Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 411

USING SAFFRON-WATER
371
which, six or seven years later, is attached a small piece
Should the
of cloth intended to cover the private parts.
adopted child be already wearing this string, they break it
and supply him with a fresh one but should he have
none, they at once begin to invest him with it with all
It is by this act that his incorpora-
the usual ceremonies.
;
tion into the gothram or family clan of his
new
father
is
sanctified.
The festivities, as usual, wind up with a repast and the
distribution of betel and presents to the guests.
The use of saffron water on this occasion accounts for
the fact that an adopted child generally receives the appel-
lation of the saffron-water child of such a one \ a term
which, it should be added, has nothing offensive about it.
The ceremony of adoption is almost identical among the
Sudras and the Brahmins, with this one difference, that
among the Sudras the adoptive father and his wife pour
the saffron water on to the feet of the adopted child with
one hand, and catch and drink it with the other.
An adoptive father may choose not only a child of tender
years, but even an adult, should that suit his taste and
'
'
purpose better.
Persons whose means do not permit them to perform the
ceremony of adoption with so much pomp and circum-
stance, have a simpler and more expeditious mode of per-
forming it. It is deemed sufficient if the mother of the
child and the adopted father invoke fire to witness their
mutual bargain. Dwellers on the banks of the Ganges need
simply call to witness, in such a case, the waters of that
sacred river.
In whatever fashion the ceremony of adoption be per-
formed, the adopted child no longer retains any right either
to the property or the heritage of his natural father, nor
can he be held answerable for the debts which the latter
may
leave at his death.
The adoption
of girls
is
rare,
although instances of
it
are
not wanting.
The Hindus take a pleasure in giving each other nicknames, some
which are very insulting indeed. They generally choose such names
with reference to some mental or bodily defect of the person concerned,
or on account of some dishonourable act imputed to him.
Dubois.
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