includes two spinsters, each of whom carries, a new earthen pitcher (ghara), one woman carries a sword and another a bow and arrows. When the two girls have filled their pitchers with water and placed them on their heads, some woman takes a long thread dyed yellow with turmeric, twists it three times round the necks of the two pitchers, and covers their mouths with a new piece of cloth similarly dyed. On their return to the bridegroom's place the two girls stand before the door of the hut each with her pitcher poised on her head. The mother of the bridegroom comes out with a potsherd containing some live charcoal and sprinkles a handful of mustard-seeds on the fire. When the mustard-seeds burst in the fire, the potsherd with its contents is left upside down on the courtyard. As the object of the drawn sword and the bow and arrows appears to be to scare away evil spirits, so the object of the burning of the mustard seeds would appear to be to prevent the evil eye of others from doing harm to the bridegroom. Eich of the two water-carriers receives from the bridegroom's mother a reward of two pice. The two pitchers of water are now deposited in the courtyard on some stand, preferably a string-bed. The sister's husband of the bridegroom digs a miniature tank about a foot deep and two feet square and on its eastern edge plants a plantain sapling. On its western edge a stone-slab is placed over three bundles of thatching grass. The bridegroom and his mother sit down on this stone-slab with their faces to the east. With mango-twigs brought by the bridegroom's elder sister's husband, the two girls sprinkle water from their pitchers on the bridegroom, who is then bathed in the water of one of the two pitchers, and his mother is bathed in that of the other. The bridegroom then His mother then takes takes a meal of boiled rice, pot-herbs, etc. up on her head a new winnowing-basket (sup) containing one arrow, one lighted earthen lamp, some rice, and four pice and sits down at the door of her hut just inside the door-step. The bridegroom sits down facing her on the other (outer) side of the door-step. The husband of the bridegroom's sister now soaks a small rag with a little blood drawn from the left-hand little finger of the bridegroom. This rag, known as sinai, is wrapped in another rag, and put into the waist cloth of the bridegroom. The husband of the bridegroom's elder sister now twists into the shape of cigarettes each of the mango leaves with which water was sprinkled on the bridegroom and from these he makes six garlands, three leaves being strung together for each. These garlands are worn one on the arm and one on the leg of the bridegroom, and similarly one on the arm and one on the leg of the bridegroom's father and one on an arm and one on a leg of the bridegroom's mother. The bridegroom's elder sister's husband also threads a betel-nut on a string which he slings across the bridegroom's right shoulder like the sacred thread of a Brahman. (x)-Bridegroom's Uli-Sakhi. The bridegroom now puts on his bridal dress, consisting of a dhoti or loin cloth dyed yellow with turmeric, and, if possible, a chadar or wrapper for the body, and a piece of cloth to serve as a pagri or turban. He now proceeds on the arins of his elder sister's husband to a mango-tree on the way to the bride's village, accompanied by his mother and other women of the tanda. The women carry a lōṭā or water-jug, two leaf-plates, besides a few leaf-cups containing respectively molasses, rice flour, vermilion, and some unbleached thread. Arrived at the foot of the tree, the bridegroom with the little finger of his right hand puts a mark of vermilion on the trunk of the tree; and while his finger is still on the tree, a woman twists a thread five times round the trunk just below the vermilion mark. Some one now brings down with a stick some leaves or twigs of the tree, and the stalks of a few of these mango leaves are handed over to the bridegroom who after chewing them a little gives them to his mother who swallows them mixed with molasses. This is. repeated five times. The bridegroom and his party, consisting of both men and women including the husband of one of his younger sisters or cousins, who acts as the Lukundi or best man, now start for the bride's tāndā while his mother and a few other women return home. The mother remains fasting until the time for the wedding which generally takes place early next morning. She may, however, take any spirituous drink she pleases. (xi)—Circumambulation of the Bride's ṭānḍā. When they arrive at the boundary of the bride's ṭāndā, the bridegroom and his party walk round it three times and finally enter an enclosure (jkāmṛā) of twigs and branches of trees made for their accommodation by the bride's people. (xii).