Jharkhand Tribals marry kids to culverts or trees to ward off evils

Tribals living in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum marry children off to a culvert (small bridge) or a tree hoping that it would protect the child and its future partner from the impending ominous happenings future holds for them.

Jamshedpur: An age old tradition of marrying children to culverts or tress has been in vogue among the Tribal community living in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district. According to the villagers, the tradition has been followed to ensure long life for the child involved and its partner in the future.

This tradition is mostly prevalent among people of the state who are residing close to Odisha and Bengal borders. The wedding ceremony will be scheduled on the second day on Makar Sankranti which the Tribal community also revers as an auspicious day for them to carry out the ritual.

How they choose the children? When a child's first two upper teeth appears on the top— then such children are chosen for these rituals. The first teeth to appear in children are usually the two bottom front teeth. They're usually followed 4 to 8 weeks later by the four front upper teeth.

Sari Singh Sadar, who belongs to the Tribal community, said the marriage will be performed with all traditional fervour and gaiety by the family to help secure the child's future, while she was attending one such wedding. "The tradition is followed to protect a child from the ominous happenings," she said.

We treat appearance of first two upper teeth as bad luck for a child. My grandson has got it. Such children after attaining adulthood, his/her regular marriage will take place. Our elders have observed that either the grown up or his/her partner die at a young age, she explained. Hence, children are married to a culvert or a tree before they attain the age of 5. This is done to ward off evils in his or her astrological chart, she added.