Girls must be married before adolescence, and in the event of the
parents failing to accomplish this, the following heavy penalty is
imposed on the girl herself. She is taken to the forest and tied to a
tree with thread, this proceeding signifying her permanent exclusion
from the caste. Any one belonging to another caste can then take her
away and marry her if he chooses to do so. In practice, however, this
penalty is very rarely imposed, as the parents can get out of it by
marrying her to an old man, whether he is already married or not, the
parents bearing all the expenses, while the husband gives two to four
annas as a nominal contribution. After the marriage the old man can
either keep the girl as his wife or divorce her for a further nominal
payment of eight annas to a rupee. She then becomes a widow and can
marry again, while her parents will get ten or twenty rupees for her.
The boy's father makes the proposal for the marriage according to
the following curious formula. Taking some fried grain he goes to the
house of the father of the bride and addresses him as follows in the
presence of the neighbours and the relatives of both parties: "I hear
that the tree has budded and a blossom has come out; I intend to pluck
it." To which the girl's father replies: "The flower is delicate; it is
in the midst of an ocean and very difficult to approach: how will you
pluck it?" To which the reply is: 'I shall bring ships and _dongas_
(boats) and ply them in the ocean and fetch the flower.' And again:
"If you do pluck it, can you support it? Many difficulties may stand in
the way, and the flower may wither or get lost; will it be possible for
you to steer the flower's boat in the ocean of time, as long as it is
destined to be in this world?" To which the answer is: 'Yes, I shall,
and it is with that intention that I have come to you.' On which the
girl's father finally says: 'Very well then, I have given you the
flower.' The question of the bride's price is then discussed. There
are three recognised scales--Rs. 7 and 7 pieces of cloth, Rs. 9 and
9 pieces of cloth, and Rs. 18 and 18 pieces of cloth. The rupees in
question are those of Orissa, and each of them is worth only two-thirds
of a Government rupee. In cases of extreme poverty Rs. 2 and 2 pieces
of cloth are accepted. The price being fixed, the boy's father goes to
pay it after an interval; and on this occasion he holds out his cloth,
and a cocoanut is placed on it and broken by the girl's father, which
confirms the betrothal. Before the marriage seven married girls go out
and dig earth after worshipping the ground, and on their return let it
all fall on to the head of the bridegroom's mother, which is protected
only by a cloth. On the next day offerings are made to the ancestors,
who are invited to attend the ceremony as village gods. The bridegroom
is shaved clean and bathed, and the Brahman then ties an iron ring
to his wrist, and the barber puts the turban and marriage-crown on
his head. The procession then starts, but any barber who meets it on
the way may put a fresh marriage-crown on the bridegroom's head and
receive eight annas or a rupee for it, so that he sometimes arrives
at his destination wearing four or five of them. The usual ceremonies
attend the arrival. At the marriage the couple are blindfolded and
seated in the shed, while the Brahman priest repeats _mantras_ or
verses, and during this time the parents and the parties must continue
placing nuts and pice all over the shed. These are the perquisites
of the Brahman. The hands of the couple are then tied together with
_kusha_ grass (_Eragrostis cynosuroides_), and water is poured over
them. After the ceremony the couple gamble with seven cowries and seven
pieces of turmeric. The boy then presses a cowrie on the ground with
his little finger, and the girl has to take it away, which she easily
does. The girl in her turn holds a cowrie inside her clenched hand,
and the boy has to remove it with his little finger, which he finds
it impossible to do. Thus the boy always loses and has to promise the
girl something, either to give her an ornament or to take her on a
pilgrimage, or to make her the mistress of his house. On the fifth
or last day of the ceremony some curds are placed in a small pot,
and the couple are made to churn them; this is probably symbolical of
the caste's original occupation of tending cattle. The bride goes to
her husband's house for three days, and then returns home. When she
is to be finally brought to her husband's house, his father with some
relatives goes to the parents of the girl and asks for her. It is now
strict etiquette for her father to refuse to send her on the first
occasion, and they usually have to call on him three or four times at
intervals of some days, and selecting the days given by the astrologer
as auspicious. Occasionally they have to go as many as ten times;
but finally, if the girl's father proves very troublesome, they send
an old woman who drags away the girl by force. If the father sends her
away willingly he gives her presents of several basket-loads of grain,
oil, turmeric, cooking-pots, cloth, and if he is well off a cow and
bullocks, the value of the presents amounting to about Rs. 50. The
girl's brother takes her to her husband's house, where a repetition of
the marriage ceremony on a small scale is performed. Twice again after
the consummation of the marriage she visits her parents for periods
of one and six months, but after this she never again goes to their
house unaccompanied by her husband. Widow-marriage is allowed, and the
widow may marry the younger brother of her late husband or not as she
pleases. But if she marries another man he must pay a sum of Rs. 10
to Rs. 20 for her, of which Rs. 5 go to the Panua or headman of the
caste, and Rs. 2 to their tutelary goddess Parmeshwari. The children
by the first husband are kept either by his relatives or the widow's
parents, and do not go to the new husband. When a bachelor marries a
widow, he is first married to a flower or _sahara _tree. A widow who
has remarried cannot take part in any worship or marriage ceremony
in her house, not even in the marriage of her own sons. Divorce is
allowed, and is effected in the presence of the caste _panchayat_
or committee. A divorced woman may marry again.