For the girls of the Tujia Ethnic Minority, their marriage date is usually welcomed with crying. According to custom, a new bride should begin to cry half a month or one month before their wedding ceremony. Whether a girl can cry about her marriage has become a criterion in the value of the girl's ability and virtue.
In order to be regarded as a good girl, they begin to study how to cry for marriage when they are 12 years old. Some will invite an experienced person to teach them. When the girls reach 15 years of age, they will invite each other to match who cries best and to help teach each other. Some will even discuss methods of crying.
There are songs which are sung when weeping for marriage. These include singing for parents, sisters, brothers, the matchmaker and ancestors. When singing the weeping marriage songs, emotions are fully expressed through the mournful tones. Upon hearing the vivid and strong words of the song, even a stone-hearted man can't fight back his tears. In fact, girls sing these songs before marriage to protest the arranged marriage system under feudalism and express sentimental attachment to their relatives.
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