My dear Children—­Marriage, to the Hindoos is the greatest event of their lives.  In the celebration of it, many ceremonies are performed Of these I will mention some of the most important.  If the father of the young girl is a Brahmin, and if he is rich and liberal, he will frequently bear all the expenses of the marriage of his daughter.  To give a daughter in marriage and to sell her, are about the same thing.  Almost every parent makes his daughter an article of traffic, refusing to give her up until the sum of money for which he consented to let her go, is paid.  Men of distinction generally lay out this money for jewels, which they present to their daughters on their wedding-day.  You will infer from what I have just said, that the parties to be married have nothing to do in the choice of each other.

There are properly but four months in the year in which marriages can take place, namely March, April, May, and June.  This probably arises from the circumstance that these are the hottest seasons of the year—­the seasons when the people have more leisure to attend to them.  From the harvest, also, which has just been gathered in, they are provided with means to perform the various ceremonies.

The marriage ceremony lasts five days.  The bride and bridegroom are first placed under a puntel, a kind of bower, covered with leaves, in front of the house.  This is superbly adorned.  The married women then come forward, and perform the ceremony called arati, which is as follows.  Upon a plate of copper, they place a lamp made of a paste from rice flour.  It is supplied with oil, and lighted.  They then take hold of the plate with both hands, and raise it as high as the heads of the couple to be married, and describe a number of circles with the plate and lamp.  This is to prevent the evil of any jealous looks, which certain persons might make.  The Hindoos believe that great evils arise from wicked looks.  They consider that even the gods themselves are not out of the reach of malicious eyes; and therefore after they have been carried through the streets, the ceremony of arati is always performed, to efface the evil which they may have suffered from these looks.

It ought to have been mentioned, that before any thing is done, they place an image of Pullian under the puntel.  This god is much honored because he is much feared.  And although the great ugliness of his appearance has hitherto kept him without a wife, they never fail to pay him the greatest attention, lest he should in some way or other injure them.

After arati and many other ceremonies are performed, the kankanan, which is merely a bit of saffron, is tied to the right wrist of the young man, and to the left wrist of the girl.  This is done with great solemnity.  Another remarkable ceremony succeeds this.  The young man being seated with his face towards the east, his future father-in-law supposes that he beholds in him the great Vrishnoo.  With this impression, he offers him a sacrifice, and then, making him put both of his feet in a new dish filled with cow-dung, he first washes them with water, then with milk, and again with water, accompanying the whole with suitable muntrums or prayers.