The Western news., 1904-12-14
HOW HINDOO TAKES A BRIDE,
Simple Act by Which 6weethearts
Become Man and Wife.

Simple Act by Which eweethearts
Become Man and Wife.
In many parts Of India Hindoo girls
are welded, not with a ring but with
q necklet or thali, says the London
Telegraph. At the wedding Of the
daughter of leading native at Moul-
mein there were present among the
numerous guests Hindoo maiden and
her lover, whose suit had not SO far
progressed to his satisfaction. While
the wedding ceremony was in progress
the. young man suddenly went up to
her and, before any one suspected
what his object was, pulled out
thali from his pocket and quietly tied
it around her neck. OF course, there
was hubbub and parental lamenta-
tions over this episode, but SO great
Is the veneration for the thali among
Hindoos that no one dared remove it
from the neck Of the astonished maid
en-. All concerned therefore repaired
to the Marianne temple, where the
act was ratified and the maiden who
went to the wedding Of her friend fam
cy free left the scene as the legal wife
Of bold and successful husband.
A correspondent writing ON the gen.
eral use Of the thali says:
Il was guest of Christian family
Of position in South India which had
50 far departed from the ordinary rule
Ing before strangers that the mistress
of the house had deputed her young
daughter-in-law to represent her as
hostess. The young lady was profuse-
ly decorated 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 shyly
pointed to her neck.
"This seemed somewhat strange, but
thought that probably for some rea-
son she had attached the ring to the
chain she was wearing around her
neck. I could, however, see no trace
Of 1t, and felt somewhat puzzled till
her husband explained that no we'd
| ding ring is used on the occasion Of q
marriage, but for it is substituted the
thali, to which my hostess had drawn
| my attention.
Among the Dravidians of South In.
dia the thali plays the same parts as
the wedding ring among the Chris.
tians In other parts of the world. No
marriage can be solemnized without 1t.
1t is a small piece Of gold leaf in the
shape of cucumber seed, which il
attached to necklet of worsted
thread or silk. The Brahmins, who
celebrated their marriage according to
Vedic rites, have adopted it's use, and
after the sacred fire is prepared and
wOrshiped with oblation of ghee, the
blessings Of the gods are invoked and
the thali is tied around the neck Of
the couple 60 round the sacred fire.
The Mohammedan converts, like the
Christians find 1t hard to give up this
little jewel, with It's happy associa-
tons, and 1t may be seen adOrning the
necks of their womankind.
but, though the thali Is an indica-
ton that a girl IL married. found,
much to my surprise, that in some In
stances 1t did not necessarily imply
that she was the wife Of any particu-
lar individual. Within the precincts of
the temple l once met an attractive
looking woman, dressed very graceful
ly and decently, and amid the rich
jewelry with which she was adorned
the thali was displayed somewhat OBJ
truslvely. l took her to be member
Of some highly respectable family, but
was surprised to learn that she was a
davadassi (hand-maiden of the god)
and was in fact, dancing girl at
tached to the temple. There Is spe-
cial case of these women, who, as soon
MS they grow out of girlhood, are taken
to the temple and, with much cere-
monial, formally married to sword
or a god. the thalis being tied round
their necks by some man of the caste.
This class Is sometimes recruited from
girls belonging to the Royas, Bebau-
rus and certain other castles. who. in
the absence Of male associates, dedl-
cate a daughter to some deity"
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| Few Moments or lIeiauPe