Chitpavans Coming of Age

Garbhadhan literally conception is the ceremony at a girl's coming of age. A girl generally comes of age between twelve and fourteen. News is sent to the family astrologer and he is asked to say whether the time at which her sickness began was lucky or unlucky. If the moment was unlucky all sorts of calamities and troubles arise, and to remove or prevent them, shanti or quietings have to be performed. The chief of these is the Bhuvaneshvari shanti or the quieting of Bhuvaneshvari. When a quieting is wanted word is sent to married female neighbours, who come, and, without touching the girl, lay in her lap a turmeric root, a betelnut, and a handful of rice. Then a woman of the Maratha caste is sent to the houses of kinswoman friends and neighbours, and they are asked to come to the turmeric and redpowder or halad-kunku ceremony. A bamboo frame is set in the women's hall six feet long and two broad and a bangle-seller is called to adorn it with bangles. A high wooden stool is set in the frame, and the girl, dressed in new clothes and wearing ornaments is seat on the stool.

Musicians play for four days for a couple of hours morning and evening, and a woman of the Maratha caste attends the girl day and night, washing her clothes, combing her hair, and sleeping with her. For three days the girl is given presents of cooked food, and the food is eaten by the girl, her maid, and the house-people. On the morning of the fouth day the girl is bathed and neighbours kinswoman and friends come with presents of a cocoanut, a betelnut, a piece of bodicecloth, and a handful of ice, and lay them in her lap. The girl's mother goes to the boy's house with uncooked food enough for the whole family, and cooking it with the help of the women of the house serve it to the boy's household. Before the dinner is begun her mother gives the girl 2s. to £.1 10s. (Rs.1-15) in cash. On the fifth morning or any day within sixteen days from the begining of the girl's sickness, learned Brahmans, the girl's parents, and near relations are called; and the boy and the girl at-bathed. In the women's hall a square is traced with lines of quartz powder, and two low wooden stools are set in a line, one for the girl the other on the girl's right for the boy.

A square altar of earth is raised in front of the boy and near it is laid a leaf-cup filled with grains of rice. On the rice is set a betelnut and the boy worships the nut as god Ganpati. A sacrficial fire or hom is lit on the earthen altar and the same rites are performed as at a marriage, except the seven-steps or saptapadikraman and the polestar-seeing dhruvadarshan. When this is over the boy and girl leave their seats and go and sit in a square tracing on two low wooden stools, on the veranda or near the house steps. Another earthen altar is raised in front of them and the middle of each of its sides is adorned with a plantain stem. The boy then begins to kindle a sacrificial fire in honour of the goddess Bhuvaneshvari. He first takes some grains of rice in a leaf- cup, sets a betelnut on the rice, and worships the nut as the god Ganesh. Then the priest is given a betelnut and the boy makes a low bow before him and other Brahmans. The boy and girl leave their seats, the boy sitting on a low stool close by, and the girl going into the house and sitting among the women. The priest, sitting on the stool on which the boy sat, mixes in a metal plate cowdung and cows urine, curds, butter, water, and the sacred grass or durbha, and repeats verses and sprinkles the mixture over the earthen mound and round himself.

When he has finished sprinkling the mixture he sprinkles mustard seed round him, and last of all vater. To the east of the altar a square is traced and in the square are laid a couple of leaf plates. Three heaps of mixed rice and wheat are laid in a line, and on each heap a water-pot is set, the pot on the middle heap being larger than the side pots. The priest fills the pots with water, and drops into each a little sesamum seed, some durva grass, the five jewels or pancharatna gold diamond amethyst emerald and pearl, the five leaves or panchapallav of the pipal (Ficus religiosa) umbar (F. glomerata) vad (F. indica) pimpri (F. infectoria) and mango, the five cow-gifts or panchagavya milk curds clarified butter cow-urine and cowdung,, the seven seeds bhat rice, jav barley, kang Italian millet, mug Phaseolus radiatus, sava Panicum miliare, til sesamuin, and udid Phaseolus mungo, apta leaves, coriander seed or dhanya, the seven earths, and thirty-two healing roots and herbs.

The pots are covered with metal lids and on each lid rice and a betelnut are laid. On the pot, close to each betelnut, is set an image, Bhuvaneshvari on the central pot, Adhidevata Indra on the right pot, and Pratyadevata Indrani on the left pot. The three goddesses are worshipped and each is presented with a robe and a bodice. The priest sits on the stool on which the girl sat, and a married woman brings fire from the house and the priest scatters it on the altar along with firewood and cowdung cake. Two pounds of cooked rice are brought from the house and kept close by, as are also four leaf-plates on which forty-two pinches of rice are laid with a betelnut on each pinch. Then to the northeast of the leaf-plates, which are called the navagrahas or nine planets, is set a water-pot or kalash covered wite mango leaves and a cocoanut. The navagrahas and the water-pot are worshipped.

