Divorce and widow-marriage are permitted. In Chhattisgarh a widow
is always kept in the family if possible, and if her late husband's
brother be only a boy she is sometimes induced to put on the bangles
and wait for him. If a _barandi_ widow, that is one who has been
married but has not lived with her husband, desires to marry again
out of his family, the second husband must repay to them the amount
spent on her first marriage. In Chanda, on the other hand, some Telis
do not permit a widow to marry her late husband's younger brother
at all, and others only when he is a bachelor or a widower. Here
the minimum period for which a widow must remain single after her
husband's death is one month. The engagement with a widow is arranged
by the suitor's female relatives, and they pay her a rupee as earnest
money. On the day fixed she goes with one or two other widows to
the bridegroom's house, and from there to the bazar, where she buys
two pairs of bell-metal rings, to be worn on the second toe of each
foot, and some glass bangles. She remains sitting in the bazar till
well after dark, when some widow goes to fetch her on behalf of her
suitor. They bring her to his house, where the couple sit together, and
red powder is applied to their foreheads. They then bathe and present
their clothes to the washerman, putting on new clothes. The idea in
all this is clearly to sever the widow as completely as possible from
her old home and prevent her from being accompanied to the new one
by the first husband's spirit. In some localities when a Teli widow
remarries it is considered most unlucky for any one to see the face
of the bride or bridegroom for twenty-four hours, or as some say for
three days after the wedding. The ceremony is therefore held at night,
and for this period the couple either remain shut up in the house or
retire to the jungle.