According to author Lo Minh On, the wedding ceremony of the Sop Cop Thai people is a harmonious blend of folk beliefs and life philosophy. During the engagement ceremony, the groom's family sends a matchmaker (acting as an intermediary) with gifts including betel nuts, sticky rice, wine, and a pig to the bride's family to formally propose. These gifts represent respect and symbolize prosperity: the pig in the offering symbolizes reverence, the sticky rice represents the aspiration for a prosperous life, and the wine is the bond that unites the two families.

According to the ancient traditions of the Thai people, the matchmakers are usually called Po Su and Me Lam - skilled singers who are adaptable to all situations and customs of the Thai ethnic group. In the wedding ceremony, when bringing the bride and groom home, the person chosen as Po Su or Me Lam must be an elderly, virtuous person who has settled down and started a family. The elders representing both families initiate the wedding songs of the Thai ethnic group when bringing the bride and groom home, songs that teach and remind the newlyweds to live beautifully and with much affection as they enter family life. When the groom's family finds an auspicious date and month, and both sides agree on a good date and month, and the chicken's legs and face are beautiful, and both sides have good wishes, they bring the Po Su to the bride's house to greet (Part I: Reasons - greeting) and ask permission to bring the groom to live with and learn about everything from the maternal grandparents [p. 63]. In response to the warm and affectionate greetings from the groom's side, Me Lam - representing the bride's side - replied with gentle and sweet songs: "Before, I always remembered and cherished it in my heart / Always wanting to visit / But season after season, year after year / Year after year, my wish was not fulfilled / Because of household chores, I couldn't visit / ... Now, fortunately, fate is near / So our grandchildren can become a couple / And we can come together to visit the maternal side" [p. 65] (The maternal side's reply). She also subtly reminded everyone that the meaning of visiting each other isn't about lavish feasts, but about sincere, respectful, and affectionate feelings: "Visiting each other doesn't require soup / Loving each other doesn't need wine / Cherishing each other is about pleasant words / Even a short word is loving / Even a blunt word is joyful / Sweet words warm the heart..." [p. 68-69]. These are folk melodies used in weddings, especially the welcoming songs (singing to escort the bride) and congratulatory songs (singing blessings).

Part II of the book, titled "Singing About the Son-in-Law," allows readers to immerse themselves in the melodious and profound Thai folk songs associated with the custom of bringing the son-in-law home. Through the words of the Po Su (a local deity), one can gain a deeper understanding of the impoverished circumstances of the Thai young man: "My son-in-law comes from a poor family, his grandmother is lonely/... We bring the son-in-law here with nothing/ We bring the son-in-law back to his family, who are still struggling/ We temporarily set out a table and pour bitter wine to offer him..." According to custom, the son-in-law's lack of resources and his shy, hesitant, and inarticulate nature serve as an excuse for the groom's family to entrust him to the maternal side for protection, education, and guidance: "To teach the son-in-law to go to the fields with his aunt/... to go to the rice paddies with his uncle/... to dig ditches to irrigate the fields/ Teach him how to raise big pigs and fat chickens/ Learn to buy and sell with his friends" [p. 74], to teach the son-in-law to be diligent, eloquent, talented, and to know how to live and eat well, to love his wife, to love his maternal relatives, so that the entire maternal family can rely on him" [p. 80]...

When the groom's probationary period at the bride's house ends, it is also the time for the girl to go with her husband to live as a daughter-in-law in his new home (Song about the daughter-in-law - Part III). On the day of sending her daughter off to her husband's home, the mother, with tears in her eyes, advised her daughter to remember these words: "The daughter-in-law must diligently weave cloth, spin silk, work in the fields and rice paddies without rest, and wholeheartedly take care of her mother-in-law's duties/ Cherish and love her mother-in-law but do not scold her younger siblings/... Keep the house and yard clean and fragrant/... Be polite, respectful to elders and considerate to juniors/... A filial daughter-in-law, the mother trusts and loves her daughter-in-law and entrusts her life to her." [pp. 95-96]...

The book "Modern Wedding Songs of the Thai Ethnic Group in Sop Cop - Son La" introduces the unique beauty of the traditional wedding customs of the Thai ethnic group in general and the Thai ethnic group in Sop Cop - Son La in particular, as expressed through the content of modern wedding songs that carry profound humanistic meaning, embodying ethical standards and human character.

Source: Son La Newspaper