File:Natives of northern India (1907) (14578413300).jpg

Identifier: nativesofnorther00croo (find matches)
Title: Natives of northern India
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Crooke, William, 1848-1923
Subjects: Ethnology -- India India -- Social conditions India -- Description and travel
Publisher: London : A. Constable and Company, ltd.
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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row opposite it. The inplayer strikes the Gulli out of the hole with his Danda,and if any of his opponents catch it, he is out Theplayer who misses a catch is dead, but he can come tolife again by making a catch. Little girls have many games of their own, but theymarry so early, and any frivolity after marriage is sostrongly discouraged, that their time for amusement issoon over. After they have passed babyhood most oftheir games are dramatic or imitative, and all are closelyconnected with religion or with some ceremony. Theyare often accompanied by songs or some form of recita-tive, the words of which are unintelligible to the actorsthemselves. These resemble the Mantra or mysticalformulas which are the usual accompaniment of theprayers which the Hindu recites in his morning andevening devotions, when he visits the temples of thegods, or performs the rites of family life. Hence ithas been conjectured with some amount of probabilitythat many of these village games are worn-down No. 23
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^h CHILD LIFE 193 survivals of magical rites, such as those intended topromote the fertility of the crops. This would accountfor the many games which imitate marriage rites.High-caste girls with their dolls represent the union ofSiva and Gauri; those of low caste that of one of theminor village deities. Many of their games, again, arelittle dramas based on some legend or folk-tale. Thusthey imitate their elders in swinging the infant Krishnain the rainy season. Sometimes they perform what ispossibly the survival of a rain charm. They go to atank, worship the god of rain, and then divide into twoparties, one girl representing the bride and another thebridegroom. The pair walk round a sacred tree in theway prescribed by the marriage ritual, while the friendsof the bride jeer at the bridegroom and the others atthe bride—abuse being here, as in many other cases, amode of avoiding ill-luck. We may compare theserites with the periodical celebrations by the Dravidiantribes of the marriage

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