Chitpavans Marriage

Chitpavans generally marry their girls between six and ten and their boys between ten and twenty. In choosing a husband for the girl the boy should as far as possible belong to a respectable and well-to-do family, be intelligent, goodlooking, and a little older than the girl. Among rich and middle-class families there are other points which generally influence a girl's parents in the choice of a husband. Among poor families, though this is not always the case, money is wanted and wealth in a son-in-law outweighs his suitableness of age, goodlooks, or intelligence. The fathers of dull or ill-behaved sons, unless they are very rich, have to spent £.30 to £.40 (Rs. 300-400) before they can get them married. The form of marriage in use among the Chitpavans is the Brahma vivaha or Brahma wedding. According to this form of wedding besides a dower the bridegroom receives presents with his wife.

In rich families who have a daughter to marry the women of the house, after consulting the men, send for the priest, and one of the elders of the house hands him the girl's horoscope, and naming the boy's father or an elder of the family, asks the priest to go to his house and offer the girl in marriage. When he roaches the boy's house, the priest is seated on a low wooden stool mat or carpet in the women's hall or in the veranda, and the boy's father, after hearing from the priest why be came, goes into the house and tells the women that a priest has come with the horoscope of such and such a person's daughter. The boy's father takes the horoscope and asks the priest to call for an answer in three or fonr days. After a day or two the boy's father, if he is a rich man, sends his est or some male relation to see the girl at her father's. He tells the envoy if the girl is handsome to ask £.20 to £.30 (Rs. 200 - 300) , if she is ordinary looking to ask £.30 to £.50 (Rs. 300-500); and if she is ugly not to refuse her but to ask more than the parents can give. The priest goes to the girl's house, tell's her father why he has come, and asks if he may see the girl. The father goes insied, tells his wife that so and so's priest has come to see the girl, and goes out and sits by the priest.

The girl comes and the priest asks how many brothers she has, what are their names, what is her father's name, whether she has dined, and what she has had for dinner. If the girl answers clearly, the priest remarks under his breath, but so that the father may hear, "She will reach the boy's shoulder; that is well". Then the girl goes into the house and the priest tells her father that he approves of the girl and that, if he will get so much money his master will take her in marriage for his son. After some talk the sum of money is settled and the priest goes back and tells his master. In middle-class families, after consulting his house people, the father, taking his daughter's horoscope, goes to the boy's father and offers his daughter in marriage. The boy's father says, "Times are hard; I must have money, not less than £.50 (Rs. 500), as my son is clever and holds a good position." Or he says he will send some one to see the girl, and will let the father know how much money he wants. A poor Chitpavan who is willing to take money for his daughter has not to look out for a husband. Men in want of wives go about with money in their hands marching for girls. There is no want of suitors and the girl's father makes the best bargain he can looking to the age of the suitor and to the amount of money he promises. In proof that he has accepted an offer the girl's father hands the boy's father a cocoanut. A day or two after the offer has been accepted the father's relations and family priests go to an astrologer. They hand him the boy's horoscope and ask the astrologer to see whether there is any thing in the horoscopes to prevent marriage. When the boy's father is anxious to get the girl as a wife for his son he tells the astrologer to do his beat to see that the stars agree, and the astrologer decides for the wedding. Other fathers again are anxious about the stars or are not anxious for the match and they ask the astrologer to examine the horoscopes closely and are not satisfied until the horoscopes are found to agree in all, points. After the astrologer has given his decision each of the fathers pays him 1½.d. to 2s. (1 anna - Re.1) and a cocoanut, bows to him and withdraws.

If the astrologer finds in favour of the wedding preparation are at once began. The first thing the father does after the horoscopes have been compared is to prepare two lists, one of sundry articles the other of clothes. He heads the list of sundries with Shri that is the praise of Ganesh, and starts the list with turmeric and red haladkunku, for these are lucky articles. The list of clothes includes silk and cotton waistcloths, robes, bodices, shouldercloths, and turbans. They hire men and women servants to clean the house, to grind grain, and to do other house work. With the help of neighbours and kinswoman, the women make sweetmeats wafer biscuits and other dishes, always taking care to begin the baking on a lucky day which the family priest tells them. The grain and pulse grinding must also be began on a lucky day. A couple of handmills are cleaned, and five married women, whose fathers and mothers-in-law are alive, touch the mill with lime in five places, and laying before each handmill a betelnut and five betel leaves tie mango leaves to them. The five married women grind about five handfuls of rice and sing songs in praise of the boy and girl. The rest of the rice is ground by the servants. The five married women also grind a little wheat and udid pulse singing songs.

Musicians, who are generally Hindus of the Nhavi and Ghadshi castes, playing on the drum and pipe are next sent for. A bargain is made with them to play music for five days at the house for a certain sum, and a betelnut is given to each of them to seal the bargain. The usual rates are 2s. to 6s.(Rs.1-3) a day to the drum beaters or tashekaris, and 1s. to 4s. (8as.- Rs. 2) a day to the pipers or sanais.

The building of the marriage porch or booth is began two to twenty days before the wedding. It costs 2s. to £.20(Rs.1-200). On the day before he begins to build the host sends his priest to an astrologer to find what is the best time to begin. An hour or so before the appointed time the priest goes to his master's and begins to get things ready. He takes a metal plate, lays in it rice grains, sandal powder, frankincense, camphor, a lighted lamp, sugar, flowers, and redpowder. Outside of the house he orders a hole to be dug and near the hole he sets two low wooden stools facing each other, one for himself the other for his master. Some metal water-pots of the kinds called tambya and panchpatri are filled with water. The master dressed in a silk waistcloth takes his seat on one steel, and the priest, sitting in front of him on the other, repeats texts and the host worships. He traces a quartz square in front of the bamboo or wood post which is to form the chief post of the booth, offers a pinch of sugar, and asks the god of the booth to be kindly. The boy's father with his priest and a couple of relations goes to the girl's with a flower garland, sugar, and if well-to-do gold or silver ornaments. At the girl's, with his companions he sits on a carpet or mat, and the astrologer, consulting both the boy's and the girl's horoscopes, finds a lucky moment for holding the wedding The girl is made to stand in front of her father's house gods, her brow is marked with red powder, a flower garland is put on her head, and an ornament is put on her person. Sugar is handed round and the company retires. Contd......