Nawar Deo or the new god. During the five
days of the wedding he is considered to be a sort of king, and is
put in the highest place, and everybody defers to him. They make the
bridegroom and bride name each other for a joke, as they are ashamed
to do this, and will not untie their clothes to let them bathe until
they have done it. At all the feasts the bride and bridegroom are
made to eat out of the same plate, and they put pieces of food in
each other's mouth, which is supposed to produce affection between
them. The wedding expenses in an ordinary Kanaujia Brahman's family,
whose income is perhaps Rs. 20 to 40 a month, are estimated at Rs. 200
for the bridegroom's party and Rs. 175 for the bride's, exclusive
of any bride- or bridegroom-price. The bulk of the expenditure is on
feasts to the caste. The bride does not live with her husband until
after she arrives at puberty, but it is thought desirable that she
should spend long visits with his family before this, in order that
she may assimilate their customs and be trained by her mother-in-law,
according to the saying, 'Tender branches are easily bent.' Among
some Maratha Brahmans, when the bride arrives at puberty a ceremony
called Garhbhadan is performed, and the husband confesses whether he
has cohabited with his wife before her puberty, and if so, he is fined
a small sum. Such instances usually occur when the signs of puberty
are delayed. If the planet Mangal or Mars is adverse to a girl in her
horoscope, it is thought that her husband will die. The women of her
family will, therefore, first marry her secretly to a pipal-tree,
so that the tree may die instead. But they do not tell this to the
bridegroom. In Saugor, girls whose horoscope is unfavourable to the
husband are first married to the _arka_ or swallow-wort plant. If
a Brahman has not sufficient funds to arrange for the marriage of
his daughter he will go about and beg, and it is considered that
alms given for this purpose acquire special merit for the donor,
nor will any good Brahman refuse a contribution according to his means.

12. Polygamy, divorce and treatment of widows.

Polygamy conveys no stigma among Brahmans, but is uncommon. Divorce
is not recognised, a woman who is put away by her husband being turned
out of the caste. The remarriage of widows is strictly prohibited. It
is said that marriage is the only sacrament (Sanskar) for a woman,
and she can only go through it once. The holy nuptia