SINGING, RITUALISED GIFT EXCHANGE, AND BRIDAL RELEASE: NIANGHAI RITUAL IN A NORTHERN DONG WEDDING, CHINA

Authors: Yang Ling & Prof. Dr Mohd Hassan Bin Abdullah*

ABSTRACT

NiangHai is a Northern Dong wedding practice in which women from the bride’s family sing while presenting symbolic objects, wine, and blessings to the groom’s party. Although local scholarship identifies NiangHai as a wedding-song category, less attention has been paid to how singing organises the presentation and reception of these materials within a ceremony. This article examines one NiangHai event observed in Shidong Township, Tianzhu County, on 2 October 2023. The evidence is deliberately limited to participant observation, chronological fieldnotes, one field photograph, an audiovisual record used to verify sequence, and one role-based interview with a bride-side aunt. The findings show that singing marks the movement of objects from the natal household to the receiving party and orders the final serving of rice wine. The aunt’s explanation further indicates that the performance demonstrates a proper and respectful release of the bride. NiangHai therefore operates as more than decorative accompaniment: in this case, it made the transfer visible, orderly, and publicly witnessed. The article offers a small ethnographic case rather than a representative account of Northern Dong weddings.

Keywords: NiangHai, Northern Dong, wedding song, gift exchange, ritual performance, ethnomusicology

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