Marriage within the sept is prohibited, and usually also between
first cousins. Girls are commonly married a year or two after they
arrive at maturity. The father of the boy looks out for a suitable
girl for his son and sends a friend to make the proposal. If this
is accepted a feast is given, and is known as Phul Phulwari or 'The
bursting of the flower.' The betrothal itself is called Phaldan or
'The gift of the fruit'; on this occasion the contract is ratified
and the usual presents are exchanged. Yet a third ceremony, prior to
the marriage, is that of the Barokhi or inspection, when the bride
and bridegroom are taken to see each other. On this occasion they
exchange copper rings, placing them on each other's finger, and the
boy offers vermilion to the earth, and then rubs it on the bride's
forehead. When the girl is mature the date of the wedding is fixed,
a small bride-price of six rupees and a piece of cloth being usually
paid. If the first signs of puberty appear in the girl during the
bright fortnight of the month, the marriage is held during the dark
fortnight and vice versa. The marriage-shed is built in the form of
a rectangle and must consist of either seven or nine posts in three
lines. The bridegroom's party comprises from twenty to forty persons of
both sexes. When they arrive at the bride's village her father comes
out to meet them and gives them leaf-pipes to smoke. He escorts them
inside the village where a lodging has been prepared for them. The
ceremony is based on that of the local Hindus with numerous petty
variations in points of detail. In the actual ceremony the bride and
bridegroom are first supported on the knees of two relatives. A sheet
is held between them and each throws seven handfuls of parched rice
over the other. They are then made to stand side by side; a knot
is made of their cloths containing a piece of turmeric, and the
bride's left hand is laid over the bridegroom's right one, and on
it a _sendhaura_ or wooden box for vermilion is placed. The bride's
mother moves seven times round the pair holding a lighted lamp, at
which she warms her hand and then touches the marriage-crowns of the
bride and bridegroom seven times in succession. And finally the couple
walk seven times round the marriage-post, the bridegroom following
the bride. The marriage is held during the day, and not, as is usual,
at night or in the early morning. Afterwards, the pair are seated in
the marriage-shed, the bridegroom's leg being placed over that of the
bride, with their feet in a brass dish. The bride's mother then washes
their great toes with milk and the rest of their feet with water. The
bridegroom applies vermilion seven times to the marriage-post and to
his wife's forehead at the parting of her hair. The couple are fed
with rice and pulses one after the other out of the same leaf-plates,
and the parties have a feast. Next morning, before their departure,
the father of the bride asks the bridegroom to do his best to put up
with his daughter, who is thievish, gluttonous and so slovenly that
she lets her food drop on to the floor; but if he finds he cannot
endure her, to send her home. In the same manner the father of the
boy apologises for his son, saying that he cares only for mischief
and pleasure. The party then returns to the bridegroom's house.