Each ethnic group has a custom and a unique culture in the ceremony of marriage - marriage. The wedding of Muong people in Ao Luong (Van Chan, Yen Bai) also has unique differences, bearing their typical cultural characteristics.
Previously, the Muong Ao Luong people had a very complicated and many rituals. The marriage of children is conceived by "where parents set, I sit there", parents like, the children must follow their parents. Today, the marriage of Muong people has reduced the rules, they are free to love and to learn. Nang Han Festival held every year from May 5 to the end of the third lunar month is also an opportunity for boys and girls to get to know each other. When carefully researched, inform both parents to prepare the necessary conditions for a wedding. At this time, the boy's family will find a matchmaker, the girl's family will find a matchmaker to come and talk to and talk to each other. Muong Ao Luong people also have the same concept as Kinh people about the taboo in marriage, that is people from the same clan must not get married, must be separated at least 3 generations.

When coming to the girl's house to ask, he had to bring 12 croissants (bread wrapped with chit tree leaves), a bottle of glutinous rice wine, pre-ordered with the girl's parents to talk. If the girl's parents agreed, she would receive and make a meal for a male lover and the girl would hang 12 cakes on the pillar near the kitchen for 3 days 3 nights.
During those 3 days and 3 nights, if a owl bird calls, it is a bad omen, boys and girls should not get married. On the contrary, if there is no cat call, it is a good omen, after 3 days the bride's family will call him to the groom's family, bring wine to drink and agree to marry her.

The ceremony to ask questions of Muong Ao Luong people used to have to go through 5 times normally:

First time: The groom's family carries 1 bottle of wine, areca chamber, betel leaf and dried tea.
The second time: When the bride's family accepts, bring banh chung, wine, dry tea.
3rd: Bring thick bread, 2 bottles of wine, 1 areca chamber, dry tea.
4th: The groom's family brings thick bread and wine.
5th time: The groom's family brings areca, betel, thick bread and wine and this is the official time for the groom's family to ask.

Over time, the marriage of the Muong people was much simpler, the boys went to the girls' house to talk and if the girls agreed, they would prepare the engagement ceremony with common gifts such as wine, meat. , cash then choose a good day to celebrate the wedding.

When a bride comes home, her husband often has some dowry made by his own hands such as blankets, mats, pillows, cushions for the elderly, parents, brothers, sisters and siblings by the boys' family. The new bride is assessed by her husband's family to be good, docile or not, depending on the number of dowries she carries, because to be able to do the dowry number is from 12-13 years old. Strawberry had to prepare the widgets to do.
The custom of marriage of the Muong ethnic people now exists in two forms: welcoming the bride to stay in her husband's house and the custom of getting married (the custom of marrying is usually in families without a son). In the custom of the bridegroom, in the past, the groom's family had to take initiative in shopping for the launch of the bridegroom at the girl's house. By convention, the launch ceremony consists of such offerings: 4 baskets of glutinous rice, 1 areca chamber, 40 bottles of wine, a bunch of betel nuts, 2 quintals of pigs, choosing about 20-30 young unmarried young people to carry items. gifts to the girl's house.

The Muong people have a custom of making a connection when the boys 'family comes to the gate of the girl's house or there are two people guarding the door, so when the boys' family give money, they will open the door. When the door opened at the front, there would be a girl representing the family of the raspberry team 1 with two castrated and boiled roosters. The chicken on the platter must have a spur or the chicken will not make any sense and the bride's house will not welcome the groom's family based on that.

By the time the termite was able to bring the bridegroom into the stilt house, every ordeal the bride and the groom had put out. He terminates all responsibilities and lends the rights to his father-in-law (the groom's family asks a man of 55 years or older to be the groom-in-law to talk to the girl's family). At this time, the borrowed father-in-law played an important role in the main communication with the bride's family and led the groom to the ancestral altar to bow down.

Next, the groom will take the groom to introduce them to each of the girls' family, depending on how close or far they are, how the groom must bow to each other. raising a mature, intelligent, healthy, hard-working, filial daughter to her parents.

When the groom finished bowing to everyone, the tray was also displayed, everyone sat on the stable. The father-in-law again took his son-in-law to salute each tray before he could sit down to eat. In the past, at the bride's house, there was a custom to prepare two jars of wine to be drunk, so he asked for permission from the girl's house to make a vow of wine, when he made this practice, the girl's house stood on one side and the boy's house stood on the other side to answer. After that, everyone shared joys and drank wine for the bride and groom to live happily, have lots of children, and celebrate for two families who have added a gentle bride and groom.
When the group welcomes the bride to the boy's house, stop at the foot of the stairs about 3 meters, there is already set up a copper pot containing clean water, put many stones or put a clean plank connecting the foot of the stairs, after washing clean everyone's feet on the floor. At this time, the matchmaker's wife led the bride to bow down in front of the ancestor altar, bowing to the boys' relatives, all guests were invited to the house and sat in order. When all procedures are completed, everyone sits down to eat and drink wine. In the wedding of Muong people, there is absolutely no pudding, which is a taboo.

 That night, at the boys' house, there will be an opposite singing party, a purse song, they give each other very happy greetings. During the night, the bride's custom to bow to the kitchen king also took place to pray for the kitchen king to help her in the housework to serve the husband's family well.

The Muong people in Ao Luong also have the custom of making faces like the Kinh people, after 3 days and 3 nights the groom takes the bride to her mother's house to make a ceremony for her face. The offerings include 1 pair of chicken, 1 piece of sticky rice, 2 bottles of wine, betel and areca nut. Later, in the afternoon the groom brought the bride back to her house, on the fourth night of the newlywed couple's home and officially moved the room.

Currently, the wedding only takes place in simple steps: brooding, engagement ceremony and wedding reception. Many families have organized weddings in a new, simple and less cumbersome way but still retain some traditional customs of the Muong ethnic group, contributing to enriching the cultural capital of 30 ethnic groups. in Yen Bai province.