Then low wooden stools are set round the fire or hom and learned Brahmans sitting on the stools repeat verses and feed the fire with cooked rice, butter, sesamum, and samidhas or sacred sticks of the palas (Bates frondoss), khed (Mimosa catechu), and other trees. Then the Brahmans take durva grass, wheat, and sesamum seed, and mixing cooked rice in milk and butter, feed the fire in honour of Bhavaneshwari. Next a married woman takes a bamboo basket, and, laying a leaf-plate in it, brings about a pound of cooked rice and pours it into the basket; and the boy, taking a little out of the basket, makes ten balls, and places one at each of the eight points of heaven, the east and southeast, the south and south-west, the west and north-west, and the north and north-east. He adds two more, one to the east the other to the north of the altar. He makes twelve more balls and sets nine near the navagraha and one each near the three goddesses. Over all the balls he throws a little udid pulse and redpowder or gulal. He makes twenty-three torches, twenty-two of them small and one of them large, he soaks the torches in oil, and placing one on each of the twenty-two rice balls or mutkis lights them. Then the boy and the girl take their seats on two low wooden stools, and place the basket with the cooked rice before them and stick the big torch into the rice. The torch is lighted, redpowder is sprinkled over it, and a cocoanut and a betel packet are placed in the basket.

The boy takes a pinch of rice in his hands, and says, "To you Yaksha Brahmachari, Bhut, Pret, Pishachya, Shankini, Dankini, and Vetal and other evil spirits do I offer this. May you eat it and depart in peace". He then throws the rice over the basket. Then a Kunbi servant coming from the house with a blanket on his head lifts the basket in both hands, and after waving it thrice round the boy and girl sets it on his head, and, without looking back, lays it by the roadside at some distance from the house. The boy and girl wash their hands and feet outside of the house enclosure, return, and into the house. The boy dresses in a short waistcloth or pancha, and the girl in a bodice and robe, and they are seated on stools, the girl to the left of the boy. Then the priest and other Brahmans take water and a few mango leaves from Bhuvaneshvari's pot and from the mango leaves spirnkle the water over the heads of the boy and girl. The rest of the water is put in a bamboo or metal rovali or sieve and is held over the head of the couple. The boy's mother seats the boy and girl on stools, and either his mother or his sister rubs sweet powder on the boy's body and the girls mother or sister rubs sweet powder on th girl's body . After rubbing themselves dry the boy dress in a rich silk waistcloth and the girl in a bodice and robe, and the clothes in which they bathed become the priest's property. Then the boy's and the girls brows are marked with sandal and redpowder and thev take their seats before the sacrificial fire and worship it. The boy then takes a pinch of ashes from the sacrificial fire and touches with it his own and the girl's brows. This part of the ceremony ends with a blessing from the priest and other Brahmans present.

Next to perform the conception or garbhadhan ceremony, a square is traced with lines of quartz and two low wooden stools are set in the square. The boy and girl, after bowing before the house gods and elders, take their seats on the stools, and a married woman comes and touches the boy's, the girl's, and the priest's brows with red powder. The punyahavachan or holy-day blessing is performed with same details as before a marriage, and the boy and girl leave their seats and go and sit near the sacrificial fire in the house. The fire is then rekindled and rice is cooked over it, and the boy places the rice along with a few mango leaves on his right. The boy takes a mango leaf in each hand, his wife lays butter on the two leaves, and the boy drops butter on the rice. She then washes her hands and more butter is thrown over the fire. They are now done with the sacrificial fire, which is put out either at once, or in the evening, or next morning. The boy and girl now rise, and taking flowers in their hands go out of the house and looking at the sun throw the flowers towards it. They then come in, take their seats near the fire, and the boy, laying his right hand on the girl's head pronounces a blessing. The boy's sister hands the boy a small quantity of bent grass or durva pounded wetted and tied in a piece of white cotton, and he, standing behind the girl and laying her nead between his knees, with his left hand lifts her chin and with his right squeezes into her right nostril enough bent grass juice to pass into her throat. The girl leaves her seat, washes her hands and feet, and sits as before beside her husband. She once more leaves her seat and sits to the left of the boy when he either touches her breast or one of her shoulders and lays in her lap cocoanut which rests on a turmeric root, betelnut, and wheat.

The girl's mother and her relations, as well as the boy's mother and her relations, one after another, lay articles in the girls lap and present both the boy and girl with clothes and ornaments. When the lap-filling is over the boy whispers his name into the girl's right ear. Then money is presented to Brahmans who ask a blessing on the heads of the couple, and they go and make a bow before the house gods and the elders. A feast is held, as the girl is considered to have become pure, she is given a cup of butter and serves it to the diners. In the evening, if the fire is allowed to remain, it is rekindled and fed with grains of rice and the boy rubs ashes on his own and on the girl's brows. A carpet is spread in the women's hall and the men and women relations take their seats . The girl is dressed in rich clothes and her head is decked with flowers. The boy is dressed in rich clothes, a coat waistcoat and turban, and they are seated face to face on the carpet. Male guests sit round the boy and female guests sit round the girl. Small round parcels of betel leaf are given to the boy and girl. The boy holds one end of the rolled leaf in his teeth and the girl bites off the other end. The boy is made to take the girl on his knee and bite a roll of betel leaf which the girl holds in her teeth. Jokes are made and they banter each other. The girl then washes the boy's feet and marks his brow with redpoweder and sandal. She puts a nosegay in his hands and spreads leaf-plates for the guests to eat sweetmeats and fruit. All begin eating and the boy and girl who sit at the head of the table feed on another and eat from the same plate. When all are done the girl hands the guests packets of betel and the boy either leads her by the hand or lifts her in his arms and takes her into the nuptial room. Next morning, if the sacrificial fire is still alight, the boy and girl bathe and rekindle it and then allow it to die.