Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/339

Rh She there ties the tāli (marriage badge) on the bride's neck, and conducts her to the house of the bridegroom. Women who are thus married may not take part in the marriage of their children. More especially, they may not decorate them with garlands and flowers, unless they have themselves performed the sadangu rite. In this, which is usually carried out a day or two before the child's marriage, the husband and wife sit on planks, and, after being decorated, and the performance of wave offerings (ārathi), the former ties the tāli on his wife's neck. In the periya kalyānam, the bridegroom goes on a horse to the bride's house, where he is met by her brother, who is also on horseback. They exchange garlands, and proceed to the marriage pandal (booth). The bridegroom receives from the bride's father a cocoanut, and the bride seats herself on a bench. The bridegroom gives her the cocoanut, and ties the tāli on her neck. They then exchange garlands, and their fingers are linked together. All these items must be performed as quickly as possible, in accordance with a saying that the tāli should be tied without dismounting from the horse, which one is riding. Before the tāli is tied, the contracting couple go through the sadangu ceremony, in which a loop of cotton thread is passed over them from head to foot, without touching them. Then the kankanams, or wrist threads, are tied on their wrists. The milk-post and marriage pots are set up within the pandal, and the bride and bridegroom prostrate themselves before them, and salute their maternal uncles, parents and relations, and lastly the musicians. The day's proceedings terminate with a feast, at the conclusion of which hands are washed within the house. For six days the bride and bridegroom pay visits to each