Santal believes that widow re-marriage is essential because men and women both are equal to each other in each and every field and most importantly, a woman is as much entitled to happiness as a man is. She also needs a partner who supports her through the ups and downs in life. Staying happy is the birth right of each and every citizen and women are no exception.
As per the Santal, the marriage is nothing but a fusion of two souls to one for all times to come in this world or in after world and once the soul gets fused with other, it become amalgamated and no fusion takes place with other in any condition. The soul of a ‘Ra.ndi’ (widow) is fused one and so no fusion takes place with it. Therefore the marriage of a Ra.ndi is not a marriage in true sense but a formal one which on santali term is known as sangha (support) .
Sangha marriage is a mariage of a widow and it is in the society from the very beginning. -Santali philosophy says, a lady becomes widow not due to her bad character but due to her misfortune only. So she has got a prestige in the family as well as in the society. A teen aged widow without having son or daughter enjoys the full share of her husband till her death in the family. If some body from the same family comes forward to marry her , he can enjoy the share in the family. Under this traditional lore, younger brother of deceased man, generally come forward to marry her in order to give her support in pulling on. Sangha marriage is quite different from other marriage. It ends in Baha saonha, not in Sindurdan. According to this marriage, bridegroom does not smear the sindur on bride's forehead. He first puts the sindur in the Gulachi flower and then put it in her hair above the left ear. The marriage of a divorced girl also ends in Baha Saonha only. This Baha Saonha marriage is an arrangement for a widow or a divorcee to place them in the society as a human being.
As per the Santal, the marriage is nothing but a fusion of two souls to one for all times to come in this world or in after world and once the soul gets fused with other, it become amalgamated and no fusion takes place with other in any condition. The soul of a ‘Ra.ndi’ (widow) is fused one and so no fusion takes place with it. Therefore the marriage of a Ra.ndi is not a marriage in true sense but a formal one which on santali term is known as sangha (support) .
Sangha marriage is a mariage of a widow and it is in the society from the very beginning. -Santali philosophy says, a lady becomes widow not due to her bad character but due to her misfortune only. So she has got a prestige in the family as well as in the society. A teen aged widow without having son or daughter enjoys the full share of her husband till her death in the family. If some body from the same family comes forward to marry her , he can enjoy the share in the family. Under this traditional lore, younger brother of deceased man, generally come forward to marry her in order to give her support in pulling on. Sangha marriage is quite different from other marriage. It ends in Baha saonha, not in Sindurdan. According to this marriage, bridegroom does not smear the sindur on bride's forehead. He first puts the sindur in the Gulachi flower and then put it in her hair above the left ear. The marriage of a divorced girl also ends in Baha Saonha only. This Baha Saonha marriage is an arrangement for a widow or a divorcee to place them in the society as a human being.