Note 145 — K (continued 4)

Marriage is always infant. A Brāhman purōhit officiates. Each purōhit has a number of houses attached to his circle, and his sons usually divide the circle among themselves on partition, like any other property. Polygamy is permitted, but only if the first wife produces no offspring. The taking of a second wife is assented to by the first wife, who, in some cases, believes that, as the result of the second marriage, she herself will beget children. Two forms of marriage ceremonial are recognised, one called purānōktha, according to long established custom, and the other called vēdōktha, which follows the Vēdic ritual of Brāhmans. In Madras, on the first day of a marriage, the contracting couple have an oil bath, and the bridegroom goes through the upanayana (sacred thread investiture) ceremony. He then pretends to go off to Kāsi (Benares), and is met by the bride’s party, who take him to the bride’s house, where the māngalyam is tied by the bridegroom before the hōmam (sacrificial fire). On the second day, hōmam is continued, and a caste dinner is given. On the third day, the gōtra pūja is performed. On the fourth day, hōmam is repeated, and, on the following day, the pair are seated on a swing, and rocked to and fro. Presents, called katnam, are made to the bridegroom, but no vōli (bride-price) is paid. In the mofussil,145 where the purānōktha form of ceremonial is more common, ancestors are invoked on the first day. On the second day, the ashtavarga is observed, and the bride and bridegroom worship eight of the principal gods of the Hindu Pantheon. On this day, the pandal (marriage booth) is erected. On the third day, the māngalyam is tied, sometimes by the officiating Brāhman purōhit, and sometimes by the bridegroom. On the fourth day, the Brāhmans of the place are honoured, and, on the following day, in most places, a festival is held in honour of the goddess Kanyaka Paramēswari. The bride and bridegroom’s mothers go to a tank (pond) or river with copper vessels, and bring back water at the head of a procession. The vessels are placed in a special pandal, and worshipped with flowers, anilin and turmeric powders. Finally, cocoanuts are broken before them. On the next day, or on the same day if the marriage ceremonies conclude thereon, the festival in honour of the Bālanagaram boys, or those who helped the Kōmatis of Penugonda in their trouble with Vishnu Vardhana, is held. Five boys and girls are bathed, decked with jewelry, and taken in procession to the local temple, whence they are conducted to the bride’s house, where they are fed. On the following day, the ceremony called thotlu pūja is performed. A doll is placed in a cradle connected with two poles, and rocked to and fro. The bridegroom gives the doll into the hands of the bride, saying that he has to go on a commercial trip. The bride hands it back to him, with the remark that she has to attend to her kitchen work. On the following day, the bridal couple are taken in procession, and, in the Bellary district, a further day is devoted to the surgi ceremony. The bride and bridegroom bathe together, go to the local temple, and return. Then five girls bathe, the five posts of the marriage pandal are worshipped, and the kankanams (wrist-threads) are removed from the wrists of the newly-married couple.