The Savannah morning news., 1904-03-31
THE BRIDAL NECKLET.
HindOO Girls Are Betrothed with a
Thai Instead of "a Ring.

InhH instead OF ~ Ring.
From the London Telegraph.
In many parts of India Hindoo girls
are welded not with ring, but with
necklet. or thali. At the wedding
of the daughter of a leading native
at Moulmein there were present
among the numerous guests a Hindoo
maiden and her lover, whose suit had
not so far progressed to his satisfac-
ton. While the wedding ceremony
was in progress the young man sud-
denly went to her. and, before any,
one suspected what his object was,
pulled out a thali from his pocket and
quietly tied 1t round her neck. OF
course, there was a hubbub and pa
rental lamentations over this dramatic
episode, but so great is the veneration
for the thali among Hindoos that no
one dared to remove 1t from the neck
of the astonished maiden. All con-
cerned, therefore, repaired to the Mar
riamme temple, where the act was
ratified, and the maid who went to the
wedding of her friend fancy free left
the scene as the legal wife of q bold
and successful husband A corresponds
ent writing to the Pioneer on the gen.
eral use of the thali says:
81 was the guest of a Christian
family of position in South India which
had so far departed from the ordinary
rule which prevents women from APP
pearing before strangers that the mis-
tress Of the house had deputed her
young daughter-in-law to represent
her as hostess The young lady was
profusely decked with jewelry, some
of which was unique in its nature, and
she had not the slightest objection to
it's being admired. AT dinner l was
suddenly struck with the absence OF
the wedding ring from her finger, and
on my asking her the reason she shy
ly pointed to her neck. This seemed
somewhat strange, but / thought that
probably for some reason she had at
tached the ring to the chain she was
wearing round her neck. l could,
however see no trace of 1t, and felt
somewhat puzzled till her husband ex-
planned that no wedding ring IS used
on the occasion of a marriage, but Tor
II is substituted the thali, to which my
hostess had drawn my attention.
Among the Dravidians OF South IN
dia the italia plays the same part as
the wedding ring among the Christians
In other parts of the world. No mar
rage can be solemniZed without It.
1t is a small piece of gold leaf in the
shape of a cucumber seed, which is
attached to a necklet of worsted thread
or silk. The Brahmins, who celebrate
their marriage dCCOEAltiB W NSNAe AAAS's
have adopted it's use, and after the sa-
cred fire is prepared and worshipped
with oblations of ghee, the blessings
of the gods are invoked, and the thali
is tied around the neck of the
bride by the bridegroom, and then the
couple go around the sacred fire. The
Mahometan converts, like the Chris
tians,. find IL hard to give up the little
Jewel, with the happy associations, and
it may be seen adjoining the necks OF
their womankind. But, though the
thali is an Indication that girl is
married, l found, much to my sur
prise, that in some instances 1t did not
necessarily imply that she was the
wife of any particular individual. With
in the preclnts of the temple once
met an notwithstanding woman,
dressed very gracefully and decently,
and amid the rich jewelry with which
she was adorned the thali was display
ed somewhat obtrusively 1 took her to
be the member of some highly re-
spectacle family, but was surprised to
learn that she was a deva-dassi (HAnd-
maiden of the god), and was, in fact,
a dancing girl attached to the tenn
pie There is special caste of these
women, who, as soon as they grow
out of girlhood, are taken to the tenn
pie and, with much ceremonial, for
mally married to a sword or a god,
the thali being tied round their neck
by some man of the caste. This class
is sometimes recruited from girls be-
longing to the Boyas, Bedaurus and
certain other castles, who, in the alb
sence of male issue, dedicate a daugh-
ter to some deity, who, they believe,
will give them sons