In this article I would like to talk about the impact of the act of modernization on the marriage custom and the role of parents in light of the matrimonial customs of the Thadou-Kuki Society. In this article, I would like to describe the impact of Christianity on the marriage norms and customs of this group of people. What are the downsides, where and how has the community responded to the Christian ideology of Holy Matrimony? and how did it preserve its traditions while following the religious transition after colonization? I would also like to highlight how both cultural and religious ideologies of marriage have a similar impact on the community and what are their positive aspects. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayMarriage in Thadou SocietyThe Thadou-Kuki society has many ancient traditions and customs, it is one of the ethnic groups in the northeast with varied rules and regulations. customs, whether for birth, death or marriage. Every activity is associated with various norms and customs, and marriage, being one of the most important events in an individual's life, is associated with various customs and norms that he is required to follow. There are four types of marriage recognized among the Thadou, namely: chongmu, sahapsat, jol-lha' and kijam tnang. The first two forms are considered proper marriage, while the other two amount to forms of elopement where there is no proper ceremony. Chongmu: In this form of marriage, the groom's parents send a message to the bride's parents to see if they agree to allow the union. If the bride's parents give their consent, they kill a pig for the groom's representatives (their parents), they have dinner together and we drink ju (rice beer for example). This is called sumtansha. After that a settlement is reached as to how much of the wedding fee to pay, instead they discuss how much should be brought on the wedding day. If the question of return of mān (marriage price) should arise for any reason such as divorce, then the sumtansha expenses are refundable. Meanwhile, the very date of bride taking is fixed alongside this holiday. The representatives of the groom's people then return and inform him and his parents of the rules. There may be some haggling over the amount of the wedding price, but the total amount to be paid is eventually settled before the bride is taken away. When everything is finalized, the groom sends strong young men with his representatives to pick up the bride on the appointed day, sending the amount of the wedding price agreed upon at that time, but leaving the greater part as balance to be settled. paid later. These representatives are celebrated at the expense of the bride's people and both sides fight and a lot of droppings and filth are thrown at the bride and groom's party. Drums and gongs are played and songs sung in the evening by everyone together during the festival. The next day, the groom's procession leaves triumphantly with the bride and the wedding is complete, except for the difficulty of paying the balance of the price in stages. Once the groom has taken his wife, the marriage is not consummated until she returns to her father's house at a pre-agreed later date, when a further installment of the maupi (bride price) is paid. This could happen a few days, a month, or even three months later. This throwing of mud, manure and rotten eggs at the groom's party takes place three times*: first upon his arrival at the bride's house; then, when the pig is killed or during the feast the next day, andfinally when the bride and groom's procession leaves, which must take place before dawn the next day. The fight also takes place on these three occasions, and the young people who fight must be perfect, none of them must be missing a limb or an organ or even a small joint of the finger. This condition also applies rigidly to the themepu who officiates at the marriage. Shapsat: In this form of marriage unlike Chongmu, wrestling and other festivities are not practiced and usually the bride is taken away the same day or early the next morning. c) Jol-lha: This type of marriage system does not provide any arrangement regarding the price of the marriage. This is a case of marriage due to women's pregnancy which is the result of an intrigue between a young man and a young girl. As a result, this man takes her as his wife, when her condition is revealed. No prior arrangements exist between the parties and there are no marriage ceremonies. However, the man is generally chosen. Kijam Mang: When a young man and a girl elope and live together without or against the consent of the parents of one or both parties. . No ceremony takes place and the man is chosen in due time. In the latter two forms of marriage, there is no sumtansha and therefore none can be claimed subsequently in the event of divorce. In both forms of marriage, a ceremony called inlut is usually performed by the husband after a certain time; it is simply a way of approaching the woman's parents and making peace with them. It is usually around this time that the price of the wedding is set. Inlut in its literal sense means “entering the house”, the fleeing couple being thus recognized as daughter and son-in-law. Bride's price The question of the amount of the wedding price among the Thadous is not definitive. Chiefs and wealthy people usually claim and pay the equivalent of 10 mithun, Rs. 200 in cash, 2 Dapi (large gong), 2 Dapu (set of trio gongs), 2 Khichang (ear beads); a couple of mithun, a khichang and a khichong and about 25 rupees in cash. In most cases, the man is commuted. For example, a pig can in some cases be considered a mithun. 