Hmong vs. American Marriages

Many young Mong couple who live in the United States often face dilemmas when marrying Miao or Americans when choosing to marry. Both are quite different in wedding, marriage, legal marriage, marriage relations. Both the Mon and the Americans did ceremonies when married today, but in seedling culture men must pay for his wife. Male families have to go to the women and ask their parents to agree to marry.

Everyone who is familiar with the Hmong knows the legend of the Great Flood and the marriage of incest with his older brother and sister. Many of Miao and its tribes are said to be the result of this alliance (Geddes: 22-24). The unique feature of this legend is that the people of Miao condemn reality incest, and the most intimate form of marriage among relatives is interracial. People of Miao practice foreign marriage of strict tribes, get married outside their families, and no one is allowed to violate this rule.

Family relationships are based on marriage and pedigree. Traditionally, people in Miao are not individual oriented, they regard themselves as members of family, clan, and community. Seedling culture respects elders and powerful families and emphasizes the relationship between relatives and clan members. It is important to memorize the ancestors, their achievements, and suffering, and to keep traditional ways. The clan is a major organization of Miao's nationality and has been born or adopted to obtain a relationship with a member of a lifetime clan and a father from a child. My daughters marry my husband's family. Even if they are divorced or widowed, they can not return to the family they were born. Members of the same family will accept each other and help each other, demonstrate the family's loyalty on political issues and judicial problems. If a person is a specific family, he will automatically be welcomed by the house of another family, even if they do not know each other.