The marriage of members of the same sept, and also that of first
cousins, is forbidden. The caste do not employ Brahmans at their
marriage and other ceremonies, and they account for this somewhat
quaintly by saying that their ancestors were at one time accustomed
to rely on the calculations of Brahman priests; but many marriages
which the Brahman foretold as auspicious turned out very much the
reverse; and on this account they have discarded the Brahman, and now
determine the suitability or otherwise of a projected union by the
common primitive custom of throwing two grains of rice into a vessel
of water and seeing whether they will meet. The truth is probably that
they are too backward ever to have had recourse to the Brahman priest,
but now, though they still apparently have no desire for his services,
they recognise the fact to be somewhat discreditable to themselves, and
desire to explain it away by the story already given. In Hoshangabad
the bride still goes to the bridegroom's house to be married as among
the Gonds. A bride-price is paid, which consists of four rupees,
a _khandi_ [459] of juari or wheat, and two pieces of cloth. This
is received by the bride's father, who, however, has in turn to
pay seven rupees eight annas and a goat to the caste _panchayat_
or committee for the arrangement and sanction of the match. This
last payment is known as _Skarab-ka-rupaya_ or liquor-money, and
with the goat furnishes the wherewithal for a sumptuous feast to the
caste. The marriage-shed must be made of freshly-cut timber, which
should not be allowed to fall to the ground, but must be supported
and carried off on men's shoulders as it is cut. When the bridegroom
arrives at the marriage-shed he is met by the bride's mother and
conducted by her to an inner room of the house, where he finds the
bride standing. He seizes her fist, which she holds clenched, and
opens her fingers by force. The couple then walk five times round the
_chauk_ or sacred space made with lines of flour on the floor, the
bridegroom holding the bride by her little finger. They are preceded
by some relative of the bride, who walks round the post carrying a
pot of water, with seven holes in it; the water spouts from these
holes on to the ground, and the couple must tread in it as they go
round the post. This forms the essential and binding portion of the
marriage. That night the couple sleep in the same room with a woman
lying between them. Next day they return to the bridegroom's house,
and on arriving at his door the boy's mother meets him and touches
his head, breast and knees with a churning-stick, a winnowing-fan and
a pestle, with the object of exorcising any evil spirits who may be
accompanying the bridal couple. As the pair enter the marriage-shed
erected before the bridegroom's house they are drenched with water by
a man sitting on the roof, and when they come to the door of the house
the bridegroom's younger brother, or some other boy, sits across it
with his legs stretched out to prevent the bride from entering. The
girl pushes his legs aside and goes into the house, where she stays
for three months with her husband, and then returns to her parents for
a year. After this she is sent to her husband with a basket of fried
cakes and a piece of cloth, and takes up her residence with him. When
a widow is to be married, the couple pour turmeric and water over each
other, and then walk seven times round in a circle in an empty space,
holding each other by the hand. A widow commonly marries her deceased
husband's younger brother, but is not compelled to do so. Divorce is
permitted for adultery on the part of the wife.