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Typically, the groom’s sister or someone younger than the couple will obstruct the main door. he couple is allowed to go inside only when the bride gives
some money. his ritual is called dhoka chhekai blocking the entrance. heir
own relative serving as the priest fulills the inal wedding ceremonies on a Wednesday or hursday. On the inal day of the wedding, the groom puts the
sindoor, carried in a banana leaf, on the bride’s hair. In this way the wedding ceremonies conclude.
3.8.4 Death
here is a tradition of employing a dhami-jhankri shaman for treatment when
a person falls ill,. If there is no shaman, the ill person is taken to the hospital. When the person has diiculty breathing and is near the end of life
ghiro manero, they are fed yogurt, milk, or water. his feeding is called hiran. It is
believed that the death would be peaceful because the dying is remembering their relatives. he dying person is said to be having
hiran with the person who feeds them last before death. hen the dead body is taken outside of the
house and into the yard. If the dead had his knees lexed, then knife, dagger, or
khukuri is placed on the top and bottom of the body so that the dead body would not elongate. Two ingers are bound with a thread, and two toes are also
bound. On the chest, a green leaf-plate is placed with one mana of rice in it as
saamal daily food. A pitambar yellow religious cloth covers the body. At least two meters of
wat is used according to the economic condition. he bier should be carried only by the sons. If the deceased has no sons, then close relatives carry
the bier. here is a tradition of throwing parched paddy along the way to the cemetery. his is done by the
Bahun or the son-in-law. In the past, Badis were not allowed to play
shankha conch-shell or music in funerals. According to Pustak Badi, this was because the kings and nobles said that they would have
no place in heaven if they played music and the music instruments themselves would be polluted.
Similarly, he reports that once Badis were beaten in Jakarkot when they played music during a funeral. Nowadays they play
shankha and music. he dead body is carried to the ghat. In the ghat, half of the leg is submerged in water. In the
ritual of matti dine giving of soil, the eldest son ofers soil to the dead, and then
others do the same. hen a funeral pyre is made, and the sons carrying the dead on their shoulders should go around the pyre three times instead of the usual
seven times. All ties on the body are opened, and the eldest or the youngest son lights the pyre
dagbatti. Other sons are not considered appropriate to perform this task.
When it was discussed why other sons are not eligible for lighting the pyre of
their parents, many explanations were ofered. Among them, two folk stories are important. According to the irst story, once upon a time a country came under
attack by its enemies and there was a great battle. Most of the young people either led or died in the battle. Afterward there was a decrease in the number
of soldiers, and the king decreed that every family should send a young man to join the army. he king went to a house and asked the old man in the house to
send one of his three sons to join the army. he old man could not reject the king’s request. He thought that the eldest son was needed for his funeral rites
and the youngest was still very young, so he decided to send the second eldest son. he father then approached the son and sent him to join the army, saying:
“You may die before I do, and you may not see my dead body. So, from now on, for me it is as if you were dead, and you don’t have to perform my funeral
rights.” From that time onwards the second son is not required to perform the funeral rights of his parents.
According to the second story, once there was a famine for a long time. When the king consulted learned men about the solution for the absence of rainfall,
they suggested the king should sacriice a human. he king traveled around his kingdom in search of a father who would give him his son to be sacriiced. One
day he came to a house where an old man lived with his wife and their three sons. he king requested the old couple to give one of their sons for sacriice.
A Badi man doing saraddha.
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After the couple discussed between themselves, they decided to send the second eldest son. hus, this middle son is called one who has been sacriiced. hat is
why the second eldest son should not perform funeral rites of his parents.
In the past Badis were not allowed to cremate. he kings and nobles imposed such restrictions because cremation was done by Bahuns. So Badis were not
allowed to do what Bahuns did. But nowadays Badi cremate the dead.
here is a belief that the pyre should be purchased. he chief mourner ofers two to three hundred rupees for the purchase of the pyre. After the body has
been completely burned or even if some small portions are not burnt some pieces of the body are tied with the
wat and placed in the river, which means that it reaches
Kashi. Alternatively, the pieces are cooled in a religious site. hen the mourners bathe. he children of the dead have their heads shaved by the
relative serving as the priest Bahun. All ofspring of the dead should wear
white clothes. All mourners bathe or sprinkle water on their bodies. In other communities, it is decided at the ghat the duration of death pollution. But in
the case of Badis when the mourners return home they build a ire near the house, adding thorns and pressing both under a stone. he mourners next step
on the stone, and then they are sprinkled with barley, sesame, and gold water and decide the duration of pollution, usually three, ive, seven, nine, eleven, or
thirteen days. According to the elders, it is decided on the basis of the economic condition of the household. But usually it is seven days at the maximum.
On the day of puriication, the role of Bahun is paramount. he day before the puriication is the day of eating the katto
katto khane, when they go the river bank at three or four in the morning and the family members and the chief
mourners eat chicken, yogurt, and milk, and the chief mourner also takes salt. On the day of puriication, because relatives and other people do not eat at the
deceased’s house, they are given fruits. hey organize a feast by sacriicing a pig or a goat. he Bahun gives dana to the daughters and sisters by putting
tika of yogurt, and puriies the house by sprinkling gold water. he
Bahun is also discharged after they receive
dakshina, as much as the household can give. It is believed that the deceased would reincarnate in the animal whose
ingerprints are found near the house during the night. A winnowing tray with ashes in it is placed in the rafter of the roof.
hado kriya is the rite performed the day after death, after noon of the next day. After death, no one in the household is allowed inside other people’s house and
vice versa. Badiss would not observe death pollution for a long time because they need to beg at other’s house for their daily food. Even if the deceased is not
a close relative, they perform the thado kriya.
3.8.5 Festivals
