32 S. C. Das — Marriage Customs in Sikkim. [No. 1, 



administered to them. The bridegroom accepts the bride as his, and 

 she accepts him as hers. To this the gods and the spirits of the ten 

 quarters, the saints, Buddhas, &c, are all invoked to bear testimony. 

 Then the don-ner coming out of the wedding-hall loudly proclaims to all 

 present on the occasion and assembled in the courtyai'd, that he (the 

 bridegroom) born of such a family and such a tribe, is married to her 

 (the bride) born of such a family and such a tribe and to this union the 

 gods above, the Nagas below, i. e., from their abodes in the nether world, 

 and the spirits of the middle region, i. e., atmosphere, bear witness. 



When this is finished fresh chang is poured from a jug in two cups, 

 and presented to the bride and bridegroom. As soon as they have 

 taken a sip or two of this chang, the parents of the bridegroom lift their 

 respective wine cups to their lips to drink, when the guests follow their 

 example. At noon the Tashi-kyi Lama, who has been conducting certain 

 religious seiwice in an adjoining room, brings the auspicious offerings 

 prepared for the gods to be touched by the married couple. He recites 

 a few benedictory mantras in order to bless them, and then touches their 

 heads with the offerings and the dah-dar. The bride reverentially 

 receives the tray containing the offerings together with the dah-dar from 

 the hands of the Tashi-kyi Lama, and places them on her lap. The offer- 

 ings are carefully preserved, being placed on the altar of the household 

 god. In the meantime the guests one by one come forward to present 

 the ba-dar, i. e., the auspicious scarf of marriage, each with a rupee in his 

 hand, to the bridegroom, bride, and the principal members of the bridal 

 party, headed by the pag-pon, the best-man, who gets the largest share 

 of presents. On this occasion the Tashi-kyi Lama whose part resembles 

 that of a Purohit in a Hindu marriage, is required to make the largest 

 present to the best-man. It is therefore commonly said that religious 

 men, i. e., priests and Lamas, should not attend a marriage ceremony, 

 they had better be present at a funeral ceremony (" Lama choipa-de-tsho 

 pag-ma Ian sar-mando mi shi sar-do ") ; because in a funeral ceremony all 

 the effects of the deceased go to the Lama, whereas in a marriage 

 ceremony, he has to make considerable presents, instead of receiving any- 

 thing in return for his services. 



After the presentation of ba-dar, the distribution of uncooked meat, 

 rice, chang, &c, in the way of remuneration to those who took part in the 

 marriage, takes place. When this is over the grand feast takes place. 



The dinner is commenced with the don-ner saying as follows : — 



" According to the common saying of our country, on the occasion 

 of birth, and that of giving a name to a child, drinking of wine is the 

 chief entertainment, but in a marriage ceremony drinking alone is not 

 sufficient. It must be supplemented by a feast of more substantial kind 



