The age of marriage
used to be very early in the case of both boys and girls but now it is
not so. The Ponvars used to marry their daughters at a very early age,
but more from motives of economy than religious belief. For a girl of
full age a high price had to be paid by the bridegroom. Among the
Hindus marriages are celebrated for eight months in the year from the
11th day of dark fortnight of Karttika to the 11th
day of Ashadha, omitting the four months of rains. Brahmans do
not go in for celebration of marriages in the months of Chaitra
and Pausha in addition to the other four. The Golars celebrate
their marriages both at the bride’s house and that of the
bridegroom. He rides on a horse and on arrival at the marriage booth,
he is presented by his future father-in-law with a cup of milk. The
bride and the bridegroom sit on a platform together and each gets up
and sits down nine times, the one who accomplishes this first being
considered to have won. The bridegroom then takes the bride’s little
finger in his hand and they walk nine times round the platform. He
afterwards falls at the girl’s feet, and standing up, carries her
inside the house, where they eat together out of one dish. After three
days the party proceeds to the bridegroom’s house where the same
ceremonies are gone through. Here the family barbers of the bride and
bridegroom take the couple up in their arms and dance, holding them,
and all the party dance too. Among the Gandlis, the wedding procession
goes from the bride’s to the bridegroom’s house. The Telis, Lohars,
Dhimar, Injhvars, Govaris and Maratha Kalars consult a Dhed or Mahar
to fix the date of their weddings, this man being called the Mohturya.
He is always illiterate. This is probably a sort of deference paid to
the Mahars as the earliest inhabitants of the country of which
instances occur elsewhere. A custom formerly prevailed among Sonars
whereby the bride'’ foot having been smeared with red powder , she
should plant it upon the bridegroom’s back, by way of showing her
superiority to him; but this has now almost fallen into disuse. At a
Labhana or Banjara marriage, the girl is clad only in a light skirt
and breast cloth and rubbed all over with oil. The Joshi or village
priest who officiates at the wedding is told to run after her and
catch her, while she eludes him and the bride’s party pelt him with
rice, turmeric and areca-nuts. When he finally catches the girl and
bring her to the marriage shed, the boy’s parry subscribe, dropping
coins into a plate which he holds and he often receives a considerable
sum. Ponvars pay sums up to a thousand rupees for a young and pretty
widow. Kunbis also pay for widows but the prices are not so high.
Among the Gonds, Telis, Govaris, Chamars, Kohlis, Lodhis and Marars, a
deceased husband’s younger brother marries his widow and this
practice also prevails among the Muhammedans of Bhandara. Some Muslim
families of the higher classes do not permit widows to marry.