Wedding Song
Audio
Listen to the story using the audio player below, or right click on the player to save the audio file.
Commentary
A traditional Hmong wedding occurs at the bride's family home. At the wedding ceremony, when the food is cooked and ready to be served, tables and chairs are set up. The male relatives of both the groom and bride are asked to sit at the table where traditions will proceed. To be seated at the wedding table means that one is respected and honored (women were not part of the wedding table).
Similar to different types of kwv txhiaj and lug txaj based on the dialects and region, the traditional White Hmong's wedding song opens with 'hais zoo li kuv os...'
mej koob are wedding negotiators that play a significant role in the overall success of the wedding. The mej koob are always men skilled in singing traditional wedding songs. The mej koob's main responsiblity is to successfully negotiate the bride's price for both families to agree upon.
Transcripts
Both of you are the best of my friends. As if it is any other day or times, we would not need a table.
Tables have it a place to live in, but tonight we need a table to seek for help, a table it have four legs stay righteously.
As if it is any other night we would not need table to help, it has a place to hide, but tonight we need table to help, a table has four legs to stand on, we ask our parents of the daughter to give provide a table.
The table will have four legs and four hands to hold the bride and groom forty cups of wine.
The table have four legs on the bottom but on top there is a place to hold four cups for us to share bitter wine for the happiness.
As the table has four leg to stand on, atop it has a place for us to place the hand, on the table it has a place to hold a good cup of spirit water, the water is the happiness.
We ask the good friend to know what it is on the table, and please let our request be fulfilled at this point.
| Script |
| ntawm nuav kuv yog nyaj yas yaaj. |
| kuv yog yug xyoo ib phav cuaj puas plaub caug ib |
| aws... |
| taam sim nuav kuv twb muaj xya caeg |
| plaub xyoo ntau lawm yuav txug xya caug tsib xyoo |
| ntawm nuav kuv yuav has |
| thawj thawj qhov nuav yog |
| ib zaj zag tshoob |
| thawj thawj zaaj |
| zaaj tshoob kws |
| yuav nqug rooj nqug tog |
| ib |
| siv yis |
| tuaj laag txug nyob kws |
| mej ob |
| mag txwj mej |
| koob |
| kwv zoo kuv nkaum kwv luag |
| zoo le kws |
| txhua naj moog txhua mo |
| peb tsis yuav roob lig tis lub zug ces |
| roob lig tiv |
| nws nyob lawm nws zeg mo nuav |
| peb yuav txug rooj lig tiv |
| lub dlaag moog lub zug ces roob lig tiv |
| nws muaj lawm nwg plaub txhais tes taw os |
| zoo le kws txhua naj moog txhua mo peb tsis yuav rooj lig tiv lub dlaag |
| moog lub zug ces rooj lig tiv |
| nws pw lawm nws zeg |
| mo nuav peb yuav rub rooj lig tiv |
| lub dlaag moog lawm lub zug |
| ces rooj lig tiv |
| nws muaj lawm nws plaub txhais taw tes |
| loj vim tub tsheej kws sawv ua tsaug has rua kuv nam kuv txiv |
| mej tom nuav es rhu rooj li tiv |
| ntuj tawm tuaj ni rooj liv tiv ces |
| ncej roog nws muaj lawm plaub tug taws sawm qaum rooj ces nws yuav cug qaum li tshoov |
| luag ris nyog |
| plaub caug yig moog khob cawv os |
| zoo le kws rooj lis tiv |
| ces muaj lawm plaub tug ceg saub lis rooj ces |
| le lug ris nyog nkauj nyab nraug vauv |
| nam plaub caug khob dlej |
| es ncej roog ces muaj lawm plaub tug taw |
| sawm qaum rooj ces txaw taag |
| wb ob maag xws mej koob nam pib moog cawv ab yog wb ob |
| yog wb ob maag txwj mej koob pib cawv moog hum sab es |
| zoo le kws ncej roog |
| txhawj lawm nam plaub |
| khob...ncej roog ces txawj lawm nam plaub tug ceg |
| zoo le qaum rooj ces |
| txawj tau wb ob maag xws mej koob |
| lub chaw moog taag teg |
| qaum rooj ces txawv tau |
| wb ob maag xws mej koob |
| zoo lawm nam ob pib moog dlej tshab |
| yog wb pib dlej rov hum sab nuav lag |
| kuv nkawm zoo kwv yaig cog kws qos luag es |
| sam saib lis tag lis tag los txhawv txheej os |
| seem saib los tshawv yim |
| tag lawm lauj! |