IS93.] S. C. Das — Marriage Customs in Sihkim 25 



falling prostrate on the ground, salutes them saying, " merciful ladies 

 forgive me. I shall j)ay the mag-log (the fee of defeat), " If they do 

 not beat him severely, he remains on the ground as motionless, or 

 half dead, and does not pay the mag-log, and at the end appropriates to 

 himself the articles of mag-log which the bridegroom gives him to 

 compensate his supposed loss in the way of mag-log. 



Sometimes the Tcun-chan behaves very humbly towards the female 

 friends of the bride, in consequence of which they treat him with less 

 severity, but under no circumstance can he escape the beating alto- 

 gether. In the morning of the first day of chang-thung called the 

 dong-chang, he is placed in a conspicuous place in the reception-room, 

 wrapped up in blankets and other thick stuffs. 



Dong-chang: — In the morning at about 8 o'clock, the guests con- 

 sisting of the relations, friends, neighbours, &c, begin to assemble in 

 the marriage hall. They bring with them each a basketful of chang, 

 a bag of rice, and a potful of barley flour. Bach guest, as he enters the 

 hall, strikes the Tcun-chan lightly with the switch kept there for the pur- 

 pose. The hnn-chan expresses his pain in loud shrieks. Sometimes when 

 wanton boys apply the switch freely to his body, he will rush at them 

 furiously. When the hmi-chan goes out to attend the call of nature, 

 he is surrounded by the female friends of the bride, and is forced to sit 

 on a log of the tree called sam-sliing, the raw bark of which produces a 

 blister when it touches the skin. The log is covered with nettles and 

 other thorny plants so as to look like a horse. If he can be made to 

 sit on the wooden horse they will hoot him with shrieks and laughter. 

 If he does not sit upon it they beat him with nettles till he enters the 

 room. 



Chang-thung chenpo : — On the second day of the festivities the 

 neighbours, friends and relations of the bride's parents are entertained 

 with wine, rice, meat, &c. The guests headed by the chief priest of the 

 village, called Tashi-Jcyi Lama, present their respective scarves, together 

 with silver coins, clothes, metal utensils, and tashi-hha-tag to the bride 

 and express their good wishes for her. Some among the guests, who are 

 near and dear to the bride, will present her with two or more scarves, 

 saying that they present this scarf, called the Jcyider (the scarf of hap- 

 piness), that scarf, called gadar (the scarf of joy), to wish her gladness, and 

 so on. The guests also make presents of tang-da.r, i. e., a scarf with a Ti- 

 betan tavJca or a rupee, to the pag-pon, i. e., the best man and the brides- 

 maid. As soon as the scarves and other presents are brought the 

 don-rier (receiver of guests) announces the name of each donor. The 

 money presents are deposited in a silver pot kept for the purpose on 

 a small table before the bride. Then some one from among the 

 J. ill. 4 



