You must have often seen that many types of unique marriages take place in India. In many places the traditions are so strange that it becomes difficult to believe. A similar tradition is followed in the Gandhel gotra.
Here, before entering the house after marriage, the bride and groom are made to walk on burning embers. Many types of arguments are given behind this. Among all the arguments, there is one which you will find very strange. This is the logic – if the bride has caused any harm to her parents’ house then she will be burnt in embers.
The marriage of Jaiprakash Rathiya of Bilaspur village took place with Pushpa Rathiya of Badadarha village. On April 27, when the bride bid farewell and reached her in-laws’ house, the preparations to welcome her were completely different from any ordinary wedding. Mehtar Rathiya, the groom’s father, told that till the time the daughter-in-law comes home, no member of the family takes even a drop of water, leave alone a grain of food. This strict waterless fast of the entire family is broken only after the entry of the daughter-in-law.
Baiga’s dance and the bed of fire
As per tradition, the pavilion of the house was covered with clothes from all sides. After this the Baiga (priest) of the village performed the puja. According to folk beliefs, when the deity rides on the Baiga, then burning red embers are brought from the stove and spread in the middle of the pavilion. First the Baiga themselves dance on those embers and then the bride and groom, holding each other’s hands, take seven rounds over the same embers.
‘If something goes wrong the daughter-in-law will get jealous’
Villagers and elders believe that this ritual is a kind of ordeal. There is a belief in the society that if the daughter-in-law comes from her maternal home after doing some harm or is impure, then the embers can harm her. But if it is pure, it will not even be hurt. The family believes that by walking on hot coals the couple gains the strength to face even the biggest difficulties of life together.
Sacrificial ritual and mandatory temple worship
There is also a tradition of sacrificing two goats during this ritual. Also, it is considered mandatory to worship in the ancient Shiva temple of the village at the time of departure and arrival of the procession. Jayaprakash and Pushpa also followed the same tradition and took the blessings of Mahadev and then started their married life by walking on the embers. The surprising thing was that the bride and groom did not suffer any physical injury during this entire process. At present, the discussion about this litmus test marriage is in full swing on social media.