Tradition emulsifies cultural norms and have hence been followed generation after generation. But that doesn’t mean that some traditions are as bizarre as they come. The tribal villages of Surkheda, Ambal and Sanada follow one such bizarre custom where marriages take place without the physical presence of the groom.
Instead of the groom, his unmarried sister or any unmarried female relative is bestowed to take his place and carry out the rituals.
The reason for such an unusual tradition they say is because the deities that the villagers worship are bachelor males. And in order to show respect to them they keep their grooms at home during their own marriage. They believe that this saves the groom from harm and protects him from the wrath of their holy deities.
As tradition entails, the groom is dressed in a traditional “sherwani” with a “safa” on his head and carries a sword. but instead of getting on his horse and leading the “baarat” he stays at home with his mother while his sister takes the wedding procession to the bride’s house and partakes in the “mangal phere” with the bride before bringing her home to her brother.
Ramsingbhai Rathwa, the head of Surkheda village stated that whenever people disregard this tradition and fail to follow it, unfortunate events have shattered their familial lives, either in the form of broken marriages or other such problems.
This tradition not only illuminates their tribal culture but also their unique folklore and their willingness to follow it throughout generations.
