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Yating Yang

In China’s Gelao ethnic group, an old custom required brides to have one or two upper teeth removed before marriage, supposedly to avoid bringing harm to the groom’s family.
In some cases, the missing teeth were even replaced by those of a dog for decorative purposes.
The Gelao people are an ethnic group in China and Vietnam.
Their estimated population in China in 2021 was more than 677,000.

The group mainly lives in Gelao autonomous counties in the western part of Guizhou province in southern China.
Traditionally, they rely on agriculture, growing rice in flatter terrains and cultivating various grains in the mountainous drylands.
The custom of tooth removal for new brides has been passed down for generations, with the earliest written records of it dating back to the Southern Song dynasty (1127 to 1279).

When a Gelao woman reached around the age of 20 and was preparing for marriage, one or two of her upper front teeth would be intentionally knocked out.
According to a well-known folk legend, many years ago, a Gelao woman fell off a cliff while gathering fruit for her community before her wedding, knocking out her two front teeth.
To honour her bravery and dedication, it became a custom for Gelao brides to have their front teeth removed before marriage.

The procedure followed a specific ritual.
A pot of wine was first prepared and the girl’s maternal uncle was respectfully invited to the home.
Using a small hammer, the uncle would knock out her teeth.
If the uncle was dead or unavailable, another male relative from the mother’s side of the same generation could perform the ritual.
After the teeth were removed, a special medicinal powder was applied to the gums for quick healing.
If a Gelao woman did not undergo the tooth-removal ritual, she could face ridicule or be mocked by the community.
The reasons behind this tooth-knocking custom vary.
Some say it is because the regions inhabited by the Gelao ethnic group had high levels of poison and women who had this would often clench their jaws tightly.
Knocking the teeth out made it easier for them to take herbal remedies.

Others believe that keeping the upper front teeth would bring misfortune to the husband’s family, resulting in a lack of descendants.
To avoid hindering the family’s prosperity, their teeth had to be removed.
However, some say it was purely for aesthetic purposes.
Historical records even say that decorative dog teeth would sometimes be installed as replacements.
According to a 1957 investigation by the Guizhou Provincial Institute of Ethnic Studies, this rather brutal form of body modification was still practised among Gelao communities in areas such as Puding, Zhijin and Renhuai in Guizhou province until the late Qing dynasty (1644–1912), when the tradition gradually began to fade.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Painful ritual from centuries past involved brutal dental procedure using a hammer; missing gnashers could be replaced by those of a dog

Painful ritual from centuries past involved brutal dental procedure using a hammer; missing gnashers could be replaced by those of a dog