Marriage within the sept is forbidden, and they permit the
intermarriage of the children of a brother and sister, but not of
those of two sisters, though their husbands may be of different
septs. Marriage is usually adult except in Sambalpur, where a girl
must be provided with a husband before reaching maturity in accordance
with the general rule among the Uriya castes. In Chhindwara it is
said that the Sonjharas revere the crocodile and that the presence
of this animal is essential at their weddings. They do not, however,
kill and eat it at a sacrificial feast as the Singrore Dhimars are
reported to do, but catch and keep it alive, and when the ceremony is
concluded take it back again and deposit it in a river. After a girl
has been married neither her father nor any of her own near relatives
will ever take food again in the house of her husband's family, saying
that they would rather starve. Each married couple also becomes a
separate commensal group and will not eat with the parents of either of
them. This is a common custom among low castes of mixed origin where
every man is doubtful of his neighbour's parentage. Divorce and the
remarriage of widows are permitted, and a woman may be divorced merely
on the ground of incompetence in household management or because she
does not please her husband's parents.