Marriage rules. 39. Among the Lâl Begis of Benares a man must marry within his own sub-caste, but not in the section (tar) to which he belongs. Thus he cannot marry in the house of his paternal or maternal grandfather. But he may marry a woman of any other sub-caste or caste, provided she be initiated duly into the Lâl Begi fraternity. The Lâl Begis are noted for their laxity in enforcing the rules of marriage. Thus they may marry even a Dom or Chamâr woman. He cannot marry two sisters at the same time without the consent of the first wife, or unless she has no hope of issue. But in no case can a man marry the elder sister of his wife, and he cannot marry the sisters of his phûpha or husband of his father’s sister, or of the husband of his mother’s sister. Among the Shaikhs the Muhammadan prohibited degrees are enforced, except that a man cannot marry outside his sub-caste; he can marry two sisters at the same time, but during the life-time of his wife he cannot marry her elder sister, and he cannot marry in the family of his paternal grandfather or of the husband of his father’s sister. But he may marry the daughter of his maternal uncle or of his mother’s sister. When a man has married into a certain family all his male relations will, as far as possible, avoid marrying in the same family. Among the Ghâzipuri Râwats a man must marry in his sub-caste, but not in the family of his paternal or maternal grandfather. In fact, all relations whose fathers or mothers can be traced back to any common ancestor are barred. A man can marry two sisters, but not the elder sister of the wife while she is alive. The same rules apply to the Helas. [[279]]The Bânsphors, like the Shaikhs, will not marry in the family of the paternal grandfather, but that of the maternal grandfather is not excluded. The Helas, as a rule, marry very near relatives. There is no exclusion as regards marriage, and they use the proverb,—Dâm sê barh jawê, châm sê nahîn barhta—that is to say, one who is higher in social status is not necessarily elevated as regards caste.
40. The following rules regulate the marriage of outsiders. In Benares the Ghâzipuri Râwats and Helas can marry any woman provided she does not belong to another Bhangi sub-caste, is not drawn from the lower castes, such as Doms, Dhobis, Dusâdhs, Dharkârs, Khatîks, and Chamârs, and that prior to marriage she has been properly initiated into the sub-caste of her future husband. When a man marries such a woman he has to give a dinner to his brethren, and pay a fine of twenty or thirty rupees, when the woman is being initiated. Such a marriage is not treated as the regular marriage (shâdi), but as the lower form (sagâi), and in spite of her initiation, the wife, but not her children, will always be considered as an out-caste (parjât). The Shaikhs will marry a woman of any caste, provided she embrace Islâm, but her original caste must have been respectable, and they will not marry a woman who was originally a Kunbi, Ahîr, Koeri, or the like. The husband in such a marriage is not obliged to pay any fine to the council, but he has to distribute sharbat to them. Such a woman will be admitted to full tribal rights. The Lâl Begis can marry a woman of any caste, provided that she is willing to be initiated as a Lâl Begi. Even the present Guru of the Benares Lâl Begis is reported to have a very low-caste woman as his wife. Such a marriage is not called shâdi but nikâh, but the wife is not treated as an out-caste.
Initiation. 41. The following is said to be the form of initiation among the Lâl Begis of Benares. The candidate has to prepare between one-and-a-quarter maund and five sers of malîda, or bread made of flour, milk, butter, sugar, and other condiments. This food, with sweetmeats to the value of seven-and-a-quarter rupees, is placed on a platform (chauki, chabûtra), in the presence of the assembled brethren, and the tribal genealogy or kursinâma is repeated over it. The man who recites the genealogy receives a fee of one-and-a-quarter rupees. Some sharbat is also prepared, and the members present dip their finger into it. This sharbat is drunk by the candidate, and the food and sweetmeats distributed among those present. This ceremony is [[280]]known as the chauki. Similarly, among the Shaikh Mehtars, an outsider is admitted on feeding the fraternity and giving alms to the poor. At the initiation of Sikh sweepers, the headman reads out to the initiate what is known as Nânak kî bâni, or the songs of Nânak, and he is made to drink the charnamrit, or water in which the feet of the headman have been washed, and he eats the prasâd, or halwa, which is prepared on such occasions and offered before the holy volume. The present head of the community at Farrukhâbâd is known as Vasudeva Mahârâj, who is a follower of Nânak, and he freely mixes with the Bhangis and eats and drinks with them. One of these incantations used at initiation by the Panjâb Bhangis runs—
Sonê kâ ghât; sonê kâ mât;
Sonê kâ ghorâ; sonê kâ jorâ;
Sonê kî kunjî; sonê kâ tâlâ;
Sonê kâ kiwâr; lâo kunjî; kholo kiwâr;
Dekho dâdâ Pîr kâ dîdar.
“Golden pitcher; golden pot; golden horse; golden dress; golden key; golden lock; golden door; put in the key; open the door; see the figure of the Holy Saint.”[148]
This is known as Sat jug ki kursi, and similar verses are used for the Dwâpar Jug, Treta Jug, and Kali Jug. But the words “silver,” “copper,” and “earthen” are used for each age respectively in place of “golden.” The usual ritual appears to be that the candidate brings with him mince pies (chûra) to the amount of five sers in weight, and the articles for the worship (pûja) of Lâl Beg, viz., ghi, betel, cloves, large cardamoms, incense, and frankincense. A kursi or genealogy is then recited over him, and finally he is patted on the back, and a little of the mince pies, some water, and a huqqa are given to him. A quantity of the pies are offered to Lâl Beg, and the rest distributed among the Lâl Begis present. A rupee-and-a-quarter is paid to the Guru, who is always a Mehtar, who performs the ceremony, and as much clothes as the initiate can afford.[149] The ceremony, such as it is, is always done in secret, and it is very difficult to induce Bhangis to give anything like a full account of it. Among some of the sweeper sub-castes it is commonly reported that a more disgusting form of initiation prevails, [[281]]part of which is that the initiate stands in a pit, and each member of the fraternity drops ordure on his head; but it is very doubtful how far this is true.