Our society has been known well for many an evils in the past several of which are still in practice in different places. One of them is marrying young girls to some tree or the other by their family members including their own parents. Dowry is a curse which did obtain even during the olden days, and the parents who failed to suitably marry their daughters to a proper male match for the reason that they were unable to arrange necessary dowry for the purpose were looked upon with disdain and hatred in their society circles. To overcome this stigma, they crudely resorted to the option of marrying their young daughters, in some cases even during their childhood, to some tree with preference for a banyan tree. The girl concerned was required to be taken to a tree and ritually a large thread was tied as a knot between it and the girl encircling both of them together putting some vermillion on her forehead extending it to central hair line on her head. This was her marriage. Then onward, she was recognized by the then social circles as a married woman. For the whole of her life her fate was sealed for ever to continue as wife of a tree. Her dreams on romance and love were all over. A love bird and a woman in her was thus, in a way, buried alive to suffer the pangs of seclusion sans a male human husband she might have thought of in her dreams.
Marriage with a tree!
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I’ve heard that woman have married an “equus africanus asinus”. Never a tree. ;-] Seriously, the idea of a woman being a “chattel” is abhorrent to me. Women are humans too. Not something to be traded, or dowered. It might be better for our society, if it were matriarchal?
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So nice a comment. My sincere thanks.
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A wrong practice ,Social evil it,must be eradicated Why such rules are always applied on girl/woman, How long she has scarify for such old illogical customs
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Particular this story, I have never heard but I am aware with such type of occurrence in the society which should be removed from the society.It is not a ritual ceermony but in fact it is a cruel joke.
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Very unnatural and pathetic
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Unbecoming of a good society and culture.
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It is sad if this ritual still exists for the reason of dowry.
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Sir It is a stigma on that society and recurrence of such incidents are extremely shameful which needs deterrent legal measures for eradication and reformative steps like women education and extension of purposeful employment should be taken.
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It happens in Rural and semi urban India
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