The Hindu Element in Malay Marriage Ceremony.
By R. O. Winstedt.
It is well-known that a Malay raja when marrying a secondary wife of inferior rank often does not appear in person but is represented by his kĕris. As one might expect, this would appear to be a custom of Indian origin. Among the Tottiyans a caste of Telugu cultivators, who are probably descendants of the soldiers of the Nayakkan kings of Vijayanagar—"if a man belongs to a Zamindar's family, he is said to be of the Raja Kambala caste...... If a marriage is contracted with a woman of an inferior class, the bridegroom does not personally take part in the ceremony: a dagger (kattar) or rude sword is sent to represent him and the tali is tied in the presence thereof. In a Zamindar's suit, details of which are published in the Madras Law Reports, Vol. XVII, 1894 the judge found that the plaintiff's mother was married to the plaintiff's father in the dagger form; that a dagger is used by the Saptur zamindars who are called Kattari Kamaya, in the case of inequality in the easte or social position of the bride; that though the customary rites of the Kambala caste were also performed, yet the use of the dagger was an essential addition; and that though she was of a different and inferior caste to that of the plaintiff's father, yet that did not invalidate the marriage." (E. Thurston's Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Vol. VII, p. 190).
