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3.3.4 Widow marriage
When a man is widowed, after performing the funeral rites of his wife for 15 days, he goes to his in-laws. he in-laws receive him with rituals. If he is of marriageable
age, he can marry from the day he is welcomed there. His irst choice will be his deceased wife’s sister
sali, and the in-laws are also generally willing to give the daughter away in marriage. If there is no
sali, then he may marry another woman. Similarly, a widow should observe mourning for either 35 days or 6 months
by wearing white clothes. After the end of the mourning period barkhi, she
may wear anything except sindoor. A widow may “stay in dharma,” that is, may
not remarry for life. A widow observes barkhi for six months and wears white
clothes for life. But she may remarry and then wear red or other clothes.
3.3.5 Divorce
he divorce process now is somewhat diferent from what it used to be in the past. In the past, if a husband and wife wanted to separate, they would call their
parents or closest relatives, along with 12 respectable persons in the village from the Badi community. he husband and wife would be asked if they deinitely
wanted the divorce. If they agreed, the
maji of the village would declare that they were no longer husband and wife by striking red berries 12 times with a
stick. hey warn the couple that whoever does not obey the decision the 12 Badis would go to hell
sat jani. hen, they would make the divorce paper. Until now, there is a tradition of conducting a divorce by gathering people of
the community. If there are complex problems, they go to court.
3.3.6 Taboos
here are many taboos and restrictions in Badi culture. For example, one should not stand at the door because the door is a place of worship, and witches chant
their mantra standing on the door. Similarly, if a black cat crosses the road when one sets out for a long journey, one should proceed only after backing
three steps or after someone else has walked on the road. Also, on such occasion others should not ask him where he is going and should stay away from him.
It is believed that the black cat is a witch in disguise, and it would caste bad spell over the journey so that the purpose would remain unfulilled. Also, a son
should not shave his mustache when his parents are alive. Only after a parent dies should he shave, and then he should shave all the hair from the body. One
should not sneeze in an auspicious moment. When winnowing rice or grains, one should not sit nearby, it may cause blindness.
3.3.7 Pollution
he tradition of not accepting water from Badis is still prevalent. he prohibitions surrounding menses is not as rigid as before, according to a Badi woman. In the
past when a woman had menses, she would be isolated in a dark room for three days and was not allowed to bathe. But this is not so nowadays. She is not
allowed to enter the kitchen and not allowed to touch anyone. She is provided a separate kitchen and a room. Touching of food or water by a menstruating
woman is considered inauspicious, and members of the family may become possessed. Similarly, if a person dies, his ofspring should not touch the water
of another house.
3.4 Public PlacesCommunity Spaces
Chautara tree shade platform is an important public place where people take rest and meet and talk on various issues. Although Badis participate considerably
in such discussions, they do not come to the fore for discussion, and their role is mostly that of audience. Many political programs and settlements of disputes
are decided at the
chautara. he chautara is in the shade of a ig tree that is paved with stones. he villagers themselves made the
chautara, and Badis had carried stones for it. hey did not feel the need to make a
chautara of their own. Tea shops are another public place where people of diferent groups meet, and
there are discussions on various issues. It is also a very sensitive space because it is where caste discrimination is practiced. Nowadays, there is indirect
discrimination by some high caste people such as Bahuns and Chhetris. For example, a high-caste person takes his tea but may sit away from the Badi. In the
past, Badis were not served tea in teashops. Later, they were served but needed to wash the tea glasses themselves. Now they do not need to wash the glass, but
high castes would not drink from the glass that had been washed after a Badi had drank from it.
Mangal Badi once owned a tea shop, but neither the high castes nor Badis came to his shop, so he closed it. When questioned about the reason why other Badis
did not come to his tea shop, he replied that it may be due to jealousy, that he would become rich. Other Badis, however, replied that the tea did not taste
good. He said that a tea shop would run proitably if Badis would come to have tea, but he lamented that Badis themselves would not come to a Badi’s shop for
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tea. his trend occurs even while Badis are discriminated by other shop owners. During a general discussion with some shopkeepers in Jamune Bazaar, it was
found that Badis were discriminated and exploited when purchasing food and drinks. For example, one shopkeeper said that while others paid Rs. 10, Badis
paid only Rs. 5 for a glass of tea, so they were served very thin, watery tea while others were served special tea. Similarly, Badis were served stale food, such as
chowmein and gram.
It seems if a Badi runs a tea shop or a pub, the other Badis would not go there. his shows that the relationship amongst Badis is not good. When there was
a ight between some Badi and Damai youth regarding a simple issue and the Damai youth beat the Badi youth, the Badis could not unite. When the issue
was discussed at home, Badis said it was better to refrain from provoking other castes as they themselves belonged to a low caste. his shows that Badis are
oppressed but desire to live harmoniously with others.
Before there were public taps in the area, all villagers drank water from the Bheri river. But if a high-caste person was fetching water from the river, no one was
allowed to fetch water from the upper section of the river. Badis were not even allowed to touch the river. Nowadays, there are taps in every
tole, and Badis in the Badi tole use a public tap located there. When Badis need to fetch water
from taps located in other settlements, they have to wait until all others have inished. A Badi woman reported that once a Badi child was beaten for drinking
from a public tap. he villagers irst denied that the child was beaten, but when pressed on the reason for beating, they said it was not because the child had
touched the pot but because the child had made the pot dirty.
In temples, some people are allowed to enter and worship with dignity while others are kept outside and not allowed even to touch the bell. he Durga
Bhagwati temple in the village is open only during the Dashain festival, and
Badis are not allowed inside until now. In the past, Badis were not allowed inside the temple compound. One group of Badi replied that they were not
allowed inside because they were Badis, while another group replied that no one except the priest is allowed inside to worship. he priest said that he takes
the oferings of all people to the temple but no one is allowed inside. However, Badis insist that people from other communities go inside and that only they
are excluded. Badis do not yet have equal access to public places. hey remain as audience
in discussions in the chautara, but there is no discrimination when Badis are at
the chautara. However, discrimination has not been completely eliminated at
tea shops. When asked why they had not protested against discrimination and oppression, they replied that the site of discrimination was a village bazaar and
they needed each other, so there was no point in ighting.
3.5 Language
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