Chitpavans Marriage Part IV

The simantpunjan or boundary-worship is generally, performed when the boy crosses the border of the girl's village. 'When the boy and the girl live in the same village the boundary-worship is performed either in a temple or at the boy's house, either on the marriage day or on the day before the marriage. When the ceremony is to be performed at the boy's house, with the help of the priest, an elderly married woman of the girl's family take bamboo baskets and trays and lays in them cocoanuts, rice, butter, curds, milk, honey, molasses, sugar, turmeric, redpowder, sandal, flowers, two pieces of bodice cloth which she makes into a bag and fills with betelnuts and leaves, and two turbans, a sash, chaplet of flowers, a ladle, a dish, a water-pot filled with warm water, a high wooden stool, a piece of broadcloth to spread over the stool, and some coppers. Meanwhile one of the girl's-relations goes to call neighbours and kinspeople and another starts to tell the boy's parents that the girl's relations are coming. At the boy's in the middle of the hall a square is traced with redpowder and two low wooden stools are set in the square and covered with broadcloth. The girl's relations, with music and the articles mentioned above, go in procession to the boy's. First walk the musicians, behind them the women followed by the servants, and a few paces behind the male guests.

At the boy's the men are seated on carpets and have pillows to lean against, and the women sit in the women's hall on carpets. The girl's priest sets the high stool near the two low wooden stools and covers it with a piece of broadcloth. The boy who is ready dressed, sits on the high stool, and the girl's parents sit on the two low wooden stools in front of him. The girl's father, taking a silver or leaf cap, fills it with rice grains, and setting a betelnut over it, worships it in honour of Ganpati; he then worships his family priest and presents him with a new turban. He now begins to worship the boy. The girl's mother takes the water-pot containing warm water, pours it first on the boy's right foot and then on his left, and the girl's father wipes his feet dry, marks his brow with sandal, and sticks gains of rice over it. He hands the boy a new turban, and the boy gives the turban on his head to some relation and puts on the new one. He is then handed a sash which he lays on his shoulders. The boy's sister is given a flower chaplet and she ties it from behind round the boys turban. The girls father lays on the boy's right palm a mixture of curds butter honey milk and sugar, which he sips, flowers and grains of rice are thrown over him, and a nosegay is placed in his right hand. All the while the family priest repeats verses. The girls mother washes the boy's sister's feet and presents her with a bodice. The girl's parents now leave their seats. The mother going into the women's hall, washes the feet of the boy's mother his other kinspeople, fills their laps with rice and cocoanuts, and presents them with sugar. While this is going on in the women's hall, the girl's kinsmen mark the brows of the male guests with saudal, and present them with packets of betelnut and leaves and cocoanuts and the begging priests with coppers. Then the girl's kinspeople go home.

The same evening the girl's kinspeople, except her father who has to stay at home, start for the boy's with a richly-trapped horse, couple of men with guns, and, on the heads of Kunbi servants and kinswomen, three to six bamboo baskets, plates, and pots covered with leaves. Of the vessels holding these articles, one is a tapela or metal pot, one is a top or metal bowl containing split pulse, one is a vegetable pot, one is a plate or parat, and one is full of botvyachi khir that is dought grains boiled in milk and sugar. Besides these there is aplate in which are a new turban and shouldercloth and a rupee in cash. The uncooked food and other articles are given to Kunbi servants to carry; the rest are taken by the kinswomen if the family is well-to-do by Brahman clerks. Before the procession starts a Brahman is sent to the boy's. In the house he traces a square with redpowder and draws figures of men, animals, and trees. After the procession has left the girl's house, the girl is dressed in a yellow cloth called the bride's cloth or vadhuvastra and is seated near the marriage god or Gaurihar on a low wooden stool. A small bamboo basket with rice and sesamum is placed in her hand and she is told to sit in front of the god, throw a few grains over him, and repeat " Gauri, Gauri, grant me a happy wifehood and long life to him who is coming to my door."

When they reach the boy's marriage hall, the men of the bride's party sit either on the veranda or in the marriage hall, and the women go into the house and sit in the women's hall on carpets or mats which have been spread for them. They lay out the dishes and baskets, and one of them goes to the boy's kinswoman and asks them to come and see the food. A lighted lamp is placed near the dishes. The boy's kinswoman cluster round, and after they have looked at what has been brought they withdraw. When the women have gone one or two of the girl's kinsmen dressed in silk waistcloths go into the house, set about half a dozen stools in the place where the, Brahman had drawn the tracings, lay out plantain-leaf plates, serve the dishes, and ask the boy to dine. The boy's sister places a rupee under the leaf-plate from which the boy is to dine. The boy comes with a few unmarried boy friends of his, with a turban on his head and a chaplet of flowers tied to it, and takes his seat on the stool along with his compapions. The man who serves puts a drop of butter on the palm of the boy's right hand, and he sips it; he is then given a plantain and spiced milk, and when he has eaten half of the plantain and drunk half of the milk the rest is taken home and offered to the girl. When dinner is over the boy rubs his hands on the leaf-plate and chews a packet of betul leaves and nuts. The rupee which the boy's sister laid under the leaf-plate is taken by the girl's mother nominally, for clearing away what the boy has left, though his leavings are generally taken by his own people.