25. In the same category are the numerous taboos of intercourse between a man and his wife and her relations. We have already noticed the legend of Urvasî. The wife must not mention her husband by name, and if he addresses her, it is in the indirect form of mother [[cciii]]of his children. Mr. Frazer has directed attention to the rule by which silence is imposed on women for some time after marriage as a relic of the custom of marrying women of a different tongue. Hence the familiar incident of the Silent Bride which runs through the whole range of folklore.[87] On the same lines is the taboo of intercourse between a man and his mother-in-law, of which Dr. Tylor, though he gives numerous instances, is unable to suggest an explanation.[88] This, also, perhaps accounts for the use of the terms “brother-in-law” (sâla), “father-in-law” (sasur), as abusive epithets.
Runaway marriages. 26. The next form of marriage is the runaway marriage, which was dignified by the early Hindu lawgivers with the name of Gandharva, “the reciprocal connection of a youth and a damsel, with mutual desire, contracted for the purpose of amorous embraces, and proceeding from sensual inclination.”[89] This prevails largely among the Dravidian tribes of the Central Indian plateau. At the periodical autumn feast the Ghasiya damsel has only to kick the youth, of whom she approves, on the ankle, and this is a signal to her relatives that the sooner the connection is legalised the better. We have the same custom in another form in the well known institution of the Bachelors’ Hall among the Orâons and Bhuiyas.[90] This merges [[cciv]]into the Mutʼah marriage, which is legalised among Muhammadans.
Marriage by exchange. 27. Next comes marriage by exchange, known commonly as adala badala, where two fathers exchange daughters in marriage between their sons. This is the simplest form of marriage by purchase.[91] The present survey has disclosed instances of this among Barhais, Bhuiyas, Dharkârs, Ghasiyas, Kanaujiyas, Meos, Musahars and Tarkihârs. It thus is in a great measure confined to the lower castes, and Mr. Ibbetson remarks[92] that in the East of the Panjâb “exchange of betrothal is thought disgraceful, and, if desired, is effected by a triangular exchange,—A betrothing with B, B with C, and C with A: in the West, on the contrary, among all classes, in the Hills and Submontane Districts, apparently among all but the highest classes, and among the Jâts, almost everywhere, except in the Jumna District, the betrothal by exchange is the commonest form.”
Beena marriage. 28. The next stage is what has been called by ethnologists Beena marriage,[93] in which the bridegroom goes to the house of the bride and wins her after a period of probation as Jacob wins Rachel. In these Provinces the custom seems to be confined to the Dravidian tribes of the [[ccv]]Vindhyan plateau, Bhuiyârs, Cheros, Ghasiyas, Gonds, Kharwârs, Majhwârs, and Parahiyas. Among them it bears the name of gharjanwai, which means “the son-in-law residing in the house of the bride.”
Bride purchase. 29. Immediately arising out of this is the more common form of bride purchase which prevails among most of the inferior tribes. In many cases, as will be seen by the examples which have been collected, the bride-price is fixed by tribal custom, and it marks a progressive stage in the evolution of marriage, where the purchase of the bride is veiled under the fiction of a contribution given by the relatives of the youth to cover the expenses of the marriage feast, which is, except in the dola or inferior form of marriage, provided by the relatives of the bride. “Let no father,” says Manu,[94] “who knows the law, receive a gratuity, however small, for giving his daughter in marriage: since the man who, through avarice, takes a gratuity for that purpose, is a seller of his offspring.”
Marriage with dowry. 30. The last stage is when the relatives of the bride provide a dowry for the bride, which is the subject of careful negotiation, and is paid over in the presence of the tribesmen when the wife lives with her husband. [[ccvi]]
Confarreatio. 31. In all these forms of marriage the ceremony of Confarreatio, or the feeding of the married pair by the relatives on both sides, takes an important place. We have seen that it is the main rite in widow marriage. It is regulated by rigid rules of etiquette, one of the chief of which is that both bride and bridegroom must at first refuse the proffered food, and accept it only after much pressure and conciliation by gifts.
