Video | The festival that gives freedom to women to make choices about their marriage: A tradition for over 250 years – Odisha

Photo © Community Correspondent Sarita Biswal on videovolunteers.org

In Orissa, men and women gather and choose spouses on the spot, removing the need for a dowry.

Every winter, during the month of January, hundreds of tribal people from all over Orissa gather in Biswanakan village with one goal: to find their life partner and get married. This festival has been going on for more than 250 years, creating opportunities for thousands of tribal men and women to get married, regardless of their age and social origin. The celebration, which lasts for one day, sees couples – who were strangers just a few minutes earlier – coming together and getting married by simply holding hands.  […]

Sarita has been going regularly to this festival, that is also attended by non-tribals who enjoy the joyful and relaxed atmosphere. She decided to make a video on this event that she found rather peculiar: “It is quite a unique event in India. I enjoy this festival because it gives freedom to women to make choices about their marriage. Also, it’s a way of getting rid of the appalling tradition of dowry giving,” says Sarita.

About Community Correspondent Sarita Biswal

Born in a village where there are no schools that teach past the seventh grade, Sarita Biswal had to struggle and persevere to get literate. She wants to be the Community Correspondent of her community so she can make videos on the lack of basic infrastructure which impedes all progress not just in roads and medical services but also in thought and knowledge. With her videos she hopes to campaign and bring about much needed change in her neighborhood.

Source: Unique Tribal Wedding Customs
Address : http://www.videovolunteers.org/unique-tribal-wedding-customs/
Date Visited: 15 December 2022

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“If women are empowered, there is more development in society” – Droupadi Murmu
Find this and other speeches by the 15th President of India >>

“Tribal communities are a standing example of how women play a major role in preservation of eco historic cultural heritage in India.” – Mari Marcel Thekaekara (writer and Co-Founder of ACCORD-Nilgiris) | Learn more >>

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See also

Adverse inclusion | Casteism | Rural poverty

Childhood

Crafts and visual arts

Demographic Status of Scheduled Tribe Population of India (Census figures 2011)

Denotified Tribes, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes – Report and Recommendations (Technical Advisory Group)

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“What are the Rights of Scheduled Tribes? – Government of India (National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, NCST)

“What is the Forest Rights Act about?” – Campaign for Survival and Dignity

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