Rs. 25 to Rs. 40 is usually paid. In the case of the
marriage of a widow, the second husband goes to the house of the
woman, where the couple are bathed and seated on two wooden boards,
a branch of a cotton-plant being placed near them. The bridegroom then
ties five strings of black glass beads round the woman's neck. The
dead are mourned for one day only, and a funeral feast is given to
the caste-fellows. The Arakhs are a very low caste, but their touch
does not convey impurity.

Atari

1. General notice.

_Atari, [35] Gandhi, Bukekari._--A small Muhammadan caste of retailers
of scent, incense, tooth-powder and _kunku_ or pink powder. Atari
is derived from _atar_ or _itra_, attar of roses. Gandhi comes from
_gandh_, a Sanskrit word for scent. Bukekari is a Marathi word meaning
a seller of powder. The Ataris number about two hundred persons
in Nagpur, Wardha and Berar. Both Hindus and Muhammadans follow
the profession, but the Hindu Ataris are not a separate caste, and
belong to the Teli, Gurao and Beldar castes. The Muhammadan Ataris,
to whom this article refers, may marry with other Muhammadans, with
the exception of low-class tradesmen like the Pinjaras, Kasais and
Kunjras. One instance of an Atari marrying a Rangrez is known, but
usually they decline to do so. But since they are not considered to
be the equals of ordinary Muhammadans, they constitute more or less
a distinct social group. They are of the same position as Muhammadan
tin-workers, bangle-makers and pedlars, and sometimes intermarry
with them. They admit Hindu converts into the community, but the
women refuse to eat with them, and the better-class families will
not intermarry with converts. A new convert must be circumcised,
but if he is of advanced age, or if his foreskin is wanting, as
sometimes happens, they take a rolled-up betel-leaf and cut it in
two in substitution for the rite.

2. Marriage customs.

It is essential that a girl should be married before adolescence, as it
is said that when the signs of puberty appear in her before wedlock her
parents commit a crime equivalent to the shedding of human blood. The
father of the boy looks for a bride, and after dropping hints to
the girl's family to see if his proposal is acceptable, he sends some
female relatives or friends to discuss the marriage. Before the wedding
the boy is presented with a _chhap_ or ring of gold or silver with
a small cup-like attachment. A _mehar_ or do