o hang about the clothes she wore as his wife, and
when they are thrown away or buried the exorcist mutters spells over
them in order to lay the spirit. No music is allowed at the marriage
of a widow except the crooked trumpet called _singara_. A bachelor
who marries a widow must first go through a mock ceremony with a
cotton-plant, a sword or a ring. Divorce must be effected before the
caste _panchayat_ or committee, and if a divorced woman marries again,
her first husband performs funeral and mourning ceremonies as if
she were dead. In Gujarat the practice is much more lax and "divorce
can be obtained almost to an indefinite extent. Before they finally
settle down to wedded life most couples have more than once changed
their partners." [120] But here also, before the change takes place,
there must be a formal divorce recognised by the caste.

6. Funeral rites

The caste either burn or bury the dead and observe mourning for three
days, [121] having their houses whitewashed and their faces shaved. On
the tenth day they give a feast to the caste-fellows. On the Akshaya
Tritia [122] and the 30th day of Kunwar (September) they offer rice
and cakes to the crows in the names of their ancestors. In Berar
Mr. Kitts writes: [123] "If a Mahar's child has died, he will on the
third day place bread on the grave; if an infant, milk; if an adult,
on the tenth day, with five pice in one hand and five betel-leaves in
the other, he goes into the river, dips himself five times and throws
these things away; he then places five lighted lamps on the tomb,
and after these simple ceremonies gets himself shaved as though he
were an orthodox Hindu."

7. Childbirth

In Mandla the mother is secluded at childbirth in a separate house if
one is available, and if not they fence in a part of the veranda for
her use with bamboo screens. After the birth the mother must remain
impure until the barber comes and colours her toe-nails and draws a
line round her feet with red _mahur_ powder. This is indispensable,
and if the barber is not immediately available she must wait until his
services can be obtained. When the navel-string drops it is buried
in the place on which the mother sat while giving birth, and when
this has been done the purification may be effected. The Dhobi is
then called to wash the clothes of the household, and their earthen
pots are thrown away. The head of the newborn child is shaved clean,
as the birth-hair is cons