Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/274

UPPARA is tied, as among some other Tamil castes, by the bridegroom's sister. Among the Telugu and Canarese sections, it is tied by the bridegroom himself. By the Uppāras of South Canara, the dhāre marriage rite is performed, in which the father of the bride pours water from a vessel over the united hands of the contracting couple. I am told that, among some Canarese Uppāras, the bridegroom's head is shaved, and, after bathing, he puts on a double brass wire corresponding to the sacred thread of the Brāhmans, which he wears for five days. Among the Telugu Upparas there are two sub-divisions, which are called, according to the amount of the bride-price, Yēdu (seven) Mādala and Padahāru (sixteen) Mādala, a māda being equal to two rupees. Some say that māda refers to the modas (heaps of earth) used in former times. At a marriage among some Uppiliyans, it is customary for the bride and bridegroom to sit inside a wall made of piled up water pots, with the ends of their cloths tied together, while some of the women present pour water from the pots over their heads. The remarriage of widows is permitted, and I gather that, among the Uppāras, a widow may only marry a widower, and vice versâ.

In a note on the Uppiliyans of the Trichinopoly district, Mr. F. R. Hemingway states that "some of the marriage ceremonies are peculiar. They allow an unborn boy to be betrothed to his unborn cousin. The bride has to be asked in marriage a number of times, before consent is given, lest it be thought that she is yielding too easily. The marriage is performed at her house, lest it should be thought that her parents are forcing her on the bridegroom. The caste does not use the marriage pole or pāligai pots. Instead of the usual turmeric threads, the wrists of the contracting couple are