How did the Tujia people’s traditional custom of crying in marriage come about?

The contents of the "crying marriage" stories of Tujia girls in western Hunan have been passed down orally from generation to generation, coupled with the accumulation and thinking of some "crying marriage mothers", thus forming some similar oral "books"—— That is the admirable folk lyric poem "Crying Marriage Song". Several "books" surviving in Mawang Township of Baojing County, Purong Township of Yongshun County, Pojiao Township of Longshan County and other places are relatively complete and distinctive. There are many famous old "wives-crying mothers" in these places. Among them, Ding Xiangui, Tian Cuilian and others participated in film and television shooting in the 1980s. If you travel to the Mengtong River Scenic Area, you may be able to see the "crying for marriage" performance of their disciples and grandchildren in the ancient town of Wangcun.

According to three "Books" of "Crying Marriage Song" compiled and published in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s, this long folk poem can be roughly divided into crying for father and mother, crying for brother and sister-in-law, and crying for brother and sister-in-law. There are more than 10 parts, including farewell to sisters, crying about matchmakers, crying about dowry, crying about ancestors, and crying when getting on the sedan chair, which are thousands of lines long.