Wedding crasher

I’m a long way from home, hungry and tired as I scale the mountain road that leads towards Ngam Dang Vai commune in Tay Con Linh mountain range, some 400km north of Hanoi.

Here amongst the precipitous slopes, a small tribe of Nung lives in contented isolation. The inhabitants live primarily on agriculture, producing rice, maize, tangerines, persimmons and anise. They are also known for their handicrafts, making items from bamboo and rattan, as well as indigo brocades. Nung are also well known for their carpentry and metal work.

When I roll into town I’m only thinking about a hot meal and finding a place to rest my weary head. But the first person I speak to informs me that today’s a very lucky day to arrive as a guest. There’s going to be a wedding. The whole village seems to be involved in the preparations. I forget about my fatigue and decide to find out more.

I head for the home of the groom, a young man by the name of Ly Van Thong. His family is preparing to head for the bride’s house with offerings of pork, cockerels, rice, sticky-rice, boiled chicken, alcohol and cash. The main wedding will be held tomorrow morning. I’m invited to stay with the head of the clan, a great honour for a complete stranger.

Early the next morning, I wake to the sounds of happy chatter. Everyone is up and busily preparing for the day ahead. The groom and his relatives must collect the bride who lives in a neighbouring village 6km away from Ngam Dang Vai commune. The groom and his entourage will walk along with a designated matchmaker.

The matchmaker plays an important role in determining the happiness and prosperity of the couple. So he must be of “good character” and have a happy family with sons and daughters.

The groom will wear traditional black and indigo-coloured clothes, symbolising faithfulness. He will have a new pair of military style boots and he will be armed with a black umbrella. Wearing a black dress, the bride Sin Thi Riu will look rather similar to normal Nung women only she will be wearing much more silver jewelry. Without any make up or cosmetics, she is still stunning and an advertisement for the grace of natural beauty.

Wedding customs and costumes of Nung people have remained unchanged for hundreds of years with the exception of improved footwear! Though most families have motorbikes nowadays, the wedding procession still travels by foot.

When the groom’s entourage arrives at the bride’s house, the delegation enters the stilt-house and spends a night there, talking around the fire, feasting and toasting. The wedding night is cosy and jolly with plenty of strong rice alcohol being passed around. People nibble on quids of hot betels and areca-nuts while listening to mellifluent love songs. The young and the old share stories and tell jokes and everyone laughs long and hard. When toasting with a d rink, you must always cross your hands and drink from the person opposite’s glass to demonstrate trust.

The wedding has numerous steps and I’m told it will last for at least a week. But in the morning I’m travelling on. I bid farewell, wishing the groom and the bride the very best for the future.

VietNamNet/Timeout