In my last blog about my life with Mising Tribe, I told you about my experience living with Mising Tribe and about their culture and traditions. I told you that I am going to tell you about their unique marriage tradition. So, today I am going to tell you about their unique marriage tradition. I got to know about this in detail from Binod Sir. He also belongs to Mising Tribe of Majuli village, where I stayed.
In Brief: Almost everyone in Mising Tribe do love marriage. They ran away with their partner before marrying them. Arrange marriages are very rare in Mising Tribe.
Now, let’s know about this unique tribal marriage tradition in details:
Tradition of Running Away
Almost everyone in Mising community does love marriage. What happens is when two people wanted to get married they plan and ran away. Both of them decides a date when they will marry and a night before that woman gets ready and ran away with the man. The man will not take her to his home; he will take her to his friends or cousin’s house. Before running away with the man, the woman left something, a sign or a letter telling her parents that where she ran away for marrying. Next day her parents with other relatives and villagers goes to the man’s house for their marriage. Then both of them marries as per their tradition.
No Pandits/Priests in Marriage
Traditionally Mising Tribe do not invite any Pandits or religious guru for marriage. They do all the rituals and traditions following the instruction of older ones.
What if Parents Don't Agree?
Just like other parts of the world, there are times when parents refuse to accept the man as a groom. In that case they bring there daughter back to their house. And if woman still wants to marry him then she will again run away with him, most of the time parents agrees second time. Some parents who still does not agrees shows the same behaviour as other parts of the world like they do not attend their daughter or sons’ marriage, do not talk to their daughter for some time. As I talked to Binod Sir, he told most of the time it takes more time for mother of the bride to accept the marriage, sometime she doesn’t talk to her daughter for years. But after some time everyone agrees.
Food and Beer
There are variety of foods in Mising Tribe marriages. But few things are most important, one is pork that they eat in almost every important function and other is rice beer, no matter your age either child or old person, everyone drinks rice beer as much as they want.
You can watch my full talk with Binod sir where he told me about their Unique marriage tradition here.
Now, I am continuing my journey from the Mising Tribe to another tribe closely related to them. Can you guess the tribe? (Hint: I’m heading to Arunachal Pradesh!)
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Until next time, keep traveling and take care of nature.