The Matriarchate. 32. According to Baudhayana “there is a dispute regarding five practices both in the South and in the North. Those peculiar to the South are to eat in the company of an uninitiated person, to eat in the company of one’s wife, to eat stale food, to marry the daughter of a maternal uncle or paternal aunt. He who follows these in any other country than the one where they prevail commits sin.”[95] There is some want of moral perspective in the classification of these prohibitions: but they chiefly concern us in connection with the matriarchal theory. The prohibition of marriage with a cousin on the mother’s side has been accepted as an indication of the uncertainty of male parentage. There can be no doubt that in Northern India there is some special connection between a boy and his maternal uncle, as is shown by many instances drawn from the usages of the inferior tribes, such as the Agariya, Majhwâr and other Dravidian races. We also find among the Doms and Dharkârs that it is the [[ccvii]]sister’s son who performs the duties of priest at the cremation and worship of the sainted dead, which follows it. He is not, however, regarded as an heir to the deceased to the exclusion of his sons. Similarly though a foster-child has no rights to succeed,[96] the relationship is universally recognised as a bar to intermarriage. There is thus some evidence for some of the tests of female kinship as laid down by Professor Robertson Smith.[97] [[ccviii]]
GENERAL DISTRICT STATISTICS.
| District. | Area in square miles. | Population. | Density per square mile. | Religions of the people. | |||||||||||
| Hindu. | Musalmân. | Jain. | Christian. | Arya. | Sikh. | Buddhist. | Parsi. | Jew. | Brahmo. | Deist. | Unspecified. | ||||
| Dehra Dûn | 1192·9 | 168,135 | 140·9 | 143,718 | 19,896 | 234 | 2,743 | 784 | 755 | 2 | 3 | … | … | … | … |
| Sahâranpur | 2242·0 | 1,001,280 | 446·5 | 667,494 | 324,432 | 6,084 | 1,974 | 496 | 792 | … | 8 | … | … | … | … |
| Muzaffarnagar | 1658·2 | 772,874 | 466·1 | 542,563 | 218,990 | 9,396 | 127 | 1,032 | 766 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Meerut | 2369·7 | 1,391,458 | 587·2 | 1,047,650 | 316,971 | 16,380 | 5,435 | 2,784 | 2,237 | … | 1 | … | … | … | … |
| Bulandshahr | 1911·1 | 949,914 | 497·0 | 764,937 | 179,019 | 1,284 | 210 | 4,430 | 34 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Aligarh | 1952·4 | 1,043,172 | 534·3 | 918,730 | 120,338 | 2,507 | 465 | 992 | 126 | … | 14 | … | … | … | … |
| Mathura | 1440·6 | 713,421 | 495·2 | 646,385 | 62,657 | 2,403 | 846 | 209 | 919 | … | 2 | … | … | … | … |
| Agra | 1845·5 | 103,796 | 543·9 | 879,319 | 104,443 | 13,462 | 4,758 | 989 | 540 | 254 | 41 | … | … | … | … |
| Farrukhâbâd | 1720·3 | 858,687 | 499·1 | 756,194 | 99,476 | 1,048 | 828 | 877 | 24 | 232 | 8 | … | … | … | … |
| Mainpuri | 1700·9 | 762,163 | 448·0 | 714,294 | 41,529 | 5,760 | 132 | 326 | 122 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Etâwah | 1691·2 | 727,629 | 430·3 | 682,863 | 42,325 | 2,117 | 134 | 169 | 19 | … | 2 | … | … | … | … |
| Etah | 1740·7 | 702,063 | 403·3 | 622,833 | 72,953 | 4,945 | 520 | 764 | 43 | … | 4 | … | … | … | 1[[ccix]] |
| Bareilly | 1594·6 | 1,040,691 | 652·6 | 789,603 | 245,039 | 4 | 5,271 | 351 | 300 | 111 | 12 | … | … | … | … |
| Bijnor | 1898·4 | 794,070 | 418·2 | 521,891 | 267,162 | 998 | 908 | 2,046 | 1,065 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Budaun | 2016·5 | 925,598 | 459·0 | 733,179 | 148,289 | 229 | 2,581 | 1,215 | 105 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Morâdâbâd | 2282·5 | 1,179,398 | 516·7 | 773,001 | 400,705 | 1,002 | 3,307 | 1,305 | 75 | … | 3 | … | … | … | … |
| Shâhjahânpur | 1744·1 | 918,551 | 526·6 | 787,136 | 129,266 | 36 | 1,328 | 640 | 144 | … | 1 | … | … | … | … |
