The Proposal and The Betrothal
3 min readThe Proposal
The process began with an elaborate marriage proposal and acceptance.This process was placed in the hands of a go-between，who acted as a medium between the two parties-a role similar to that of a real estate agent today.The important parties in proposal and befrothal negotiations were the parents of the prospective bride and groom，rather than the bride and groom themselves.
“Marriage was for continuing the ancestral line and creating alliances between families-too important a duty to be left in the rash hands of the young.”Costa explains.
When the boy’s parents identified a likely bride-to-be，they would send the go-between to present gilts to the gir’s parents and to sound out their feelings about the match.Iif the proposal was well-received，the go beween would obtain the date and hour of the girl’s birth recorded on a formal document.
The groom’s family would place this document on the ancestral alfar for three days.If no inauspicious omens，e.g.quarrels between the parents or a loss of property，took place within that time，the parents would give the information to a astrological expert to confirm that the young woman and their son would make a good match.If the boy’s family found the horoscope to be favorable，they gave the boy’s birth date and hour to the go-belween to bring to the gir’s family，who would go through the same process.
Only atter both outcomes were favorable，would the two farmilies arrange to meet.Findlly face-to-face，each family evaluated the other in terms of appearance，education，character，and social position.If both were satisfied they would proceed to the betrothal.
The Betrothal
First both sets of parents exchanged family credentials as tokens of in-tention.Then，after extensive bargaining，the two families would arrive at the amount of money and goods that would make up the gift to the girl’s family.After presenting engagement tokens，the go-between would ask the bride’s family to chose among several auspicious wedding dates suggested by the boy’s family and also set a date for presenting betrothal gifts.
The boys family presented betrothal gifts of money and significant items such as tea，“Dragon（male）and Phoenix（female）”bridal cakes，pairs of male and female poultry，sweetmeats and sugar，wine and tobac-co，accompanied by an itemized statement of these gifts.Tea was such a primary part of these gits in some areas that they were known collectively as cha-i，that is，“tea presents.”The girl’s family reciprocated with gifts of food and clothing.
It was customary for the gir’s family to distribute the bridal cakes they received from the boy’s family to friends and relatives as a form of announcement and invitation to the wedding feast.The number of cakes given to each was established according to a rigid etiquette，on the basis of seniority and degree of intimacy.Those who received the bridal cakes，were expected to present congratulatory gifts to the girl’s parents.
The boy’s family’s gitts acknowledged the parents’efforts in raising the girl，and by accepting the gifts，the girl’s family pledged her to the boy’s.Itis interesting to note that the bride was given to the family rather than the groom alone.Although the bride and groom probably had not met yet，betrothal was considered binding unless both families agreed to annul the contract.
Several days after the presentation of the betrothal gifts，the girl’s family sent porters with an inventoried dowry to the boy’s house.The dowry consisted of practical items，including a chamber pot，filled for the occasion with fruit and strings of coins.This procession gave the girt’s family the opportunity to display both their social status and their love for their daughter，and wealthy parents often included serving girls to attend their daughter in her new home.
Betrothals generally lasted for a year or two，although child betrothals would last until the children had grown to marriageable age.