4 mithun and a pot of ju for a khichang or khichong Thus, the bride's relative almost never receives the entire marriage price, but more or less in the form of fictitious substitutes. They love to name large sums as man does not. with no guarantee of obtaining it, but out of pride that their daughter had been married so far; when asked what exactly they received, it will be found that in reality a much smaller sum was accepted with full satisfaction by a system. fictitious values. Here we see that although it is a huge sum in the sense of the term, unlike the Hindu dowry system, it is not very rigid. Furthermore, very few of them, if ever, intend to pay their wife in full to the man themselves, as it is customary for their sons or closest male heirs to pay for it. part, if not most of it. Consequently, we often see that debts are recognized as being overdue for more than 5 generations for the man's balance still unpaid. As a result, today's generation is inevitably burdened by debts owed to great-great-grandmothers, aunts and other relatives whose descendants they are or represent. Thus, the Thadou tribe is full of disputes on this subject and the Christian movement has done good in this sense. The various bride prices that can be claimed by the bride's family are given below: Mankeng: Mankeng is a mithun that can be claimed by the bride's father's brother or his best friend, but in return, he must give the bride a dowryin the form of necklaces, etc. To qualify for this, however, he must, at different times, kill three pigs or their theoretical equivalents, for the husband or for his nearest male relative if the husband is dead, but this is considered a violation of etiquette for that the claim be made by someone other than the husband. If the donor dies before a pig is killed, no claim can be made against the groom. Sumkhao Sat Tan Man: If after being engaged by the act of sumtansha, the girl remarries, then a mithun must first be paid to the bride and groom for breach of promise. The same goes for the man if he fails to fulfill his contract, and a mithun is payable to the girl's parents. But in this case it is called jouman (to lie).Chalam: The first child to die in a family is known as chalam. No man is eligible for this, it involves the first group (father, mother and child), but as soon as one of these children grows up, marries and has a child, he is considered to have left the family for Chalam as his training progresses. a new unit or group. Jalkhunchonman: This payment of mithun replaces the second man to the woman's parents or nearest male relative with her second husband if he is the brother or in direct relation to her first husband. Indeed, it is customary for a brother to take the wife of his deceased brother, even if he is already married. We can detect a form of polygamy.Noitnichonman: When a woman's husband dies and she does not return to the parental home but continues to live in her husband's house or village. And if she marries another person, then a mithun is paid to the deceased husband's next of kin by her new husband, in addition to any man who may be agreed between him (new husband) and his parents. to the latter. In the second marriage, the full man is never mistaken for a divorced, widowed or runaway wife. There must be at least one mithun less according to custom. This price of second marriage is called nungkitman, lamlhang chotlha man or lamlhang Iho'lha' man and not as man or manpi. Dumdi'man: This is a payment of one mithun, if a married woman dies without having children, it is paid as completion of all dues to her father or next of kin male. No longman is owed either. Dumdi'man is only paid when none of his men or nungkitman have been paid. If part of the man or nungkitman has already been paid, the death of the woman simply cancels the balance. Dumdi'manna can only be claimed if she has given birth to a girl and has no boys, but nowadays there is a new school which advocates that if girls are born then the full man should be paid since the girl's man will be appreciated by the husband or next of kin. William Shaw says that in such cases one mithun of the marriage price of each daughter is paid to the mother's next of kin at the time of the marriage as compensation for the loss of the man which the mother's people have suffered. If a boy is born, the man must be paid in his own right, although a large part of this is usually made up of a smaller sum, unless the parties are hostile, when they go to the court in the hope of extracting a larger tooth.Jol-lei: This is an amount of one mithun that the courtier of a pregnant woman must pay to her father or nearest male relative, if he doesn't marry her. If he intends to take the child when it is weaned, then he will have to pay another mithun for the maintenance of the father or next of kin at the time of taking the child into care. This is called Chavahman, if he refuses to take the child when he is weaned, then he is treated as a member of his mother's family. However, at the time when thequestion of Jol-lei is settled, the lover must then say whether he intends to take the child or not and must comply. The child must strictly speaking be born in the lover's house, thus granting him formal recognition of filiation. Sukai: This is an amount of Rs. 4 paid by the groom to the chief or village to which the bride belongs when he takes her as his wife. The story of how this happened is intriguing. During the time of Chief Munthom, one of his villagers took a certain Kilnem as his wife and fled to the village of Khodai. Munthom went to Khodai village to recall them but was killed by the villagers of that village. Mangjel, brother of Munthom, was too cowardly to avenge his brother's death, but when Thomhil, son of Munthom, grew up, he attacked the village of Khodai and killed many by taking a war drum and a horn of mithun. He then said that he would take sukai from all those who married girls from his village henceforth under the name of longman of Muntlion and thus the custom was established. Jachatman: It is an amount of one mithun paid by the man who attracts or impregnates another man's wife. It is paid by the adulterer to the husband. In addition, he