The " Koh" of Chota-Narjpore. 179 



the common people ranges from 10 to 12 rupees. These disagreeable 

 preliminaries having been arranged, the bridegroom and a large party 

 of his friends of both sexes enter with much singing and dancing and 

 sham fighting the village of the bride, where they meet the bride's 

 party and are hospitably entertained. 



The bride and bridegroom are now well anointed with turmeric, and 

 bathed, and then taken and wedded, not to each other, but to two 

 trees ! The bride to a Mowa tree, the bridegroom to a Mango. They 

 are made to touch the tree with " sccndoor" (red lead), and then to 

 clasp it in their arms. On returning, they are placed standing face to 

 face, the girl on a curry stone over a ploughshare supported on 

 sheaves of corn or grass. The bridegroom stands ungallantly treading 

 on his bride's toes, and in this position touches her forehead with the 

 red lead ; she touches his forehead in the same manner. The bride's 

 maids then, after some preliminary splashing and sprinkling, pour 

 a jar of water over the head of each : this necessitates a change of 

 raiment, and apparently concludes the ceremony, as the young couple 

 going inside to change, do not appear again till the cock-crowing 

 announces the dawn or its approach. At the first crow the bride's maids, 

 who with the young men have been merrily keeping it up all night 

 with the song and dance, burst into the nuptial chamber and bring 

 forth the blushing bride and her bashful lord ; and then they all go 

 down to the river or to a tank to bathe, and parties of boys and girls 

 form sides under the leadership of the bride and bridegroom, and pelt 

 each other with clods of earth. The bridegroom next takes a water 

 vessel and conceals it in the stream or water for the bride to find. 

 She then conceals it from him, and when he has found it, she takes it up 

 filled with water and places it on her head. She lifts her arm to 

 support the pitcher, and the bridegroom, standing behind her with his 

 bow strung, and the hand that grasps it lightly resting on her 

 shoulder, discharges an arrow from the pretty loophole thus formed 

 into the path before her. The girl walks on to where the arrow falls, 

 and with head erect and still bearing the pitcher of water, she picks 

 it up with her foot, takes it into her hand, and restores it to her 

 husband with a graceful obeisance. She thus shews that she can 

 adroitly perform her domestic duties and knows her duty to her lord 

 and master, whilst he, on his part, in discharging an arrow to clear 



