2. Marriage.
The Kīrs have no endogamous divisions. For the purpose of marriage the caste is divided into 12½ gotras or sections. A man must not marry within his own gotra or in that to which his mother belonged. The names of the 12 gotras are as follows: Namchuria, Daima, Bania, Bāman, Nāyar, Jāt, Huwād, Gādri, Lohāria, Hekdya, Mochi and Māli, while the half-gotra contains the Bhāts or genealogists of the caste, who are not allowed to marry with the other subdivisions and have now formed one of their own. Of the twelve names of gotras at least seven—Bāman (Brāhman), Bania, Māli, Mochi, Gādri (Gadaria), Lohāria and Jāt—are derived from other castes, and this fact is sufficient to show that the origin of the Kīrs is occupational, and that they are made up of recruits from different castes. Infant-marriage is customary, but no penalty is incurred if a girl remains unmarried after puberty. Only the poorest members of the caste, however, fail to marry their daughters at an early age. For the marriage of girls who are left unprovided for, a subscription is raised among the caste-fellows in accordance with the usual Hindu practice, the giving of money for this purpose being considered to be an especially pious act. At the time of the betrothal a bride-price called chāri, varying between Rs. 14 and Rs. 20, is paid by the boy’s father, and the deed of betrothal, called lagan, is then drawn up in the presence of the caste panchāyat who are regaled with liquor purchased out of the bride-price. A peculiarity of the marriage ceremony is that the bridegroom is taken to the bride’s house riding on a buffalo. This custom is noteworthy, since other Hindus will not usually ride on a buffalo, as being the animal on which Yama, the god of death, rides. After the marriage the bride returns to the bridegroom’s house with the wedding party and stays there for eight days, during which period she worships the family gods of her father-in-law’s house. The cost of the marriage is usually Rs. 60 for the boy’s party and Rs. 40 for the girl’s. But a widower on his remarriage has to spend double this sum. The ceremonies called Gauna and Rauna are both performed after the marriage. The former generally takes place within a year, the bride being dressed in special new clothes called bes, and sent with ceremony to her husband’s house on an auspicious day fixed by a Brāhman. She remains there for two months and the marriage is consummated, when she returns to her father’s house. Four months afterwards the bridegroom again goes to fetch her and takes her away permanently, this being the Rauna ceremony. No social stigma attaches to polygamy, and divorce is allowed on the usual grounds. Widow-marriage is permitted, the ceremony consisting in giving new clothes and ornaments to the widow and feeding the Panch for a day.