must return to the husband all the man or nungkitman still paid. The woman's father or male heir will then sue the adulterer for the remaining balance owed. Divorce: If a man throws his wife away without cause, then he loses everything he has paid for. man or nungkitman and must also pay a mithun as Daman (refusal). If the wife runs away from her husband without reason, the paid man or nungkitman must be returned to the husband. It is customary for a man to try to call his wife back if she moves away from him. If he does not do so, it is obviously a case of daman and confiscation of the man or nungkitman who was paid. If she refuses to return despite the request, then the man may be fired. The causes of divorce are often very trivial and most of the time it is the man who is to blame in one way or another. The Thadous often manage to divorce in a way that avoids the usual financial consequences. Sumken (carried money): This is the dowry given to the bride by her father's brother or best friend. The original name was Thilken (transported materials), meaning donation of property, which was modernized to donation of money. " Lutom (head covering): It is the gift of a black cloth (called pondum) to the bride's mother by the husband for giving birth to the daughter he has chosen. Laisui: It is the gift of a pugaree to the father of the bride by the husband for being the begetter of the girl he has selected These are some of the customary laws and norms practiced by the Thadou people regarding marriage customs. As a result, there is a variable amount of manpi for the bride depending on the clan and the order of her birth Christianization: and its impact on the Thadou community Everywhere the European, then American, powers extended their political tentacles. commercial, the Christian Mission accompanied them So, naturally, the North East of India accompanied them. And like everywhere else in India, proselytizing in this region also began through schools, hospitals and orphanages. We see how slowly traditional practices, whether religious or customary, have been replaced by so-called Christian traditions and norms. While there were only four schools and only 85 faithful in 1851, their numbers had increased by 1856, reaching 74 and 1922 respectively. The Garos, who initially converted in large numbers, numbered 875 in 1922 The number of converts continued to increase rapidly in all parts of North-East India. The number of members of the Nagaland Baptist Church alone isincreased from 28,623 in 1941 to 88,378. in 1965, an increase of more than 300 percent. According to the 1971 census, the Christian population of the Northeast stood at more than 1.7 million, or 9.12 percent. The states of Nagaland (66.86%), Meghalaya (46.94%), Manipur (26%) and Mizoram (86.14%) are the most Christianized in the North East. The schools, colleges and churches opened by the Christian Missions have greatly contributed to changing the needs as well as the perception of these needs among the local population. They brought new ideas, elements of a new culture and new ideologies. In many cases, the sudden vacuum created at the ideological level due to a change in the traditional culture of Jhum was filled by Christianity. As one of Majumdar's informants (1978:150) said, “We do not have rice to prepare rice beer, so we cannot perform Amua or Krita when someone is sick at home. Now that we have accepted Christianity, we no longer need to perform such rites, we go to the doctor and bring medicines which are much cheaper than providing Chu or ju. When some of our relatives visit us, we offer them a cup of tea, which costs little. We don't need now offer them Chu, of which even a small jar costs five or six rupees. Art and Culture of North East India. We thus see how Christianity spread widely in the northeast, which also affected the Thadou community and the vigorous Due to rituals and marriage customs, there was a sudden change in the dynamics of the norms of the marriage in the Thadou community. Where once the Thadou community was proud of its customs and traditions, the current scenario is that only 10 out of 100 residents of the Thadou community still rigidly follow this norm. On the other hand, if we evaluate Jewish customs and norms, there seem to be some connections with Thadou society and through this we see how although Christianity took its tool on this group of people, it This appears to be the case where the tradition of the Kuki community is adapted to Christian culture. The Thadou community is an example of a community that has integrated Christian values ​​into its tradition, while retaining its own traditions. Sacred marriage, as a highly popularized concept, especially in today's Thadou society, is seen as a means of bragging for families that replaces the dowry culture mentioned above. The concept of purity has pushed many to follow the first form of marriage mentioned above which is Chongmu. This has a very good impact on the community group as it helps prevent leakage and unwanted pregnancies, but although it has many positive factors, we find that it also has various disadvantages. With the concept of sacred marriage, in particular, the poorest groups in Thadou society appear to have been most affected, as many today use it as a platform to showcase their wealth and piety; but the negative impact seems to be the fact that in many Thadou societies today we can see that parents encourage their children to run away. As we saw earlier, the expense of leaking appears to be much less and all that is required of them is the inlut. Christianity motivates and yet permeates everyone, its meaning reflects something beyond their current conditions and allows them to rise above their circumstances. This allows the individual to carry out their activity in a more meaningful and useful way. This creates a form of general order of existence that we see a lot in the Thadou community..