| Pilibhît | 1371·7 | 485,366 | 353·8 | 402,120 | 82,486 | 11 | 365 | 383 | 1 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Cawnpur | 2363·2 | 1,209,695 | 511·9 | 1,103,990 | 101,541 | 415 | 3,036 | 620 | 52 | … | 32 | 3 | 6 | … | … |
| Fatehpur | 1633·1 | 699,157 | 428·1 | 621,923 | 77,061 | 83 | 71 | 15 | 4 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Banda | 3060·1 | 705,832 | 230·6 | 664,679 | 40,662 | 284 | 74 | 76 | 49 | 2 | … | … | … | … | 6 |
| Hamîrpur | 2288·7 | 513,720 | 224·4 | 480,215 | 33,281 | 107 | 50 | 37 | 11 | … | 19 | … | … | … | … |
| Allahâbâd | 2852·3 | 1,548,737 | 542·6 | 1,341,934 | 199,853 | 568 | 5,933 | … | 155 | 268 | 25 | 1 | … | … | … |
| Jhânsi | 1640·0 | 409,419 | 249·6 | 380,804 | 23,067 | 2,521 | 1,877 | 131 | 946 | … | 66 | 4 | 2 | … | 1 |
| Jâlaun | 1479·6 | 396,361 | 267·9 | 370,604 | 25,501 | 168 | 67 | 12 | 5 | … | 4 | … | … | … | … |
| Lalitpur | 1947·4 | 274,200 | 140·8 | 258,595 | 5,946 | 9,546 | 63 | … | 49 | … | … | … | … | … | 1 |
| Benares | 1009·5 | 921,943 | 913·7 | 831,730 | 88,401 | 138 | 1,364 | … | 52 | 255 | 1 | 2 | … | … | … |
| Mirzapur | 5223·0 | 1,161,508 | 222·4 | 4,085,232 | 75,240 | 281 | 465 | 102 | 188 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Jaunpur | 1549·8 | 1,264,949 | 816·0 | 1,148,505 | 116,344 | 6 | 93 | … | 1 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Ghâzipur | 1462·0 | 1,077,909 | 737·3 | 974,340 | 102,726 | 27 | 576 | 86 | 150 | … | … | 4 | … | … | …[[ccx]] |
| Ballia | 1169·7 | 942,465 | 805·7 | 876,095 | 66,353 | … | 15 | … | … | … | 2 | … | … | … | … |
| Gorakhpur | 4676·1 | 2,994,057 | 654·3 | 2,691,164 | 301,630 | 44 | 1,176 | … | 2 | … | 19 | 21 | … | … | 1 |
| Basti | 2767·0 | 1,785,844 | 645·1 | 1,509,989 | 275,729 | … | 66 | 60 | … | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Kumâun | 2148·3 | 1,728,625 | 804·6 | 1,502,911 | 225,639 | … | 74 | … | … | … | 1 | … | … | … | … |
| Azamgarh | 7151·0 | 563,181 | 78·8 | 549,572 | 11,969 | 5 | 1,601 | … | … | 34 | … | … | … | … | … |
| Garhwâl | 5629·0 | 407,818 | 72·4 | 403,603 | 3,605 | 2 | 573 | 2 | … | 33 | … | … | … | … | … |
| Tarâi | 962·7 | 210,568 | 218·7 | 135,160 | 75,207 | 39 | 23 | 130 | 9 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Lucknow | 967·0 | 774,163 | 800·6 | 605,625 | 161,369 | 797 | 5,769 | 553 | 379 | 193 | 66 | … | … | … | 12 |
| Unâo | 1778·0 | 953,636 | 536·4 | 877,451 | 73,920 | 8 | 106 | 123 | 28 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Râê Bareli | 1751·2 | 1,036,521 | 591·7 | 950,290 | 85,965 | 23 | 145 | 2 | 96 | … | … | … | 6 | … | … |
| Sîtapur | 2254·9 | 1,075,413 | 476·9 | 916,680 | 157,639 | 234 | 717 | 88 | 44 | 1 | 4 | … | … | … | … |
| Hardoi | 2324·5 | 1,113,211 | 478·9 | 998,339 | 114,674 | 13 | 167 | … | 16 | 2 | … | … | … | … | …[[ccxi]] |
| Kheri | 2964·8 | 903,615 | 304·7 | 784,855 | 113,057 | 10 | 505 | 132 | 56 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Faizâbâd | 1728·1 | 1,216,959 | 703·7 | 1,076,831 | 138,461 | 161 | 1,254 | 55 | 171 | … | 4 | 22 | … | … | … |
| Gonda | 2879·9 | 1,459,229 | 506·6 | 1,253,514 | 205,425 | … | 248 | … | 42 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Bahrâich | 2680·3 | 1,000,432 | 373·2 | 829,701 | 169,798 | 48 | 124 | 37 | 721 | … | … | 3 | … | … | … |
| Sultânpur | 1709·9 | 1,075,851 | 629·2 | 958,952 | 116,846 | … | 53 | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Partâbgarh | 1438·2 | 910,895 | 633·4 | 819,835 | 90,838 | 130 | 77 | … | 15 | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| Bârabanki | 1740·2 | 1,130,906 | 649·9 | 943,740 | 185,938 | 1,043 | 147 | … | 35 | … | … | … | … | 3 | … |
| Total | 107,502·8 | 46,905,085 | 436·4 | 40,380,168 | 6,346,651 | 84,601 | 58,441 | 22,053 | 11,343 | 1,387 | 342 | 60 | 14 | 3 | 22 |