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SINDHIS 687
for the family's affairs. The wife or wives (Sindhis are polygynous) look after
the household affairs and in addition, through such economic activities as embroidery,
may contribute to the overall family income. The children, once they
are old enough, are expected to provide income for the family aside from their
school responsibilities.
Marriage takes place within one's zat or biradiri, ideally between first cousins
(man marries daughter of father's brother). If a suitable choice cannot be found
for a male within his own clan, then it is possible for him to marry outside,
even with a woman from a zat inferior in social rank to his own. But this would
not be the case for a woman; no self-respecting father would consent to his
daughter "marrying down" into a zat that is socially below his own.
Marriage is preceded by betrothal (mangno), which takes place at varying
lengths of time before the marriage, sometimes even in the infancy of the partners,
although this is not common in modern times. For the betrothal the bridegroom
and his family go to the bride's home, where, seated separately, the men with
the men and the women in the women's quarters, they take refreshments brought
by the bridegroom's family. They then hear a reading from the Quran, which
marks the betrothal's completion.
The day of the marriage is preceded by several days of music and merrymaking.
On the marriage day, the bridegroom and bride are dressed in finery. The bridegroom
travels by car, donkey cart or camel, with elaborate decorating, to the
bride's home for the ceremony. The ceremony is simple, with each partner being
asked three times if he will have the other. Then the marriage settlements are
agreed to and recorded by witnesses and the marriage ceremony (nikah) is
authenticated with the reading of the Quran by a local maulvi, or religious teacher.
In addition to marriage, the important events in Sindhi Muslim social life are
birth and death. Three ceremonies are associated with birth: naming, shaving
the head (akiko) and circumcision (khutno). Naming takes place as soon after
birth as possible, with the father or an elderly male relation whispering first
"Allah is great" into the child's ear in order that God's name be the first thing
the child hears. Immediately afterwards the child is named. The origins of the
shaving custom are obscure but appear to be symbolic of a sacrifice of atonement.
It takes place at some point in the first few weeks after birth, and a goat in the
case of a girl or two in the case of a boy are then sacrificed. The meat is cooked
and distributed among relations, and then the bones are buried along with the
child's hair at some selected place. Circumcision, with no particular age prescribed,
usually takes place after the child has grown to boyhood. On the day
of the ceremony the boy is garlanded and taken around the town and then to his
home, where the rite is performed by a barber in the presence of relatives and
friends. After the child recovers, a celebration is held at his home to which
family and friends are invited, each bringing with them a small present which
serves to defray expenses.
When a Sindhi is about to die, relatives gather around, and appropriate passages
from the Quran are read. The creed (kalima) is repeated, and prayers are offered