Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.517

c7.517

Also some of the ceremonies of marriage described in the Gṛhyasūtras seem to have originated out of the marriage by capture. The high antiquity of marriage by capture becomes evident from its wide prevalence among other Indo-Germanic peoples,¹ and it is well-known that it is a universal custom and is particularly connected with exogamy, as is the case also in India (§ 18). At the present day only a few traces of this marriage by capture seem to be left in India,² principally among the rude hill tribes; the sham abduction which owes its origin to the marriage by capture is found more frequently as a marriage ritual, e.g., among the Rajput tribes, that is to say, among the descendants of the ancient Kṣatriyas.³