Grabbing marriage of Hani people in China
By admin on 2014-12-26

Hani people used to keep the custom of "grabbing marriage." There are two kinds: One is to grab the girl, whom the party of the man likes, to the house of the man without any agreement. The other is based on a free relationship. They plan the grabbing marriage in order to oppose the senior generation's influence.

On the day of the grabbing marriage, the party of the man invites several friends to wait in a chosen place. And the girl leaves her parents' control by using the excuse of work. She goes to the chosen place in order to be grabbed by her lover. The girl pretends to be horrified and cry so that the villagers and her parents know she is grabbed.

The girl will be hidden in a relative's home for one or two days. A third party is asked to go to the girl's home to beg for marriage. Her parents have to accept the begging.