Thread-girding

Chitpavans gird their boys with the sacred thread when they are seven to ten years old. The boy's father goes to the house of the family astrologer and asks him to fix a lucky day for girding the boy. The astrologer refers to his almanac and names a day in one of the five sun-northening months, Magh or January-February, Falgun or February-March, Chaitra or March-April, Vaishakh or April-May, and Jyeshth or May-June. If the boy was born on one of the five northening months the astrologer must avoid his birth-month, and if the boy is the jyeshth or eldest of his family the astrologer must avoid the month of Jyeshth or May-June. The thread-girding always takes place between six in the morning, and noon; never after midday.

A week or two before the day fixed for the girding the near relations and friends are told and during the interval they by turns feast the boy and his parents. Drummers and pipers are sent for and the terms on which they will play at the thread-girding are fixed, a booth or porch is built, and invitation cards or lagnadchitia are sent to distant relations. To invite the caste neighbours the boy's parents and their male and female relations and friends start accompanied with music. Before they start they ask the house gods to attend the ceremony, then they ask the village god, and then their relations and friends. In the booth or porch an earthen altar is made facing the west, three of the boy's cubits long, three broad, and one high. In front is a step about a span square, and behind, the back rises about eighteen inches above the altar in three six-inch tiers, each narrower than the tier below it. The whole is whitewashed.

A day before the thread-girding the punyahavachan or holy-day calling; the ghana or rice-pounding, and the devi-pratishtha or god-installing are performed with the same detail as before a marriage. On the morning of the thread- girding day the boy and his parents bathe and the ghatikasthapan or lucky-hour installing, and patrikapujani or birth-paper worship are performed with the same detail as before a mother's feast or matribhojan follows. Twelve low wooden stools are set in a row and twelve unmarried thread-wearing Brahman lads take their seats on the stools. At one end of the row are set a silver dining plate and a lighted lamp, and behind them two low wooden stools on which the boy and his mother sit. Dinner is served and all dine, the boy eating from the same ate with his mother. When the meal is over the boy goes to his father, fetches silver or copper coins, and presents them to the Brahman lads.

Then a quartz square is traced and a low wooden stool is set in the square. The boy is seated on the stool, and the family barber shaves his head and retires with a present varying from 2s. (Re.1) to a turban. The boy is rubbed with sweet scents and oils, he is bathed, his brow is marked with redpowder, and he is brought into the house. He is decked with ornaments from head to foot, a rich shawl is wrapped round his body, long wreaths of flowers are hung from his head over his chest and back down to his knees; a cocoanut and a betel packet are placed in his hands, and the priest, taking him by the arm, leads him to the house gods before whom he lays the betel packet and makes a bow. He is led before his parents and other elders in the house and bows to them, and is then taken outside and bows to Brahmans.

Two low wooden stools are set on the altar facing each other, over the eastern stool about a pound of rice is poured and the boy is made to sit upon the rice; over the western stool no rice is poured and on it the boy's father sits. Round the altar are spread carpets on which learned pandits and shastris sit and on the other aide of the altar the rest of the guests sit leaning on pillows and cushions. Behind the boy stands his sister with an earthen jug holding water covered with mango leaves and a cocoanut, and his mother with a lighted hanging lamp. Some male relations hold between the boy and his father a sheet of unbleached cotton cloth marked with red lines, and the family priest fills with red rice the hands of all the guests both men and women. The astrologer repeats mangalashtaks or lucky verses. When the lucky moment comes the cloth is pulled on one side, the boy hands the cocoanut to his father, and lays his head on his father's feet. The father blesses him, and the juests shower rice on him, and the musicians raise a blast of music. The father takes the boy and seats him on his right kuee, and the guests withdraw with betel packets and a cocoanut.

