Je-Trieng girls from the age of 10 are taught by their parents to go into the forest to chop firewood, and pile it up around the house so that when they reach marriageable age, they will have enough firewood to “catch a husband”. Boys must go into the forest to hunt birds, rats, and wild animals to prepare for the wedding ceremony.
The Je-Trieng ethnic group (also known as Gie Trieng (T’Rieng), Veh, Bnoong (Mnoong), Ca Tang, Giang Ray, Ta Tre…), is an ethnic minority residing mainly in the districts of Dak Glei, Ngoc Hoi, Dak To, Tu Mo Rong of Kon Tum province and a few in the mountainous districts bordering Quang Nam.
Chopping firewood to “catch a husband” (also known as engagement firewood, wedding firewood) is a long-standing custom, a beautiful feature of the wedding culture of the Je-Trieng people that is still preserved to this day. Matriarchal ideology is deeply ingrained in the thinking of the Je-Trieng people. They promote women's autonomy, including choosing a spouse. Therefore, in love and marriage, Je-Trieng women have complete control.
 |
The Je-Trieng believe that the betrothal firewood is a measure of the quality of each girl because when looking at it, people can judge her dexterity, carefulness and diligence. Therefore, this work is done very elaborately, meticulously prepared for many years.
In the past, Je-Trieng women got married very early, around 14 or 15 years old, they had to go find a husband. According to custom, before getting married, the girl had to often go into the forest, choose to cut and bring back large bundles of firewood, pile them up around the house, and on the wedding day, carry them to her husband's house. These love firewoods are the dowry, used to burn on the wedding day, and are also the bride's special dowry for her parents-in-law to cook for many years after and to keep warm when it is cold.
The firewood prepared for the wedding must be 100 bundles, the bigger, bigger, more even and more beautiful the pile of firewood is, the more it proves that this family has a capable, diligent, skillful daughter who can take care of the family.
First of all, you must choose a tree that is really straight, easy to split, when dry, the tree's flesh cracks smoothly along the grain. The most commonly chosen tree is the Chestnut tree (called Xa-re in the Je-Trieng language). The young girl must use a knife to meticulously chop the firewood into 5 pieces, but each piece of firewood must not be separated. In addition to the requirement of having the same length, with only an axe or a rudimentary machete, the girls must also carefully trim the wood so that the ends of the wood are flat and beautiful.
When a girl likes a guy, she will whisper to the matchmaker, a person in the village who is good at talking and has a happy married life, asking them to tell the guy. If the boy agrees, they will arrange to meet at the village communal house to talk. If the boy does not agree, the girl can ask her friends to use force to kidnap her. If this happens, no one in the village will be surprised..
Unmarried men and unmarried women have the right to sleep together in the communal house to find their love dreams. However, sleeping together only stops at sharing a blanket, lying next to each other and confiding in each other, absolutely not going beyond the limit.
Sleeping together can only take place for a maximum of 5 days. During this time, if both have a beautiful dream, it means that Yang (Heaven, God) has agreed and can get married. If after that time the groom's family has not proposed to the bride's family, the village has the right to impose a fine of a pig and 10 jars of wine.
If the bride's gift is wedding firewood, the mandatory gift of the Jẻ-Triêng man to the bride's family is birds, dried rats, wild animals... 100 of them hunted by the groom himself in the forest to repay the girl's precious efforts in gathering firewood for the engagement. The day the groom's family receives the firewood is extremely solemn and sacred. The marriage of Je-Trieng boys and girls is a stable marriage, divorce is rare, even today.
Today, this unique custom has changed a lot to protect the forest and comply with the law. For example, girls must be 18 years old to get married, it is strictly forbidden for boys and girls to sleep together before marriage, giving firewood and hunting wild animals is only a formality but still preserves the sacred meaning and traditional beauty.
More information:
The wedding of Je-Trieng boys and girls is organized by the bride's family for 3 days:
- The first day is held at the communal house, with the bride's family inviting the villagers. The bride's family takes care of food and drink, and when villagers come to join in the fun, each person brings a jar of wine.
- The second day is held at the bride's house. The groom brings the wedding gifts, which must include dried rats. The bride's family invited the village elder to roast the first mouse on hot coals made from the bride's wedding firewood collected in the forest, then the villagers roasted the mouse together as food for the celebration.
- The third day was held at the groom's house, hosted by the groom's family.
The wedding day of a Je-Trieng boy and girl is a joyful festival for the whole village, without anyone missing. After the wedding, the young couple alternately stays with both families, with priority given to the bride's family until one parent dies before staying with the other. Nowadays, the concept has changed somewhat, when the young couple has enough material conditions, they can separate and build their own house near their parents' house. When children are born, sons take their father's surname, daughters take their mother's surname.
Tags:
people & culture