| Sindur (vermilion) blood-red
powder, usually smeared on the forehead and at the parting of the hair
(sithi) of Hindu married women. This is part of the marriage
ritual and is inherited from ancient tribal cultures. It was inconceivable
in many tribal communities that a marriage would take place without the
use of vermilion as a ceremonial seal to the wedlock. According to the
practice in some communities, marriages are solemnised by putting vermilion
on the forehead and sithi of the bride as the priest prays to god
for happiness of the couple. This is done without incantation of any hymns.
According to the custom of the Kharia tribesmen, after a bride
is given away by her parents, the couple stand up and smear each other's
foreheads with vermilion seven times and garland each other as their dresses
are knotted amidst playing of drums. After the bride is given away, the
groom puts vermilion on the bride's sithi with the help of his
little finger seven times.
Among the Bhumij tribesmen, marriage is performed by
a priest's incantation of hymns and giving away of the bride.
The groom then puts vermilion at the bride's sithi three
times with the help of his little finger. Next, the hands of the
couple are joined together.
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A woman having vermilion
on sithi |
In a marriage of the Ho tribe the groom must put
vermilion on the forehead or at the sithi of the bride. A Ho boy
with the help of his friends may forcibly bring a girl home and put vermilion
on her forehead to validly claim to have married her. Even putting vermilion
forcibly by a boy on a girl's forehead in any public place like a market
or a fair would make her his legal wife. However, this practice is discouraged
these days. According to the Birho community's wedding custom,
the little fingers of the groom and the bride are pricked so that a drop
of blood of each can soak a piece of cloth with which they can touch their
throats three times.
The groom then puts three drops of oil on the soil and
puts vermilion powder on them. This oil-soaked vermilion is then smeared
on the bride's forehead and sithi to conclude the wedding and establish
full rights of the groom over the bride. Among the munda
tribe, the groom and the bride use vermilion to paint three bright red
lines on each other's forehead and then exchange garlands to seal their
wedding. Mahalid tribe's custom is that the groom puts vermilion
at the sithi of the bride five times after paying dowry to her
father. This concludes the wedding.
santals have varied customs of marriage but vermilion is common to all. Usually, the groom drops vermilion on the soil three times and puts it at the sithi of the bride as many times keeping the Sun-god as witness. In the event of the parents of either side not consenting to the marriage of the two lovers, the boy may forcibly put vermilion on the sithi of the girl to claim her to be his legally wedded wife. Santals believe that a girl can receive vermilion on her sithi from a boy only once. In the case of marriage with a widow, vermilion is not put at her sithi; instead it is put on a white flower three times before the flower is stuck into her hair bun.
Use of vermilion is not, universal among married Hindu
women of all areas of India. Marriage rituals of Bengali Hindus also differ
from those of Hindus of other parts of the subcontinent. Bengalis regard
shankha
(conch shell bangles) and vermilion as essential wear for married women
but Hindus of other parts of India do not. The bangles and the vermilion
disappear as soon as a woman becomes a widow. In aboriginal societies,
vermilion was regarded as symbol of victory. Putting the pigment on the
forehead of a girl abducted by a suitor was but a signal to say 'I have
won her and she is mine'. There are anecdotes to suggest that in the ancient
times vermilion was put on the forehead of a person to hypnotise him or
her and not necessarily for honest purposes. There are instances to suggest
that robbers and those out in daring acts of adventure used to put vermilion
on their foreheads, ostensibly to seek success and protection. According
to some historical records, women in olden days used to apply vermilion
to redden their lips as against lipsticks used by modern women.
[Enamul Haq]
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