History of the Parsis : including their manners, customs, religion and present position : with coloured and other illustrations : in two volumes

178 HISTORY OF THE PARSIS. [CHAP. Iv.

leaf and nut wrapped in gold leaf, are distributed to each member of the assembly, upon whom also rosewater is sprinkled from a gold or silver jar. After this has been done the whole of the party proceed in due order to the house of the bride. The procession is headed by a European or native band of music according to the means of the parties; the bridegroom, accompanied at his side by the priest who is to perform the marriage ceremony, walks next, and then follow the male portion of the assembly, the female company bringing up the rear. The sight is very imposing. The band plays lively airs; the gentlemen all clad in snow-white “jamas” and “pichoris,” and the ladies and maidens in their best dresses, with merry little children on the arms of their well-clad nurses, form a spectacle which is absolutely beautiful of its und. On reaching the bride’s residence the men accompanying the husband take their seats among the male guests of the bride’s party, and the ladies go inside the house and assume their places with the others. When the whole party are thus accommodated, nosegays and ‘“ biddas,” betel-nut packets, are again distributed to the men, and the nuptial ceremony commences soon after sunset. It generally takes place in a hall or a spacious room on the ground-floor of the house where a “ oalicha” or carpet is spread out.

First of all the bride and the bridegroom are seated