Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-10
THE H1Npoo BRIDE.
Simple Act by Which Lovers Become
Man and Wife.

From the London Telegraph
In many parts of India Hindoo girls are
welded, not with a ring, but with neck
let or thali. At the wedding of the daush-
ter of 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 sat-
isfaction. While the wedding ceremony
in progress the young suddenly
went up to her. and, before any one sus-
pected what his object was. pulled out a
thali from his pocket and quietly tied 1t
around her neck. OF course there was a
hubbub, and parental lamentations over
this episode, but SO great is the venera-
ton for the thali among Hindoos that
no one dared remove it from the neck of
the aStoniShed maiden. All concerned,
therefore, repaired to the Marianne tenn
pie, where the act was ratified. and the
maiden who went to the wedding OF her
fancy free left the scene as the legal wife
of bold and successful husband.
A correspondent writing on the general
use of the thali saws:
II was guest of Christian family of
position in South India which had so far
departed from the ordinary rule which pre-
vents women from appearing before Stran-
gers that the mistress of the house had
deputed her young daughter-in-law to rep
resent her hostess. The young lady
was profusely decorated with jewelry, some
she had not the slightest objection to its
being admired. AT dinner l was sud
denly struck with the absence of the we'd
ding ring from her finger. and on my ask
ing her the reason she shyly pointed to her
neck
This seemed somewhat strange, but I
thought that probably for some reason
she had attached the ring to the chain
she was wearing around her neck. could,
however, see no trace of it. and felt some
what puzzled till her husband explained
that no wedding ring is used on the oc-
casion of marriage, but for it is substi-
tuted the thali, to which my hostess had
drawn my attention.
among the Dravidians of South India
the thali plays the same part as the we'd
ding ring among the Christians in other
parts of the world. No marriage can be
solemnzed without it. 1t is a small piece
of gold leaf in the shape of a cucumber
seed. which is 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 or the
gods are invoked and the thali is tied
around the neck of the bride by the BRIDE
groom, and then the couple go round the
sacred fire. The Mohammedan converts.
like the Christians, find 1t hard to give
up this little jewel, with its happy asso-
Citations, and it may be seen adjoining the
necks of their womankind
But, though the thali Is an indication
that a girl is married. 1 found, much to
my surprise, that in some instances 1t did
not necessarily imply that she was the wife
of any particular individual. Within the
precincts of the temple 1 once met an at
tractive looking woman, dressed very
gracefully and decently, and amid the rich
jewelry with which she was adorned the
than was displayed somewhat obtrusively.
l took her to be a member of some highly
respectable family, but was surprised to
learn that she was a devadassi (hand-
tn of a
dancing girl attached to the temple. There
is a special caste of these women. who,
as soon as they grow out of girlhood, are
taken to the temple, and with much cere-
monial, formally married to q sword or
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, Bebaurus and certain other
castles, who in the absence of male as
sociates dedicate daughter to some deity,
who, they believe. will give them sons"