Marriage customs in many lands / by the Rev. H.N. Hutchinson ; with many illustrations.

  • Hutchinson, H. N. (Henry Neville), 1856-1927.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Marriage customs in many lands / by the Rev. H.N. Hutchinson ; with many illustrations. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/418 (page 3)
    3 father says, “ O Brahmins, to this youth, learned in the Vedas, I give my daughter, dressed in gay apparel, and adorned with gems.” They answer, “So let it be.” The father-in-law, having taken the hand of his daughter, now puts it into the hand of the bridegroom and pours over them water, sacred to Vishnu, which has been previously blessed by a priest. This is perhaps the most solemn and important of all the marriage ceremonies ; for the pouring of water, accord- ing to Eastern custom, makes a gift irrevocable. Another important rite is the tying on of the tali, a jewel set in gold, on the neck of the bride. In India all Hindu married women wear this ornament as a sign of their being in the married state. It is fastened by a short string dyed yellow with turmeric, and composed of many fine threads. To the guests, sandal-wood, paste, perfumes, and flowers are offered : the couple receive congratulations from the assembly as they prostrate themselves at their parents’ feet to receive a blessing. In Northern India, part of the ceremony consists in tying a string or thread round the wrist of the bride ; and with many of the races of India the man and the woman, or the boy and the girl, as the case may be, are tied together by the corners of their garments and made to walk through the village, to signify to all that they are tied together for life. In order to impress upon the bride the duty of com- plete submission to her husband, the wooden yoke of a bullock is laid lightly for a moment on her head. A veil is then held up between her and the bridegroom