30 S. C. Das — Marriage Customs in Silckim. [No. 1, 



a sumptuous dinuer is served to them.. Before touching the food, one 

 of them invokes the gods, demi-gods, Buddhas, Bocldhisattvas and the 

 guardian spirits to protect the married couple. Then the Tashi-hyi-Lama 

 recites the grace. 



Marriage Customs, &c, of Ladak. 



After the " betrothal " ceremony has been performed, a month or two is usually 

 allowed to elapse before the wedding takes place, though sometimes a year or more 

 passes between the time of betrothal and the time of marriage. When a day has 

 been fixed for the marriage, the procedure is as follows : — On the day fixed, the relatives 

 (nien) of the bride (pakma) assemble at the bride's house and those of the bride- 

 groom (pakphe) at the bridegroom's house. At nightfall the bridegroom goes with 

 five or seven of his friends (ngidpa) to the bride's house, he finds the outer door 

 (gidzgho) of the yard (stara) shut, and guarded by male relatives of the bride, he 

 gives a few rupees to them, and they then allow him to enter, but when passing 

 between this gate and the door leading into the house itself (gidzghoi ndngkuk) 

 he is surrounded by the bride's female relatives, who pretend to be angry, and 

 beat him with small sticks. To these also the bridegroom has to give a few rupees, 

 and he is then allowed to enter the house. The bridegroom, with his friends, is 

 then feasted by the bride's relatives, but the bride does not appear. Much chang 

 drinkino', music and dancing is indulged in, till about 1 or 2 o'clock the next 

 morning, when the best-man (ngidtheet-pa) or (ngidthrit-pa) , accompanied by some 

 of the older male relatives of the bridegroom, goes to the kitchen (makhang) in 

 company with the parents and relatives of the bride. The bridegroom and the 

 rest of his party do not go to the kitchen. 



The guests take their seats in the kitchen, and each one puts his drinking cup 

 (norey) on the ground in front of him, and chang is then handed round by a 

 male relative of the bride's, accompanied by one of the female relatives, who has a 

 stick in one hand. The latter takes up the cup of each guest in turn and fills it, 

 and if the guest fail to drink freely, she beats him. This ceremony is called 

 nanchang, or insistence chang. During this time a ceremony known as 

 thohloo is taking place, it is enacted by two old men, one being a relative of the 

 bride, and the other a relative of the bridegroom. First, the relative of the 

 bride gets up and sings a sonnet in praise of the bridegroom ; the other old man 

 must then get up and reply, by singing a similar sonnet in praise of the bride, 

 after which the first man again sings and so for two or three times ; if either singer 

 fails to reply to the other, he has to give the other party a few rupees, or a goat, 

 &c. At this time the bride's parents stretch a l'ope across the room, and on it they 

 hang all the clothes, ornaments, &c, which constitute the trousseau of the 

 bride, any cash there may be as a dot is counted and placed in a box. These 

 clothes, &c, are called raktak. A list of the articles is then made out; it is called 

 zongeek, and is carefully kept, as a record of all the fine things given on the occa- 

 sion. The best-man then takes possession of the raktak and remarks that it 

 is getting late, and that he would be glad if the bride could be made over to him. 



The bride's relatives then protest that they don't know where the bride is, as 

 her girl friends (ydto-dzdmo) have hidden her. The best man has to give a few 

 rupees to the ydto-dzdmo, who then produce the bride, who is in a flood of tears 

 (often genuine), and lead her up to her mother. The bride then embraces the feet 



