At the age of 14 or 15, a boy undergoes an initiation ceremony. He is caught by others and led by the village mother and father to a table where there are two packages of meat wrapped in banana leaves. The boy bows and kowtows to the table several times. From that day forth, the boy is a man. While the Jinuo practice monogamy, prospective brides and grooms are allowed to have sex before marriage.
Divorce is rare.
In the past, villages were headed by two old, wise men. These men officiated at the spring sowing ceremony, decided when the new year would begin and inspected the borders of the village each year. Wooden swords and spears were used to mark off each village and, at the inspection time, old village markers were replaced with new ones. One government publication says that economic life for the Jinuo has improved due to China's policy of national unity and equality. According to this source, their progress has been due to having their eyes opened to the necessity of education.