wry must be given to the
bride, the amount of which is not below Rs. 50 or above Rs. 250. The
bride's parents give her cooking vessels, bedding and a bedstead. After
the wedding, the couple are seated on a cot while the women sing songs,
and they see each other's face reflected in a mirror. The procession
returns after a stay of four days, and is received by the women of
the bridegroom's family with some humorous ceremonies bearing on the
nature of marriage. A feast called Tamm Walima follows, and the couple
are shut up together in an inner room, even though they may be under
age. The marriage includes some Hindu customs, such as the erection
of the _pandal_ or shed, rubbing the couple with turmeric and oil,
and the tying on of _kankans_ or wrist-bands. A girl going wrong
before marriage may be wedded with full rites so long as she has not
conceived, but after conception until her child is born she cannot go
through the ceremony at all. After the birth of the child she may be
married simply with the rite for widows. She retains the child, but it
has no claim to succeed to her husband's property. A widow may marry
again after an interval of forty days from her first husband's death,
and she may wed her younger brother-in-law. Divorce is permitted at
the instance of either party, and for mere disagreement. A man usually
divorces his wife by vowing in the presence of two witnesses that he
will in future consider intercourse with her as incestuous in the same
degree as with his mother. A divorced woman has a claim to her _mehar_
or dowry if not already paid, but forfeits it if she marries again. A
man can marry the daughter of his paternal uncle. The services of a
Kazi at weddings are paid for with a fee of Rs. 1-4, and well-to-do
persons also give him a pair of turbans.

3. Religion.

The Ataris are Muhammadans of the Sunni sect. They revere the
Muhammadan saints, and on the night of Shabrat they let off fireworks
in honour of their ancestors and make offerings of _halwa_ [36] to
them and place lamps and scent on their tombs. They swear by the pig
and abstain from eating its flesh. The dog is considered an unclean
animal and its tail, ears and tongue are especially defiling. If the
hair of a dog falls on the ground they cannot pray in that place
because the souls of the prophets cannot come there. To see a dog
flapping its ears is a bad omen, and a person starting on a journey
should postpone his departure. They es