Widow remarriage is not permitted among any sections of the caste, which is very strict in the observance of this rule. Except among the Saivites, a widow is not compelled to have her head shaved, or give up wearing jewelry, or the use of betel. In the south of the Madras Presidency, if a little girl becomes a widow, her māngalyam is not removed, and her head is not shaved till she reaches maturity. Vaishnava widows always retain their hair.
Concerning a form of marriage between the living and the dead, performed by members of this caste if a man and woman have been living together, and the man dies, Mr. Hutchinson writes as follows.*[1] "The sad intelligence of her man's death is communicated to her neighbours, a guru or priest is summoned, and the ceremony takes place. According to a writer who once witnessed such a proceeding, the dead body of the man was placed against the outer wall of the verandah of the house in a sitting posture, attired like a bridegroom, and the face and hands besmeared with turmeric. The woman was clothed like a bride, and adorned with the usual tinsel ornament over the face, which, as well as the arms, was daubed over with yellow. She sat opposite the dead body, and spoke to it in light unmeaning words, and then chewed bits of dry cocoanuts, and squirted them on the face of the dead man. This continued for hours, and not till near sunset was the ceremony brought to a close. Then the head of the corpse was bathed, and covered with a cloth of silk, the face rubbed over with some red powder, and betel leaves placed in the mouth. Now she might consider herself married, and the funeral procession started." This refers to
- ↑ * Marriage Customs in Many Lands, 1897.
