Sheaves of
rice, to represent the wedding guests, are placed beside the
Rice-bride and the Rice-bridegroom. Not till this has been done may
the whole harvest be housed in the barn. And for the first forty
days after the rice has been housed, no one may enter the barn, for
fear of disturbing the newly-wedded pair.
In the islands of Bali and Lombok, when the time of harvest has
come, the owner of the field himself makes a beginning by cutting
"the principal rice" with his own hands and binding it into two
sheaves, each composed of one hundred and eight stalks with their
leaves attached to them. One of the sheaves represents a man and the
other a woman, and they are called "husband and wife." The male
sheaf is wound about with thread so that none of the leaves are
visible, whereas the female sheaf has its leaves bent over and tied
so as to resemble the roll of a woman's hair. Sometimes, for further
distinction, a necklace of rice-straw is tied round the female
sheaf. When the rice is brought home from the field, the two sheaves
representing the husband and wife are carried by a woman on her
head, and are the last of all to be deposited in the barn.
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