Indian Antiquary Vol 54

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Stephen Meredyth Edwardes, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 62

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[MAROH, 1923
The Marriage Ceremony. Mr. Brown commences (pp. 235 ff.) with the marriage ceremony. “The main feature of it is that the bride and bridegroon are required to publicly embrace each other." After discoursing on the subject in simple language, he says (p. 236): "the meaning of the marriage ceremonis readily seen. By marriage the man and woman are brought into special and intimate relac on to one another, they are, as we say, united."
He next remarks that "the ceremony brings vividly to the minds of the young couple and also to those of the spectators the consciousness that the two are entering upon a new social relation," and later that it "serves to make it clear that marriage is a matter which concerns not only those who are entering into it, but the whole community." And again he says (p. 238): "at marriage the giving (of presents) is one-sided, no return being expected, for it is an expression not of personal friendship on the part of the givers, but of the general social good will and approval." In these words Mr. Brown adumbrates his main theory, as will be seen later.
The Peace-Making Ceremony. In this ceremony, Mr. Brown's special discovery, in the North Andaman, the dancers are in two parties, the one aggressive and the other passive : go (p. 238) "anger appeased dies down ; wrongs expiated are forgiven and forgotten : the enmity is at an end." The ceremony ends with an exchange of weapons, which would seem to ensure at least some months of friendship, for you cannot go fighting a man with his weapons when he has yours.” "The social function [of the ceremony] is to restore the condition of solidarity between two local groups that has been destroyed by some offence."
Mr. Brown's method of explanation makes it necessary to leave parts of seremonies to be explained separately later on, and as the argument proceeds this habit will be found to be constant. In this case the passive party stands against a fibre screen left for future examination, and in both this and the marriage ceremony there is ceremonial weeping which is next examined.
Ceremonial Weeping. “The principal occasions when ceremonial weeping occurs are as follows (p. 239) (1) When two friends or relatives meet after having been for some time parted, they embrace each other and weep together. (2) At the peace-making ceremony the two parties of former enemies weep together, embracing each other. (3) At the end of the period of mourning the friends of the mourners (who have not themselves been mourning) weep with the latter. (4) After a death the relatives and friends embrace the corpse and weep over it. (5) When the bones of a dead man or woman are recovered from the grave they weep over it. (6) On the occasion of a marriage the relatives of each weep over the bride and bridegroom. (7) At various stages of the initiation ceremonies the female relatives of a youth or girl weep over him or her."
Mr. Brown observes (p. 239) that the weeping" is always a rite, the proper performance of which is demanded by custom . . . . It is an example (p. 240) of what I have called ceremonial customs. In certain circumstances men and women are required by custom to embrace one another and weep, and if they neglected to do so it would be an offence condemned by all right-thinking persons."
Mr. Brown explains the weeping thus (p. 240) : "the purpose of the rite is to affirm the existence of a social bond between two or more persons." And he sees in it (p. 242): "an affirmation of solidarity or social union (in the peacemaking ceremony] between groups, and that the rule is in its nature such as to make the participants feel that they are botind to each