A centuries-old wedding custom, “hun nao”, which involves the bride, was caught on camera and sparked outrage in China. The footage, which quickly went viral on the Chinese social media site Weibo, shows a bride in her wedding dress taped to a pole by a group of men, believed to be the childhood friends of the groom.
The video, reportedly from Shanxi province in China, has the bride screaming and calling for help as the men continue to bind her, with no one intervening. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the men involved in the prank claimed it was all part of a local custom the newlyweds reportedly agreed to.
“Making a bit of a scene at weddings is our local custom, all among good friends,” a friend of the groom told the outlet. “There was no harm done.” He further said that the groom was present during the incident and assured that the bride’s safety had been a priority.
The controversial ritual is known as ‘hun nao’, or wedding hazing, a centuries-old tradition once intended to create a light-hearted atmosphere for newlyweds. The practice, with its roots in ancient China, was to encourage laughter on the wedding day to ward off evil spirits.
However, it, over time, resulted in excuses for crude jokes and inappropriate behaviour. While some defend the practice as harmless fun among friends, others argue that it often crosses the line into humiliation and discomfort for the bride on what should be a joyous occasion.
Earlier, in Shandong, China, two bridesmaids were violently sprayed with fire extinguishers by groomsmen, leaving them cowering and collapsing on the ground. The incident was part of the ‘hun nao’ ritual. Footage shows the bridesmaids screaming for help while being sprayed. One woman curled up to protect herself. The bridesmaids were reportedly aware of the prank and given raincoats. Many described the incident as “hooliganism,” calling the groomsmen’s actions degrading and dangerous.