It is essential that a girl should be married before adolescence, as it
is said that when the signs of puberty appear in her before wedlock her
parents commit a crime equivalent to the shedding of human blood. The
father of the boy looks for a bride, and after dropping hints to
the girl's family to see if his proposal is acceptable, he sends some
female relatives or friends to discuss the marriage. Before the wedding
the boy is presented with a _chhap_ or ring of gold or silver with
a small cup-like attachment. A _mehar_ or dowry must be given to the
bride, the amount of which is not below Rs. 50 or above Rs. 250. The
bride's parents give her cooking vessels, bedding and a bedstead. After
the wedding, the couple are seated on a cot while the women sing songs,
and they see each other's face reflected in a mirror. The procession
returns after a stay of four days, and is received by the women of
the bridegroom's family with some humorous ceremonies bearing on the
nature of marriage. A feast called Tamm Walima follows, and the couple
are shut up together in an inner room, even though they may be under
age. The marriage includes some Hindu customs, such as the erection
of the _pandal_ or shed, rubbing the couple with turmeric and oil,
and the tying on of _kankans_ or wrist-bands. A girl going wrong
before marriage may be wedded with full rites so long as she has not
conceived, but after conception until her child is born she cannot go
through the ceremony at all. After the birth of the child she may be
married simply with the rite for widows. She retains the child, but it
has no claim to succeed to her husband's property. A widow may marry
again after an interval of forty days from her first husband's death,
and she may wed her younger brother-in-law. Divorce is permitted at
the instance of either party, and for mere disagreement. A man usually
divorces his wife by vowing in the presence of two witnesses that he
will in future consider intercourse with her as incestuous in the same
degree as with his mother. A divorced woman has a claim to her _mehar_
or dowry if not already paid, but forfeits it if she marries again. A
man can marry the daughter of his paternal uncle. The services of a
Kazi at weddings are paid for with a fee of Rs. 1-4, and well-to-do
persons also give him a pair of turbans.