The boys of the
neighbourhood often tease them by diving after the images, bringing
them up, and waving them about while the girls are crying over them.
The object of the fair is said to be to secure a good husband.
That in this Indian ceremony the deities Siva and P?rvat? are
conceived as spirits of vegetation seems to be proved by the placing
of their images on branches over a heap of grass and flowers. Here,
as often in European folk-custom, the divinities of vegetation are
represented in duplicate, by plants and by puppets. The marriage of
these Indian deities in spring corresponds to the European
ceremonies in which the marriage of the vernal spirits of vegetation
is represented by the King and Queen of May, the May Bride,
Bridegroom of the May, and so forth. The throwing of the images into
the water, and the mourning for them, are the equivalents of the
European customs of throwing the dead spirit of vegetation under the
name of Death, Yarilo, Kostroma, and the rest, into the water and
lamenting over it. Again, in India, as often in Europe, the rite is
performed exclusively by females.
Pages:
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911