1893.] S. 0. Das— Marriage Customs of Tibet, 9 



survival of it may be traced in the part played by the kiin-chan (thief) 

 in mai'riage ceremonies.* 



InPurangwhenayoungmanwish.es to marry a girl, he watches 

 her movements, and carefully ascertains the places where she frequently 

 goes for agricultural or pastoral work. When he finds a good 

 opportunity, he comes, accompanied by one or two of his friends, and 

 tracks her to the field, or to the pasture where she happens to go, and 

 finding her alone carries her by force to his house. He keeps her con- 

 fined in a separate house so as to have abundant opportunity of soliciting 

 her favours. He provides her with good food and nice clothes and re- 

 mains near her to coax her and to win her love. When he goes out of 

 the house he leaves some one of his trusted friends to guard her against 

 seductions of other men and the attempts of her parents to take her 

 away. Sometimes her parents come in search of her, or send men to 

 fetch her home. If the girl be unwilling to live with her captor, or 

 if her parents do not permit her to marry him, the matter is settled 

 by the village elders or the tribunal of the Jong-pon (district chief). If 

 they permit the union, an auspicious day is fixed for the marriage when 

 a good deal of cluing (wine) is consumed. The entertainment on the 

 marriage occasion is therefore called chang-tliung (drinking of wine). 



Marriage by elopement. — When a girl has given her heart to a 

 young man, but her parents will not let her marry him, she elopes with 

 him. He is helped in the elopement by two or three sturdy friends, who 

 accompany him to prevent a rescue on the part of the parents and to see 

 the couple safely through. Having brought her to his home he accom- 

 modates her in a good house engaged for the purpose. Here he conceals 

 her and enjoys the honey-moon, by taking care to employ a number of 

 strouo- men to guard his bride from being carried away by other men or 



* Spiti. Polyandry, — Marriage customs. — In Spiti polyandry is not recognised, 

 as only the elder brother marries, and the younger ones become monks. But there 

 is not the least aversion to the idea of two brothers cohabiting with the same 

 woman, and, I believe, it often happens in an unrecognised way, particularly among 

 the landless classes who send no sons into the monasteries. I heard in Spiti, that 

 when the bridegroom's party goes to bring the bride from her father's house, they 

 are met by a party of the bride's friends and relations who stop the path : here- 

 upon a sham- fight of a very rough description ensues, in which the bride- 

 groom and his friends, before they are allowed to pass, are well drubbed with good 

 thick switches. 



In Spiti there is a regular ceremony of divorce which is sometimes used when 

 both parties consent. Husband and wife hold the ends of a thread, repeating 

 meanwhile : — " One father and mother gave, another father and mother took awoy : 

 as it was not our fate to agree, we separate with mutual good-will." The thread 

 is then severed by applying alight to the middle. After a divorce a woman is at 

 liberty to marry whom she pleases. (Crookc's Notes and Queiies, Sfc.) 

 J, in. 2 



