Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 6 1888.djvu/129

Rh their tightly-plaited and well-oiled hair tastefully decorated with cowries, coloured beads, and flowers (when procurable). As the procession moves slowly through the streets the young men and maidens dance in front of the bride, and make a deafening noise with their singing and hand-clapping, while the married women express their approval by a shrill, quavering noise from the back part of the throat.

On reaching the bridegroom's house a low-caste man sacrifices a goat or sheep on the threshold, and the bride steps over it as she enters.

On the same day, about 4 p.m., the bridegroom, clad in handsome silk garments, his head, clean shaved, bound up in a large silk turban, repairs to a masjid, where he is supposed to remain at his devotions till about 7·30 p.m., when he is escorted by a number of young men to his house, which the bride has previously entered. As the bridegroom enters another goat is sacrificed, and he steps over it in the same way as the bride.

The wedded couple now shut themselves up in the nuptial chamber, which is sometimes an upper room with a rude ladder leading to it, but more often a small dark room partitioned off from the rest of the house. An elderly woman of low caste is generally shut up with them for a short time. Dancing and singing continue in the "compound," while in the house itself assemble seven unmarried young men and the same number of maidens (called manheis), friends of the bride and bridegroom. When they hear any cries from the nuptial chamber they commence singing and clapping their hands as loudly as possible. Over the seven couples of manheis a man entitled "Sheikhu-l-Manheis," or "Sheikhu-sh-Shubán," is nominated. He portions off a girl to each young man, and performs a mock marriage between them. Each girl is bound to obey without murmur any order which her mock husband may give. He may say: "Give me a drink of water," and she immediately fetches a vessel of water; and if he be lying down she raises him up in her arms, as though he were an invalid, and puts the vessel to his lips. Another may order his bride to give him tobacco to chew, upon which she grinds up some