Marriages have taken place in human history since at least 2350 BC, according to Mesopotamian records. From that moment on, the ancient Hebrews, Greeks and Romans were responsible for evolving the union into an institution that had many political and interest ties.
It was the Church that determined, through the Bible Christian, that marriage is a divine union and that it should take place out of love, trust, passion and companionship; not for any other reason than religious.
The popularization of this “fairy tale” reinforced by society not only built an industry but also uplifted life. However, in China, this union sometimes took place at the end of it. That’s how the ghost weddings (“ghost weddings” in English) came about.
The ancestral tradition
(Source: Alyssa Richards/Reproduction)
It is part of ancient Chinese culture to believe that the deceased share the same social expectations as the living, and that includes the company of your spouse in the Hereafter. That’s why people during the Shang dynasty, between 1600 BC and 1046 BC, sacrificed most of the time to accompany their partner in the afterlife.
When a person died before being able to get married, the Chinese decided to invent “ghost marriages”, in the mid-seventeenth century BC, precisely so that the corpses would not be “alone” in the afterlife.
(Source: Extra Online/Reproduction)
The tradition also arose out of a superstitious fear that the spirit of the unmarried dead would haunt the family, bringing bad luck. home for not having enjoyed the opportunity to extend their lineage; therefore, no one to honor his memory during the annual Qingming Festival, popularly known as Tomb Sweeping Day.
In it, the families of the deceased clean the herbs around the grave, add fresh soil, and deliver the deceased’s favorite foods and drinks as a sign of respect. Traditionally, this is a mission performed by the children of the deceased.
That is why two dead people began to be married by the family. Typically, it is the groom’s family that offers a dowry of sorts and pays for the ceremony and burial, as the bride and groom’s corpses are exhumed for the occasion – a sometimes disturbing scene for family members. But there are also cases where a living person is married to someone who is dead, but the marital procedures take place in secret.
A habit of few
(Source: Tribune India/Reproduction)
When marriage between a living and a dead person takes place, the woman married to a corpse is automatically widowed, and goes to live with her ex-fiancé’s family. In the case of a deceased woman, the man must remain connected to the deceased forever, even if he marries a living woman, otherwise he will suffer bad luck.
In Taiwan, the choice of a fiancé happens through a simple and discreet process: the family of the deceased places red packages with money and a lock of hair to attract the attention of a suitor, who makes more than just a choice in taking the money, he is also committed forever.
Although not everyone agrees with the tradition, many families do it because they believe that siblings need to marry in order of age. That is, if the deceased has younger siblings, his or her death is preventing the living from marrying peacefully.
Over time, ghost marriages have become less and less common, either because the families no longer care about traditions, or because they prefer to respect the formal prohibition made by Mao Zedong in 1949.
In rural areas, however, ceremonies still took place, making the thieves industry grow of graves, which continues to try to profit from the mourning of others and the dream of a marriage as an unfulfilled wish.