The Brahman priest and other laymen throw rice over the boy's head and seat the boy on a low stool to the father's right. An earthen square is traced in front of the father and blades of sacred grass are spread over it. A married woman brings a live coal from the house on a tile and lays it near the altar. The priest blesses the coal and spreads, it over the altar and on it are laid pieces of cowdung cakes and firewood. Water is sprinkled six times around the altar and rice is thrown over it. The father lays a few blades of sacred grass between himself and the fire. A cup full of butter is placed over the blades of grass and other blades are thrown over the fire. The priest keeps near him a staff or dandkasht of palas, Butea frondosa, as tall as the upraised end of the boy's top-knot, a piece of deer skin, blades of sacred or darbha grass, a rope of munj grass long enough to go round the boy's waist, two cotton threads one for the boy's waist the other for his neck, a sacred thread or janve, a bamboo basket or rovali, fear short waistcloths or panchas two of which are dyed red, and four loincloths or langoti of which two are of silk and two are of cotton. Of the two cotton threads, the priest daubs one in oil and turmeric and ties it round the boy's waist and gives him a loincloth or latigoti to wear. He then tells a red cloth round his waist and a white cloth round his shoulders. The other cotton thread is also rubbed with oil and turmeric and the bit of deer skin is passed into it and hung on the left shoulder of the boy in the same way as the sacred thread. A sacred thread is also hung over his left shoulder and the boy is made to pass between the sacrificial fire and his father. A wooden stool is placed near his father and the boy is seated on it facing east. A metal water-pot, a plate, and a ladle are set in front of the boy and he sips water thrice from the pot repeating verses. He is then brought back between the fire and his- father and takes his former seat. The fire is rekindled, and the father taking the boy by the hand, goes out of the booth, and they both bow to the sun. Then, to the left of the fire or hom, two low wooden stools are set, and the father and son stand facing one another. The father in his hollowed hands takes water, a betelnut, and copper or silver, and pours them into his souls hollowed hands and the son lets them-fall on the ground. After this has been repeated three times they again take their seats on the stools placed for them. The boy tells his father that he wishes to become a Brahman and to be initiated into the mysteries of the sacred verse.

The boy holds, out his left hand and covers it with his right, and the father ties his two hands tooether with the short waistcloth that was wound round the boy's shoulders. He then puts his left hand under and his right hand over the boy's bound hands, and lays them all on the boy's right knee. Then the boy and his father are covered with a shawl, and the father thrice whispers the sacred verse into his souls right ear, and he repeats it after his father. That no one else, whether Brahman or Shudra, man or woman, may hear the verse, all present go to some distance. Then the father takes off the shawl and frees the boy's hands and the father and son take their seats in front of the fire. Blessings are asked on the boy's head and the grass string or munj is tied with three knots round the boy above the navel. The palas staff or dand is given in the boy's hands, and he is told always to keep it by him and not to stir without taking it in his hand, and that if he meets any dangerous animal or anything that causes him fear he should show the staff and the cause of fear will vanish. Then the father says to his son " Up to this you have been like a Shudra, now you are a Brahman and a Brahmachari. When you go out you most behave with religious exactness or achar; you must rub dust an your hands and feet before washing them; you must take a mouthful of water and rinse your mouth with it; you must bathe twice a day, pray, keep alight the sacred fire, beg, keep awake during the day, and study the Veds. Then a money present is made to begging Brahmans and the rest of the guests are feasted.

The mother's connection with her son is now at an end, so she too dines.; the father, the boy, and three Brahmans fast till evening. In the evening the bhikshaval or begging comes. The boy is dressed in a waistcloth, a coat and, with his palas staff in his hand, goes to the village temple accompanied by kinswoman and with baskets of sweetmeats and music. At the temple the boy places a cocoanut before the god and bows, a all return with the baskets and their contents. In the booth a low wooden stool is placed for the boy to stand on. His feet are washed and his brow is marked with redpowder and sandal paste. The bamboo basket or rovali is placed in his right hand and his palas staff in his left. His mother takes a ladle, puts a gold wristlet round its handle, fills it with rice, drops a rupee or two in the rice, and telling the women who surround her that she is giving alum to her son, pours the contents of the ladle into the bamboo basket. The other women follow and present the boy with sugar balls. When the almsgiving is over, the boy hands the basket to the priest who takes it home after giving some of the sweetmeats to the children who are present. The boy bathes and the family priest, sitting in front of him with a cup dish and ladle, teaches him the twilight literally the joining prayers or sandhya. The fire is kindled and a handful of rice is cooked over it in a metal vessel. The boy throws three pinches of cooked rice over the fire and the rest is kept on one aide. Then five leaf-plates are served for the father, the son, and the three Brahmms who have fasted since morning. The rice cooked by the boy is served to the three Brahmams by a married woman. On the second and third days the hom fire is kindled and the boy is taught the twilight prayers or sandhya. On the morning of the fourth day the boy is bathed and seated on a stool in the booth. In front of him is raised an earthen altar or vrindavan like a tulsi pot, and a branch of the palas tree or a blade of darbha grass is planted in the altar. The boy worships the plant, and taking a spouted metal water-pot or abhishekpatra with water in it walks thrice round the altar spouting the water in an unbroken line. Then a bodicecloth, a looking-glass, a comb, and glass bangles are laid in a bamboo basket near the earthen pot, and the boy retires with a low bow. The boy then makes over to the priest the loincloths, the staff, the deer skin, the sacred thread, and the grass ropes, and the priest presents him with new ones in their stead. The Brahmans are presented with money and repeat blessings over the boy's head.