Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/180

KANAKKAN the formal arrangements are made, and a portion of the bride's money is also paid. The auspicious day for the wedding is settled, and the number of guests to be invited is fixed. There is also an entertainment for those that are assembled. A similar one is also held at the hut of the bridegroom-elect. These people are too poor to consult the local Kaniyan (astrologer); but, if it is known that the couple were born on the day of the same constellation, the match is at once rejected. On the day chosen for the celebration of the marriage, the bridegroom, neatly dressed, and with a knife and stylus, sets out from his hut, accompanied by his parents, uncles, other relatives, and men of his village, to the hut of the bride, where they are welcomed, and seated on mats in a pandal (booth) put up for the occasion. The bride, somewhat veiled, is taken to the pandal and seated along with the bridegroom, and to both of them a sweet preparation of milk, sugar and plantain fruits is given, to establish the fact that they have become husband and wife. There is no tāli-tying then. The guests are treated to a sumptuous dinner. As they take leave of the chief host, each of them pays a few annas to meet the expenses of the ceremony. The bridegroom, with the bride and those who have accompanied him, returns to his hut, where some ceremonies are gone through, and the guests are well fed. The bridegroom and bride are seated together, and a sweet preparation is given, after which the parents and the maternal uncle of the former, touching the heads of both, says " My son, my daughter, my nephew, my niece," meaning that the bride has become a member of their family. They throw rice on their heads as a token of their blessings on them. After this, the couple live together as man and wife. In some places, marriage is performed by proxy.