The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Vol. 3 of 4 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Vol. 3 of 4<br><br>Marriage within the clan is forbidden and also the union of first cousins. Girls may be married at any age and are sometimes united to husbands much younger than themselves. Four castemen of standing carry the proposal of marriage from the boy''s father and the girl''s father being forewarned sends others to meet them. One of the ambassadors opens the conversation by saying ''we have the milk and you have the milk-pail; let them be joined.'' To which the girl''s party if the match be agreeable will reply Yes we have the tamarind and you have the mango if the panckes agree let there be a marriage. The boy''s father gives the girl''s father five areca-nuts and the latter returns them and they clasp each other round the neck. When the wedding pro cession reaches the bride''s village it is met by their party and one of them takes the sarota or iron nut-cutter which the bridegroom holds in his hand and twirls it about in the air several times. The ceremony is performed by walking round the sacred pole and the party return to the bride groom''s lodging where his brother-ln-law fills the bride''s lap with sweetmeats and water-nut as an omen of fertility. The mailiar or small wedding-cakes of wheat fried in sesamum oil are distributed to all members of the caste present at the wedding. While the bridegroom''s party is absent at the bride''s house the women who remain behind enjoy amuse ments of their own. One Of them strips herself naked tying up her hair like a religious mendicant and is known as Baba or holy father. In this state she romps with her companions in turn while the others laugh and applaud. Occasionally some man hides himself in a place where he can be a witness of their play but if they discover him he is beaten severely with belnas or wooden bread-rollers. Widow-marriage and divorce are permitted the widow being usually expected to marry her late husband''s younger brother whether he already has a wife or not. Sexual offences are not severely reprobated and may be atoned for by a feast to the caste fellows.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases an imperfection in the original such as a blemish or missing page may be replicated in our edition. We do however repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.