Note 46 — N (continued 2)

Concerning a very interesting form of marriage, Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes as follows.46 “A large hut is constructed of ‘holly’ and other leaves, inside which the girl is ensconced. Then all the young men and women of the village gather round the hut, and form a ring about it. The girl’s father, or the nearest male relative, sits a short distance from the crowd, with a tom-tom in his hands. Then commences the music, and a chant is sung by the father, which has been freely translated as follows:—