in putting the sindur marks. During this ceremony one or more men go on playing upon reed-flutes and those who can afford also call Gorait musicians who play upon drums and pipes. Young men and women sing marriage songs. Many of these songs, which relate to conjugal love and happiness and are full of indecent allusions and abuses, are composed in the local Hindi dialect. Such songs in the Oraon language as are sung on this occasion relate mostly to matter-of-fact things of every-day life. Thus, a most common Oraon song sung on this occasion runs as follows:

Khoiondrka kännān,

Hoa bhaiyarē sendrā tōnkā,
Chitra makan laoage,

Hoa bhaiyare sendrā tōnkā.

(Translation)

The arrow by the son's bride brought,2
Do take it to the hunting-ground!
To kill the striped deer, brother,

Do take it to the hunting-ground!

The isum sindri is now-a-days considered the essential part of a marriage ceremony. It may also be noted that from after this ceremonial tying-up of the bride's hair into a knot she may not take cooked food at the hands of a person not belonging to her tribe.

Gundari dhukna

The young men of the village bring into the rooman earthen Vessel (bhanda) in which they have put some pepper, kitchen-soot, dried dung of pigs, and similar other substances, and, after shutting the openings of the room, put fire to the contents The pungent smoke issuing out of it make people sneeze, when the bridegroom's people pay the young men a few annas up to a rupee as a sop to make them stop the nuisance.

doors and other of the vessel.

• Khoiondrkā kānnān. This refers to the arrow which the bride's parents hand over to her while sending her to her husband's place.

The females of the bridegroom's party now come with one pot of rice-beer from their quarters to the bride's house and the females of the bride's party also bring out one pot of rice-beer from the house. These are known as isūm-sindri jhārā or ceremonial rice-beer for besmearing vermilion. In some places, the Pāhān or priest of the bride's village or some elder of the clan pours libations of rice-beer on the ground to the presiding spirit (gaondeoti) of the village and to the ancestor-spirits of the bride. The woman who rubbed oil and turmeric paste on the bridegroom gives him rice-beer to drink in a leaf-cup three times and similarly the woman who smeared the bride with vermilion gives her three leaf-cupfuls of rice-beer to drink. Then some women of the bride's party distribute liquor in leaf-cups to each of the women of the bridegroom's party and the women of the bridegroom's side distribute rice-beer in leaf-cups to the women of the bride's party. Then the bridegroom is taken back to his quarters after the bridegroom and bride together have saluted each guest individually.

(6) Khiri Tengna (Propounding Riddles)

Three or five leaf-cups are now placed before the couple. A woman of the bride's party takes up one leaf-cup after another with two reeds to serve as a pair of tongs, fills each cup with ricebeer, carries the cup first to the lips of the bridegroom, then to the lips of the bride (who are not to drink a drop of the liquor) and finally throws it on to the roof of the hut. In some places each leaf-cup is ceremonially waved three times round and round in front of bride or bridegroom, as the case may be, and other women make the ulu-lu sound with their pouting lips. Each time that this liquor known as Khiri tengnā boṛey (riddle-propounding rice-beer) is presented to the lips of the bridegroom, the woman tells him in jest, “Onā Bābu! Viyā kāloey; abiri khardoey, Kulkira ammonkā khardoey amm onā." "Drink Boy; when you go to plough, then you will feel tired; if you feel hungry, thirsty or tired, drink water (i.e. rice-beer)" The bride too is similarly addressed while rice-beer is presented to her lips. "Onāe, Māiā amm. Gobbare pesha kirki chūndki ;

amm ondarki khardki ondāi amm onāey." "Drink girl, [this] water. When you feel tired after collecting cowdung, [or after] husking [paddy], [or after] bringing water, take and drink [this] water." These cups of rice-beer ceremonially presented are not, as I have said, actually drunk by bridegroom or bride. Before the cups containing Khiri-tengnā bōṛey are presented to the lips of bride and bridegroom, in some places, by way of jest, some man or woman who has some “ joking relationship" with the couple (such as a sister's husband or wife's sister) presents empty leaf-cups to the lips of the couple saying, "Drink, Babu, you are thirsty." "The Maia (girl) is angry and refuses to drink." Empty leaf-plates are also placed before them and a pretence of serving rice on these plates and of washing the hands of the couple, as if after they have eaten, is made.

"

Then actual rice-beer is given first to the bridegroom to drink and next to the bride, and then distributed to all the assembled guests, male and female.

