Nepal: Social Life - Child Marriage Cross-cultural marriage Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur: Marriage no longer a two-night affair Map of Nepal

Nepali society is still full of religious restrictions and taboos. Marrying cross-culturally is one such issue at which the practitioners have to suffer a great deal, however the degree varies from one society to another. Even the people from new generation are adamant to accept this new trend though they are never tired of eulogizing it as an innovative step, hence not to mention the vehement protest of the old generation. Family bond itself is a delicate issue which can be put in jeopardy by even minor misunderstandings and what is of utmost importance is the firm belief and a sense of sacrifice between especially husband and wife not to let it run in troubled water. To smoothly run a family of cross-cultural union is certainly an upheaval task where rituals and mores of both sides are to be maintained and regarded.

From the sociological point of view, socialization of a person begins right from the birth but there needs exactly a different innings of socializations in the milieu of dissimilar social set-up. After the marriage, both the bride and the groom should cautiously and watchfully move ahead to make them compatible to the society. It is more than natural to surface personal egos and supremacy of one and another type on the part of both husband and wife but any delay to prevent such tendencies will result in unbecoming repercussion.

If an Aryan boy is betrothed to a Mongolian girl, he should follow the rituals of his bride's side as long as he is in his in-laws periphery which might be a hard nut to crack for him-be it the present of alcoholic liquors of bowing down to his senior in -laws. It is equally unusual and nerve-racking experience for the bride to undergo through the nitty-gritty of the Aryan customs. Dashain, Tihar, Teej, Janai Purnima and others are observed with much fanfare and wide celebration in Aryan culture whereas they come to secondary to Loshar and the like in Mongolian much prudence and perseverance to settle from each of the couple. And, only broad thinking and egalitarian through can reign the spread of untoward social anomalies.

Till winning the favor of their respective in-laws, they might travel through the ups and downs of scathing acrimony and should know the ins and outs of their opposite cultures. Not that the thoughtful steps taken and praiseworthy behavior shown by them can only solve the problem in the long run. Parents of both camps, as well, should exhibit flexible attitude to cope with this bizarre situation. They should discard the deep-rooted notion that marrying within the same culture is the only approved way and the caste they hail from is only the supreme one. In a society like ours ridden by age-old traditions, it takes time to realize that cultural discrimination is bygone issue but there is much room for being sanguine in this regard.

Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur: Marriage no longer a two-night affair

Traditionally, a marriage used to be a two-night affair in the Far West region of the Nepal, but since the emergency, one-day marriage has become dominant and popular. The bride and groom's families find one-day marriages cheaper and easier, according to locals. The one-day marriage is a result of security concerns and is getting popular. But it is also changing local culture and people's identities. The priests find it tough performing all the religious rituals in a day. "Its easy and cheap, but it's not possible to perform all the religious parts of the marriage in a single day," priest say. The DaMay communities, who earn a living playing musical instruments at special ceremonies like marriages, are very unhappy with one-day marriages. With the increasing number of one-day marriages, people are avoiding music, lights and decoration, say tent and light entrepreneurs. The one-day marriages has economically helped the middle and lower class people to conclude marriage affairs and save money and the hectic docorum it takes to prepare for these marriages.

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