Kanyadan - 'Mock-marriage'

'Mock-marriage'

The Newars of Nepal, for example, celebrate kanyādān as part of what is called mock-marriage (ihi) or bel marriage, often also referred to as first marriage. This first marriage occurs before a girl menstruates and is meant to initiate her into adulthood. Through kanyādān, the girl is symbolically married to the bel fruit, which is a symbol of the god Shiva, ensuring that the girl becomes and remains fertile and that she will never be a widow, even if her husband dies. Besides the virgin-gift offered by the father of the girl, the ceremony also includes a fire sacrifice. Neither of these rites are part of the ceremony accompanying the girl’s second marriage to a human husband. Unlike traditional Newars and many South Indian communities, most North Indian communities combine the first and second marriage in one ritual.