Informant: My friend’s family is from southern India, and every few years they go back in the summer for family weddings. This past summer she went to three, and recounted some of the traditions for me.
Original Piece: “Something called Marichol, where… it’s gonna sound really weird, when I explain the reason behind it. So, it’s where, if the guy is getting married… or let’s say it was my female cousin that’s getting married, me and other cousins would block the groom from entering the ceremony unless he gave them money. It’s because you are… like shaming them, or getting mad at them for not marrying you. Like, since you’re not marrying me I need other compensation. Then guys block the entrance for the groom too, but because they can’t marry the bride. And they’re prepared for it, the groom comes with bills in his pocket.
When people are entering, there’s a table at the front. There’s these bida on the table, and people take a little bit of it to eat, and someone’s standing there and there’s this canister thing that you sprinkle on people before they go.”
Context of Piece: My friend was showing me pictures from this summer, and I asked her to tell me a bit more about their weddings customs.
Thoughts about the Piece: I like this one the best, as my friend spoke from personal experience, having blocked the entrance for the groom several times before.