The Daharias, in theory at any rate, observe the same rules in
regard to their women as Brahmans and Rajputs. Neither divorce nor
the marriage of widows is permitted, and a woman who goes wrong is
finally expelled from the caste. Their social customs resemble those
of the higher Hindustani castes. When the bridegroom starts for the
wedding he is dressed in a long white gown reaching to the ankles,
with new shoes, and he takes with him a dagger; this serves the
double purpose of warding off evil spirits, always prone to attack
the bridal party, and also of being a substitute for the bridegroom
himself, as in case he should for some unforeseen reason be rendered
unable to appear at the ceremony, the bride could be married to the
dagger as his representative. It may also be mentioned that, before
the bridegroom starts for the wedding, after he has been rubbed with
oil and turmeric for five days he is seated on a wooden plank over
a hole dug in the courtyard and bathed. He then changes his clothes,
and the women bring twenty-one small _chukias_ or cups full of water
and empty them over him. His head is then covered with a piece of
new cloth, and a thread wound round it seven times by a Brahman. The
thread is afterwards removed, and tied round an iron ring with some
mango leaves, and this ring forms the _kankan_ which is tied to the
bridegroom's wrist, a similar one being worn by the bride. Before the
wedding the bride goes round to the houses of her friends, accompanied
by the women of her party singing songs, and by musicians. At each
house the mistress appears with her forehead and the parting of
her hair profusely smeared with vermilion. She rubs her forehead
against the bride's so as to colour it also with vermilion, which
is now considered the symbol of a long and happy married life. The
barber's wife applies red paint to the bride's feet, the gardener's
wife presents her with a garland of flowers, and the carpenter's
wife gives her a new wooden doll. She must also visit the potter's
and washerman's wives, whose benisons are essential; they give her a
new pot and a little rice respectively. When the bridegroom comes to
touch the marriage-shed with his dagger he is resisted by the bride's
sister, to whom he must give a rupee as a present. The binding portion
of the marriage consists in the couple walking seven times round the
marriage-post. At each turn the bridegroom seizes the bride's right
toe and with it upsets one of seven little cups of rice placed near
the marriage-post. This is probably a symbol of fertility. After
it they worship seven pairs of little wooden boxes smeared with
vermilion and called _singhora_ and _singhori_ as if they were male
and female. The bridegroom's father brings two little dough images
of Mahadeo and Parvati as the ideal married pair, and gives them to
the couple. The new husband applies vermilion to his wife's forehead,
and covers and uncovers her head seven times, to signify to her that,
having become a wife, she should henceforth be veiled when she goes
abroad. The bride's maid now washes her face, which probably requires
it, and the wedding is complete. The Daharias usually have a _guru_ or
spiritual preceptor, but husband and wife must not have the same one,
as in that case they would be in the anomalous position of brother and
sister, a _guru's_ disciples being looked upon as his children. The
Daharias were formerly warriors in the service of the Ratanpur kings,
and many families still possess an old sword which they worship on
the day of Dasahra. Their names usually end in Singh or Lal. They
are now engaged in cultivation, and many of them are proprietors of
villages, and tenants. Some of them are employed as constables and
chuprassies, but few are labourers, as they may not touch the plough
with their own hands. They eat the flesh of clean animals, but do not
drink liquor, and avoid onions and tomatoes. They have good features
and fair complexions, the traces of their Rajput blood being quite
evident. Brahmans will take water from them, but they now rank below
Rajputs, on a level with the good cultivating castes.