The social customs of the Bharbhunjas resemble those of Hindustani
castes of fairly good position. [274] They employ Brahmans for their
ceremonies, and the family priest receives five rupees for officiating
at a wedding, three rupees for a funeral, one rupee for a birth,
and four annas on ordinary occasions. No price is paid for a bride,
and at their marriages the greater part of the expense falls on the
girl's father, who has to give three feasts as against two provided by
the bridegroom's father. After the wedding the bridegroom's father puts
on women's clothes given by the bride's father and dances before the
family. Rose-coloured water and powder are sprinkled over the guests
and the proceeding is known as _Phag_, because it is considered to have
the same significance as the Holi festival observed in Phagun. This
is usually done on the bank of a river or in some garden outside
the village. At the _gauna_ or going-away ceremony the bride and
bridegroom take their seats on two wooden boards and then change
places. Divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. The union
of a widow with her deceased husband's younger brother is considered
a suitable match, but is not compulsory. When a bachelor marries a
widow, he first goes through the proper ceremony either with a stick
or an ear-ring, and is then united to the widow by the simple ritual
employed for widow remarriage. A girl who is seduced by a member of
the caste may be married to him as if she were a widow, but if her
lover is an outsider she is permanently expelled from the caste.