Changes of Hakka wedding ceremonies in Kuanhsi area（1935-2010）

• Main Author: 陳霖
• Other Authors: 陳鸞鳳副教授
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/90847926635323314980

碩士 === 國立新竹教育大學 === 人資處社會學習領域碩士班 === 98 === Abstract This study aims to analyze the general profile of the changes of Hakka wedding ceremonies based in Kuanhsi area. Using the snowball sampling method, we selected the Hakka couples wedded at the time from 1935 to 2010. This research is conducted with the time factor as the vertical axis, while the wedding ceremonies and instruments as the horizontal axis. According to the socio-economic background, the entire changing process is divided into three periods. This article is a comparison between these three sub-periods with the observations to how Hakka wedding ceremonies changes, and the analysis of its own cultural significance. The typical traditional Hakka wedding ceremony is divided into five processes: proposal, betrothal, scheduling, escort and receive, and the first visit to the bride's parent's home. According to the surveys, the first sub-period (1940 - 1960), marriages were still arranged under parents’ command or on the matchmaker's word. Male superiority and the value of attention to heirs are critical at this time, while the marriage taboos of this period outnumbered than the others. In the second sub-period (1961 - 1980), different wedding models emerged owing to the Taiwan's economy’s gradual improvement, still with the focus on traditional aspect of ethics. During the third sub-period (1981 - 2010), rapid social changes had brought efficiency demands to wedding ceremonies, which also pursue the same simple and fast process. Therefore, wedding gifts and instruments were replaced by cash gifts, while the wedding rites also seemed more simplified. Despite the exceeding development in industry and commerce, and the rising living standards in this sub-period, wedding ceremonies still presented itself in a Hakka and the local distinctive way. With an overview of the changes in Hakka wedding ceremonies in Kansai area from 1935 to 2010, attributions to the results includes: the economic effects, the changes in geographical environment, the adjustability of marriage values, the impact of cultural communication, and also the differentiations in family structures. Even though the great changes of rites, instruments, and taboos in wedding ceremonies, different aspects of cultural meaning still exits, such as the ideas of separation, transition, combinations in terms of folk customs, as well as the notions of ancestral worship, preference to even numbers, significance of red color, sweet foods, and also the value of attention to heirs. Along with the increasing phenomenon of intermarriages of Hakka people with others in recent years, the Hakka wedding ceremonies have developed different models to adapt to its contemporaries based on traditional rituals nowadays. Combining other cultures, the Hakka wedding ceremonies have generated a greater, deeper change to form distinct styles and features. While the development and changes continues to evolve, we believe that the following in-depth explorations have shown its merit.