Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India.djvu/346

BHONDARI The hereditary headman of the caste is called Bēhara, and he is assisted by a Bhollobaya. Most of the Bhondāris follow the form of Vaishnavism inculcated by Chaithyana, and known as Paramartho matham. They wear as a necklace a string of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) beads, without which they will not worship or take their food. Many Hindu deities, especially Jagan nātha, and various local Tākurānis are also worshipped by them. A man should not marry his maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter. Infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl has not secured a husband before she attains maturity, she has to go through a mock marriage ceremony called dharma bibha. She is taken to a Streblus asper (sahāda or shādi) tree, and married to it. She may not, during the rest of her life, touch the Streblus tree, or use its twigs as a tooth brush. Sometimes she goes through the ceremony of marriage with some elderly man, preferably her grandfather, or, failing him, her elder sister's husband as bridegroom. A divorce agreement (tsado patro) is drawn up, and the pseudo-marriage thereby dissolved. Sometimes the bridegroom is represented by a bow and arrow, and the ceremony is called khando bibha.

The real marriage ceremonies last over seven days. On the day before the bibha (wedding), a number of earthen pots are placed on a spot which has been cleaned for their reception, and some married women throw Zizyphus Jujuba leaves and rice, apparently as an evil-eye removing and purificatory ceremony. While doing so, they cry " Ūlu, ulu " in a manner which recalls to mind the kulavi idal of the Maravans and Kallans. A ceremony, called sokko bhondo, or wheel worship, is performed to a potter's wheel. The bridegroom, who