Hmong Wedding

Nowadays, perhaps more and more people are used to the fast pace of modern weddings and forgotten the sense of traditional wedding ceremonies. In China, ethnic groups have different wedding traditions and vary in headdresses, costumes and ceremonies. Kala village, located in Guizhou province in China, is the photo site that took place this time. People in the village live upon handmade birdcages, and these traditional Chinese birdcages are also popular in foreign countries. In the matriarchal clan era in Kala village, the concept of female superiority has continued today. It differs from today’s gender equality and old female inferiority. A red banner at the door of the wedding house reads: wife always sleeping on the bed and listening to the wife. Women have high social status in the village, and men are out for work.

 

In considering the characteristic of the village, I decided to shoot from a female birdcage maker’s point of view. The lady will take the completed birdcage to the market at the entrance of the town for sale. She will pass through the Liushuixi area and the wedding venue. In this project, I want to present the village in different aspects to the audience, showing them from birdcage making to Hmong costumes, from traditional weddings to ceremonies, exploring the possibility of the coexistence of tradition and modernity.

 

Note: Liushuixi area refers to the banquet where guests are free to visit, eat and leave at will. Plenty of tables, chairs and cutlery will be placed table by table until the whole village has eaten.