Now an old man or an old woman addresses the couple as follows, three times over again :

Khiri khiri māni khiri; telā-khōppānā men iri; mendāekā mālā, Babu, mindikā Māia? Menjkirāe. Babus sendrākalos karngā-kalos. Eret-laggo tir-lāggo, lāngṛā mānos ṭhūṭhā mānos. Āsin längṛā ām kebā, ṭhūṭhā āmkebā. Māia. Maia. Mindikā mālā ? Aur Maia, chulhānu erkhōs, chunj-kānū ūmlōs. Asin umblos amkebā; āur chulhānū irkhios āmkebā, Māiā. Mindikā mālā? Dāngrā mōchā kāos. Adin öndros. Adın irtkey Mai. Adin ahṛā ādhā ādhā mōkkhē. Adın, Babu, mōkhō-hōlē mōkkhāmkebā, Bābu. Mendae kā mālā? Âur bhūtang-lō tōkkhā kão, mānnenti khātrō. Adigahi khed esrō, khekkha esrō, adin lāngṛi mānjā, ādin ṭhuthi mānjā āmkebā, Bābu. Mendaikā mālā, Bābu? Nagad nanke ōnke; menā Babu ninhu Mãiā menae. Nagad nánke önkē. Innāntim sangē nānkë ōnkē. Khiri khiri ānti telākhoppānā mānē khiri ānti telākhōppānā; menē iri; menā Bābā, menāe Mārā, innānti minjkırākē, menā Bābu menjkārāke. Hubṛāntim munjrā ākku, kālā ākku. Chōa, ōl āggā, Irbarim ol āggā ; ol ākkā raku ; kālā derā.

"I am now going to tell you riddles-true riddles. In an ebony bush it looks upward. hear, girl? Go on hearing (i.e.

Do you hear, boy? Do you retain in your memory what

I say). The boy goes to hunt. He will be hit at with

up

an arrow, he will become lame; [yet] don't you call him lame, O, girl. Do you hear or not? Again, he will pass stools into the hearth, micturate into the husking-mortar, [but yet] don't say he has made water, don't say he has passed stools, Do you hear or not? He will go to cut the carcase of some dead cattle; he will bring that [home]; do you cook that. Both of you eat the meat half and half. O Boy, if she eats, don't say she has eaten. Do you hear or not? And if she goes to pluck bhutang from a bhutang (p kur) tree, and if she falls down [from the tree] and her leg is broken, [or] her hand is broken, don't say, O Boy, that she has become lame in her leg or mained in her Do you hear or not boy? Work well, drink well. Listen, boy; listen thou too, O girl. From this day work together and eat together. I have finished my speech. Now, go; get up and salute [all], both (After the couple salute all present,) "Now, you have finished. Go to your quarters.

of you.

arm.

دو

L

The bridegroom is then escorted back to his quarters.

(7) Sabha Sindri

After the Khiri-tengna ceremony, the bride and bridegroom are taken to the marriage-platform (māṇḍōa) and their formal and open anointing with vermilion known as Sabhā-Sindri is performed. Both are seated on a mat turned upside down three times and then spread out on the mud-platform. The bride sits on the left of the bridegroom, with their faces to the east, the bride's sister or other near female relative marks the bridegroom's forehead and temples with vermilion diluted in oil. And similarly the bridegroo n.'s sister or other near female relative marks the bride's forehead and temples with vermilion mixed in oil. Then bridegroom and bride are conducted together to every one of the guests and relatives and each one

* The answer to this is, Asāglāro, i.e. a kind of hairy insect which is poisonous.

is saluted by the couple. Then the bridegroom is conducted back to the quarters of his party.

(8) Mandi-ona or eating rice together

Then some relatives of the bride take a pot of rice-beer, some tobacco leaves, and one small pot of oil, a jug of water, and some tooth-brushes made of tree twigs to the quarters allotted to the bridegroom's party. When dinner is ready, the bridegroom is again conducted back to the bride's house and both bride and bridegroom are given a meal of rice and curry (āmkhi) made of chhiḍḍa or baris which are small cakes made of urid (Phaseolus Roxourghb ii) pulse and cucumber. When bride and bridegroom have eaten, dinner is served to all the guests. After dinner, tobacco and lime are distributed to the guests to chew. Then after mutual salutes, the bridegroom's party take leave of the bride's people, and lead the bride home with them. The bride's parents hand over to her an arrow which she has to carry till her arrival at her husband's house. This is meant to ward off the evil eye and to scare away any spirits that might seek to follow her or harm her on the way. The girl is carried some distance from her parents' home in the arms of some relative of her husband. For the first and last time the elder brother of the bridegroom may touch the new bride now; be usually carries her in his arms a short distance and then female relatives carry her turn by turn to some distance. Formerly, it is said, while the bride was being thus carried to her husband's home, her people would make a show of rescuing her and carrying her off, whereupon the bridegroom's people would pursue her and bring her back and run away with her; she would be again rescued by her people, and this acting would go on for a distance of a mile or more, and then the bride's people would return to their village, leaving the bride with her husband's people.

III.-Ceremonies at the Bridegroom's House after
Marriage

(1) Reception of the Bride

On arrival at the bridegroom's house, the bride's feet are washed with water in a brass dish by some female member of