2. Marriage
Marriage is prohibited between members of the same sept, but there are no other restrictions and first cousins may marry. Both sexes usually marry when adult, and sexual license before wedlock is tolerated. A Brāhman is employed only for fixing the date of the ceremony. The principal part of the marriage is the knotting together of the bride’s and bridegroom’s clothes on two successive days. They also gamble with tamarind seeds, and it is considered a lucky union if the bridegroom wins. A bride-price is usually paid consisting of Rs. 1–4 to Rs. 5 in cash, some grain and a piece of cloth for the bride’s mother. The remarriage of widows is allowed, and the couple go five times round a bamboo stick which is held up to represent a spear, the ceremony being called barchhi se bhānwar phirna or the marriage of the spear.