes to their normally resilient culture. No longer were
they called Chinese, but as Chinoys (or Tsinoys).
Yet despite these changes and acculturations, a lot of the
original Confucian teachings remained. One of these is the
traditional way of holding weddings.
The
elements of ancestor worship and elder reverence, the lookout
for omens, the use of professional matchmakers, the ornate
gift-giving rituals and patrilineal kinship are similarly
present in both traditional Chinese weddings and Chinese marriages
in Philippine soil, along with the primary objectives of enhancing
families and perpetuation of lineage.
The
Role Of The Elders
Chinese
elders usually play a major role in the Chinese wedding.
This role traditionally starts even before the child
to be wed is born, when parents arrange for the weddings
of their children. Sometimes, couples seek the help
of a professional matchmaker, usually an elderly local
woman of reputable character. Children, for their part,
customarily follow their parents, as dictated by the
analects of Confucius.
For
the Chinese, the preferred partner is also Chinese.
Chinese parents usually dislike Filipinos for in-laws.
This prejudice against Filipinos mainly stems from their
values which are different from those of Filipinos.
Thus, inter-racial marriages are rare.
In
a culture where ancestral worship is practiced, it comes
as no surprise that weddings are held in front of the
family altar. The local Chinoy version varies
little, as ceremonies are usually held before ancestral
shrines in clan halls.
Details,
Details
The element of time likewise plays a major part in Chinese
weddings. Compatibility between bride and groom, for
one, is more often than not determined by their respective
star signs and horoscopes, which are in turn determined
by the date and time of their births. The time of the
ceremony is carefully picked, again for purposes of
adherence to what their horoscopes dictate.
Unlike their western counterparts, Chinese weddings
make extensive use of the color red, for it is believed
that the color symbolizes joy and luck. On the other
hand, the practice of showering the newlyweds with rice
is remarkably present in both cultures.
Chinese meztizo couple, 1898.
Gifts
About
the Image: The photographs are available for purchase
at Retrato.com.ph (http://www.retrato.com.ph).
To purchase, click on the image/s. They are also
available at the Photo Library of the Filipinas
Heritage Library.
The
images are owned by the Filipinas Heritage Library.
Copying without permission is punishable by law.
The ritual of gift-giving is a bit more complicated
in Chinese marriages. Betrothal gifts from the groom
may include money, tea, Dragon and Phoenix cakes, poultry,
sugar, wine, tobacco andand other items. These gifts
are countered with gifts of food and clothing. The Chinoy
version goes as far as the offering of furniture and
appliances to the groom, as though to say that the bride's
family isn't marrying their daughter because it is unable
to provide for her.
The
normally resilient Chinese culture has been slowly chipped
away by centuries of interaction with the local culture.
And while the emergent Chinoy community has developed
its own adaptations of their ceremonies, the very core
tenets of its Confucian roots still manage to surface
through.
Did
you know?
In a marriage, the dragon
symbolizes the male role while the phoenix
symbolizes the female role.
Dragon
and Phoenix
designs symbolize male and female harmony
and a balanced relationship. The motif is
rooted in mythology where the dragon symbolizes
the Emperor and at his side stands the magically
powerful phoenix with her life-giving song.
