Girls are usually married after attaining maturity, and a bride-price
is paid which is normally two khandis (800 lbs.) of grain, Rs. 16 to
20 in cash, and a piece of cloth. The auspicious date of the wedding
is calculated by a Mahar Mohturia or soothsayer. Brahmans are not
employed, the ceremony being performed by the bhanya or sister's son of
either the girl's father or the boy's father. If he is not available,
any one whom either the girl's father or the boy's father addresses
as bhanja or nephew in the village, according to the common custom of
addressing each other by terms of relationship, even though he may be
no relative and belong to another caste, may be substituted; and if
no such person is available a son-in-law of either of the parties. The
peculiar importance thus attached to the sister's son as a relation is
probably a relic of the matriarchate, when a man's sister's son was
his heir. The substitution of a son-in-law who might inherit in the
absence of a sister's son perhaps strengthens this view. The wedding
is held mainly according to the Maratha ritual. [116] The procession
goes to the girl's house, and the bridegroom is wrapped in a blanket
and carries a spear, in the absence of which the wedding cannot be
held. A spear is also essential among the Gonds. The ancestors of the
caste are invited to the wedding by beating a drum and calling on
them to attend. The original ancestors are said to be Kode Kodwan,
the names of two Gond gods, Baghoba (the tiger-god), and Meghnath,
son of Rawan, the demon king of Ceylon, after whom the Gonds are
called Rawanvansi, or descendants of Rawan. The wedding costs about
Rs. 50, all of which is spent by the boy's father. The girl's father
only gives a feast to the caste out of the amount which he receives
as bride-price. Divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted.