VietNamNet Bridge – For any man having problems getting his girlfriend’s parents to accept him, the Mong ethnic people have found an easy solution – just kidnap her until they agree.

A Mong girl is caught by her boyfriend and his friend as part of the keo vo (wife catching) custom of the Mong people.

The man from Sa Pa Town in Lao Cai won second prize, which was the top prize since no first prize was awarded, of a contest put on by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the website www.cuoihoi.com.vn which attracted around 200 entries from 150 authors including writers, journalists, researchers, and students.

The first-time contest was directed at attracting entries that could draw together a colourful painting of wedding customs from every region and ethnicity, from the customs of the northern mountainous region’s Kinh people to customs in the centre and Central Highlands of the Cham to K’Ho ethnic groups in the south.

Ga first learned about “wife catching” as a little child, and subsequently spent a lot of time studying the custom. He even spent days on end travelling to the Mong hamlets to study more about the tradition.

“Many think that keo vo by the Mong is a depraved custom and is not suitable in modern society,” said Ga. “I believe that it’s an original custom that the Mong can still preserve. Many researchers say that it’s very civilised in practice.”

Ga is deputy director of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Centre of Sa Pa Town in Lao Cai. He is also the author of a 100-page essay of the wedding customs of the Mong. For his book, he underwent profound research on why the Mong have the tradition of keo vo while noting the wonderful traits that should be preserved in the Mong weddings.

Nam Quyt from the northern province of Thai Nguyen also won second prize for his writing about the Kinh people’s wedding customs entitled Van Hoa Hon Nhan Hien Dai (the culture of modern marriage). Another five third prizes and ten consolation prizes were also handed out.

The award-winning works will be collected in a special book for the wedding season this year.

Kidnapping wives

“Wife catching” is an original cultural trait of the Mong people that takes place during the springtime. It is typically used when the girl’s parents don’t accept their son-in-law. The girl and the boy then agree with each other that the boy will “kidnap” her so that she can become his wife. The moment chosen may be when the girl goes to the market or to the field. The man asks his friends to help him catch her, and even though she agreed to be caught, tradition dictates that she should shout and cry as if she were really being kidnapped.

After being caught, the girl will be brought to the boy’s family and will be looked after by the boy’s sister for three days. During those three days, the boy’s parents will ask a male matchmaker to bring some wine in a buffalo’s horn to the girl’s house and invite the girl’s family members to drink the wine. The father learns this way that his daughter has been caught and can expect wedding presents.

In the past, there were many situations that brought about this custom – the boy loves a girl but she refuses his advances, the boy’s family uses their power to catch their son a wife. But as society becomes increasingly less male dominated, modern weddings with the Mong are now based on love.

(Source: Viet Nam News)