Unique Himalayan whispers from the past : Timeless marriage customs of Jaunsar Bawar

GUEST COLUMN

Kripa Nautiyal

Marriage celebrations in Jaunsar Bawar area of Dehradun district have a unique tradition, which perhaps were devised based on the social economy of the area. Interestingly, in traditional Jaunsari marriages, it is the bride who along with the marriage party comes to the groom’s place for the marriage and all the expenditure of the marriage is borne by the groom’s father. Different categories of marriage also have been conceptualised in the Jaunsari system to accommodate the varying economic capacities of the parents of the bridegroom. Literature available so far on Jaunsari culture covers some part of these categories and process but fails to give a descriptive ethnographic account of the uniqueness of marriage celebration in the area.

The history of Jaunsar Bawar dates back to the Mahabharata era (2000 BCE). It was part of the princely state of Sirmur (Punjab) (now in Himachal Pradesh). In recent history, however, it originally formed part of the territories of the Rajas of Sirmur or Nahan. In 1254 Sultan Muazum Nasir-Ud-Dunnya-Wa-Ud-Din ravaged the Sirmur hills.

In 1805 invading Nepalese army extended its control over the area and remained in power till they were defeated by the British in 1814-15. The Dehradun valley and adjacent hills, in the south western corner of Garhwal and the hill tract called Jaunsar Bawar west of Garhwal were annexed to Saharanpur district which was already under British rule. Later in 1829 the annexed section became part of Dehradun district and Jaunsar Bawar was incorporated in Chakrata Tehsil the same year. The area, in the past, was isolated and had its own unique system, culture and rites. With time, this culture is also witnessing changing social profiles which is leading to acculturation to more dominant culture of the plains of Dehradun district.

A village of Jaunsar Bawar is entirely self-sustaining. It grows its own food, makes its own implements and domestic utensils, weaves its own woolen cloth and looks to the outside world for little more than its requirements of salt, sugar, kerosene oil and cotton cloth. Marriage in Jaunsari language is called ‘Jojoda’. The events before marriage include finding a suitable match for the boy, which is invariably done through the local knowledge and close relatives. Before making the final push for selecting the girl, the issue is first discussed with the boy’s family, wherein everyone’s views are considered. After the discussions, the boy’s father, accompanied by one or two relatives, goes to the prospective bride’s house to meet her family and parents. In case both the parties agree, the boy’s father gives a ‘bandho’ (earnest money) also called “Rupiya Chodna”, which is an earnest money of one rupee, invariably ‘silver coin’ to the girl’s father. The groom’s father subsequently gives one small gold ornament to the prospective bride which is called ‘Suhag’. This process completes one stage of the marriage and betrothal is thus completed. After the first stage, the boy’s family calls the Kul Baman (Brahmin) who finds out some auspicious day for the marriage, which is also subsequently conveyed to the girl’s father and the day is mutually fixed. The dates for marriage are fixed based on the type of marriage and time and resource requirement for preparation of logistics for the type of marriage.

Jaunsar Bawar traditionally has different categories of marriages of which Bajdiya Jojoda is considered most important and calls for huge logistic arrangements as the entire Khat (there are 39 Khats and 385 villages in Jaunsar Bawar with many villages in each Khat), besides representatives from entire village of the bride called ‘Jojolty’ and close relatives from outside the Khat are involved. Thousands of people may attend this form of marriage. Making arrangements for such a large number of people in an inhospitable terrain and subzero temperature in most of the areas during winter months is a challenging task. Incidentally most of the marriages in Jaunsar Bawar somehow take place during the winter. The interesting part is that unlike in other parts of India, all the arrangements for the marriage are to be made by the groom’s father. There is huge interdependence in this area which is best demonstrated during marriage functions.

With the various categories of marriage in this region, it would also be pertinent to mention how the earlier system of marriage is slowly witnessing the transformation due to acculturation. It is amply clear that ‘Bajdia’ and ‘Bewa’ marriages are not practiced anymore with ‘Boee dudee’ and ‘Agla’ / ‘Bariya’ (once in a generation marriage) still in vogue. However, since it is a once in a generation marriage this type of marriage is less frequent. The important aspect which has been observed is, that some of the marriages from Jaunsar area are slowly and surely being conducted in the plains of Dehradun as per the normal Hindu marriage traditions which was not witnessed earlier.

In Jaunsari villages too, some of the marriage rituals are still being followed, however, gradually more elaborate marriage functions which include seven rounds of sacred fire, services of Brahmin priest capable of reciting Sanskrit mantras and introduction of mehndi and haldi ceremonies as witnessed in the plains of Dehradun district are also being observed. Infact, as per a respondent during my field visit, it was revealed that most of the educated individuals from the area are following all the customs of the marriages prevalent in the plains, and Jaunsari tradition of marriage is being followed mostly by the people still working in the villages. In some cases, even those in the hilly tribal villages have to arrange marriages of their daughters in the plains of Dehradun according to traditional Hindu rituals.

This transformation has not only shifted the burden of marriage expenditure from the groom’s family to bride’s family, but has also resulted in many families taking loans to defray the expenditure of the marriage after which some get embroiled in a serious debt trap. Whereas the earlier traditional system of Jaunsari marriage had inbuilt social structure to meet these expenditures based on the capacity of each family, the new trend has disturbed the natural balance and the region is paying a heavy price for it. Acculturation has affected the thinking to a great extent. Even girls who are educated only up to class V to X are looking for life partners working in the plains, irrespective of his job profile, rather than marrying the boy who is working in the agricultural field in the village.

Villages with higher literacy have relatively more marriages held in plains of Dehradun as per normal Hindu marriage tradition which also gives an indication that more literacy in the area in foreseeable future is likely to lead to increase in this trend. During my visit to a village in Jaunsar Bawar recently, I came across a curious case of a boy, who was working in some private firm with a salary of about Rs 10,000 in the plains of Dehradun district, when his marriage was fixed to a girl from the area. However, since his family was doing reasonably well agriculturally, he decided to leave this job and came home to help his parents in their agricultural work. This boy being eldest, and family being well to do, the father of the boy had planned ‘Bariya ka Jojoda’ (marriage of the generation) for him with all traditional flavour.

However, once the girl, with whom his marriage was fixed came to know of it, she bluntly refused to marry him. The reason perhaps was hard life in the villages and not having the chance to lead the perceived better life of the plains. Unfortunately, the boy had to again take up the same low paying job to marry. This case might be considered the tip of the iceberg. If this trend continues, it might not be long before this kaleidoscopic culture disappears. This will also encourage outmigration from the area. Exodus of the people from the area would be detrimental to the survival of this culture. Appropriate measures need to be instituted to reverse this trend so that the area continues to flourish and the cultural value system remains protected.

(The author is retired additional director general of Indian Coast Guard and an alumnus of United States Naval War College; views expressed are personal)