626 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ETHNOLOGICAL SKETCHES IN ANNAM AND 



TONQUIN. 



THE curious philosophical views of life which appear to be common 

 to the races of the Chinese stock, and the elaborate ceremonials 

 by which they are symbolized and emphasized, give a rare interest to 

 all that relates to the manners and customs of those peoples, whatever 

 may be their particular nationality. Nowhere are these features more 

 marked, or do they savor more of another world than ours, than in 

 Annam. We are indebted to certain French writers, whom military 

 and political events have given rare opportunities to observe, for some 

 fresh and original accounts of the inhabitants of this country, and of 

 their characteristic beliefs and usages. M. Henry M. d'Estrey has 

 given, in the " Revue Scientifique," descriptions of the principal cere- 

 monies prescribed in the rites to commemorate the most important 

 events in life, which are six in number, viz. : 1. Gea Ke, or the impo- 

 sition of a pin in the hair-dressing of a maiden on her reaching puberty ; 

 2. Gea Quan, or the imposition of the virile bonnet on the head of a 

 young man when he reaches adult age ; 3. Quan, or the feast in cele- 

 bration of obtaining a first employment ; 4. Hon, or the marriage 

 ceremonies ; 5. TaUg, or funeral ceremonies ; 6. Te, or the ceremony 

 of ancestral worship. 



The first two ceremonies are celebrated by the relatives, in the 

 family. When a maiden has reached the age of nubility, or fifteen 

 years, the father and mother adorn the two altars erected to the ances- 

 tors of their respective families, invite the near relatives, and select, 

 as president of the ceremony, an aged lady, of high repute for virtue 

 and good sense. While the lights are burning among perfumes, two 

 masters of ceremonies, one at each end of the altar, call off the order 

 fixed by the rites. The father and mother then come up to the altars, 

 and say in a low tone, " It is our duty to inform our ancestors that 

 our daughter is, according to the rites, marriageable from this day, 

 and that the age of fifteen years, which she has reached, gives her the 

 right to wear the pin." They then prostrate themselves four times, 

 and the other relatives follow, imitating them. Next, the maiden is 

 brought up to the altar, and the lady who presides over the ceremony, 

 or sometimes the mother herself, takes the pin from off the altar and 

 places it in the hair of the maiden, when, after having saluted the 

 altars four times, she takes her back into the house. At any time 

 after this the maiden may marry. The ceremony is followed by a 

 festival, which is attended by the participants. 



The ceremony of the imposition of the virile bonnet upon the young 

 man who has reached the age of twenty years is performed with simi- 

 lar observances ; but the father or an old man takes the place of the 

 mother or aged lady in making the investiture. 



