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Customs
The people of Haryana are still conservative and they
continue to follow old practices as a matter of routine and custom. The Mundan
ceremony is still prevalent among people who have settled in Haryana.
The people being religious minded adhere to scriptural injunctions.
Birth Ceremony
The birth ceremony is accompanied by feasting, the scale
of celebration depending on the economic position of the house holder.
In the case of a son it is elaborate with much show of rejoicing. The
girls are really seldom welcome. Birth of a child is followed by its Nam-Karan-Sanskar
i.e. ceremony of giving a name to the child, male or female. The woman
who has been in confinement for several days is declared fit to come out
after ten or twelve days. When another ceremony called Hoom is performed
and mother and child are given a bath and new clothes.
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Marriage Ceremony
The ceremony of wearing the sacred thread by the boys
is important among the Brahmins. This is performed at about the age of
fifteen. Marriage is most important, when elaborate rituals are performed.
With difference in details from community to community. Child marriage
was common in Haryana. Now among the upper and educated classes, marriages
are held at a comparatively late age. Even in rural areas child marriages
are rare. Sati was practiced particularly among certain communities. Widow
remarriage is less restricted even among the higher classes.
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Death Rituals
The dead are cremated as a rule. Kanpara-Jogis bury their
dead like Muslims and Christians. Post cremation rites include a twelve
day mourning in the case of females and a thirteen day mourning in the
case of males. The last ceremony is called Tehramee, feasts after death
are now less common.
Hindus as a rule believe in transmigration. The idea was that
if one fed people in the memory of the dead, they would also benefit from
it. They believe that the elderly dead of the family have been born elsewhere.
All the Hindus believe that for the salvation of the soul of the dead
certain ceremonies are essential. One of these is to carry the bones of
the dead to Hardwar and throw them in the Ganges which purifies every
thing. The influence of the Brahmins is still predominant and without
them most of the ceremonies would be incomplete.
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Position Of Women
The women still observe purdah, at least among certain communities.
In former days, purdah was observed quite rigidly. It is now considerably
relaxed mainly due to economic causes. It is still observed in certain
forms. Village girls cover their heads while daughter-in-law cover their
face in the presence of elderly persons in the house or outside. The position
is different in urban areas. with the spread of education, social barriers
against the employment of women in offices are collapsing rapidly. Women
are increasingly replacing men in many fields or participating with them
in parallel fields of social work, arts and crafts. Working women still
occupy a subordinate position in social life but they do not observe purdah.
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