-Adhibās of the Bride. Now the adhibās ceremony of the bride is performed in exactly the same manner as the bridegroom's adhibās [vide (ix) ante], the only difference being that blood is drawn from the little finger of the bride's right hand (and not left hand as in the case of the bridegroom), and a thread with a betel-nut strung on it is slung across the bride's left shoulder (and not right shoulder as in the case of the bridegroom). The bride's sister's husband discharges the same functions (such as digging the miniature tank) that we have seen the bridegroom's sister's husband performing on the occasion of the bridegroom's adhibās. A few women of the bridegroom's party go to the bride's place and anoint her with oil and turmeric. She then bathes and puts on the bridal cloth presented by the bridegroom's parents. A few women of the bride's party go to the bridegroom's quarters (jhāmṛā) with oil and turmeric and similarly anoint him therewith and then he bathes and puts on his bridal clothes. (xiii)—Archha-Parchha or Welcoming the Bridegroom. When the bridegroom arrives in procession before the bride's father's hut, three or five females come out to welcome him They carry a new basket containing pounded turmeric and three or five torches made of rags soaked in oil and wound round stalks of mango leaves. Standing in front of the bridegroom, each of the women in turn holds one of these lighted torches in her left hand, and with her right hand besmears the temples of the bridegroom with pounded turmeric. The bridegroom in his turn puts with his right hand pounded turmeric on the temples of these women. Then the women throw away their torches. (xiv)-Sprinkling the Bridegroom with Ceremonial Water. Two pitchers of water have already been brought from some neighbouring stream, tank, or spring, by two girls with the following ceremonies. The girls while going to draw water, are accompanied by some married women, one of whom carries an axe (pharsa) or, if available, a sword, and another, bow and an arrow. Arrived at the stream, tank, or spring, one of the married women puts three marks of vermilion on the bank, and gives three strokes with the axe or sword on the water. The pitchers are then filled with water and brought home by the girls. When the bridegroom and the female relative of his bride have been introduced to one another by the archha-parchha ceremony, two girls come out with these pitchers of water, and with a few small mango twigs sprinkle the water all over the bridegroom's body. The bridegroom in his turn dips one or two mango-twigs into a bowl of water held up before him by some one of his party. The bridegroom's father gives two pice to each of the two girls. (xv)-Introduction of the Bridegroom to his Mother-in-law. Some married women of the bride's ṭānḍā now come out with a new basket containing some unhusked rice, tender grassshoots, two baked rice flour cakes and a number of small round pellets of boiled rice flour and a quantity of pellets made of cowdung. Three or five of the women (including the mother and paternal aunts of the bride) now take up from the basket the rice flour pellets and one after another wave them round the bridegroom's head and then throw them away in the direction of the bridegroom's tandā. Then they similarly wave the pellets of cowdung and throw them towards the bride's hut. The bride's mother next takes up the two rice flour cakes and touches the bridegroom's cheeks with them and then kisses the cakes and puts them back into the basket. She then anoints the cheeks of the bridegroom thrice with molasses, and wipes away the marks with water from the lōtā. Finally she takes up a sāmāt or wooden pestle, flourishes it before the bridegroom and then strikes it on the ground telling the bridegroom, as she does so, Mind, if you do not bring home game we shall beat you in this manner." After this the bridegroom is taken back to the jhāmṛā or enclosure where his people have been accommodated. (xvi)-Bride's Uli-Sakhi. Now the bride's mother with a few other women proceed towards a mango-tree. One of the women carries the bride in her arms. This mango-tree must not be in the direction of the bridegroom's tāṇḍā. Should there be no mango-tree in the village in any direction other than that in which the bridegroom's tanda is situate, a mango branch is planted in the ground, in a suitable direction and under that tree or branch, the same ceremonies are performed by the bride and her mother and other companions as we have seen performed by the bridegroom and his mother and others at the bridegroom's uli-sākhi. (xvii)-Looting the Sara-dhōti. The bridegroom now returns from his 'jhāmṛā' to the bride's place and stands in the courtyard. This time he has a new dhōti wound round his neck. The Diguar of the bride's tāndā approaches him carrying on his shoulders a younger brother of the bride, and stands face to face with the bridegroom. Both the bride's younger brother and the bridegroom now put a handful of raw rice into their own mouths, and each blows on the other the rice in his mouth. Then finally the bride's brother snatches away from the neck of the bridegroom the new cloth known as the 'Sara-dhōti' or 'the cloth for the wife's younger brother.' (xviii)-Exchange of Blood. The bride is now brought out on a bamboo basket carried by three or four men. Two sāl-leaf-plates are placed side by side in the |