A woman in Himachal Pradesh’s Shillai village in Sirmaur district has revived a rare but traditional custom by marrying two brothers. The marriage took place under the age-old tradition of the Hati tribe called ‘jodidara’, in which a woman becomes the wife of two or more brothers. The tradition is believed to be inspired by the Draupadi pratha from the Mahabharata.
Three-day wedding ceremony
Sunita Chauhan, a resident of Kunhat village, married Pradeep Negi and Kapil Negi in a three-day ceremony that began on July 12. Pradeep is employed in a government department while Kapil is employed abroad. The wedding included local folk songs, dances and traditional rituals, and was attended by hundreds of villagers.
‘We took this decision together’
“I was aware of the tradition and took this decision without any pressure,” said Sunita. “We performed this tradition publicly as we are proud of it,” said Pradeep. Kapil added, “We want to give our wife support, stability and love as a joint family. We always believe in transparency.”
Social and economic side of the tradition
The ‘jodidara’ custom aims to prevent division of family land and maintain unity of the joint family. The dependence on agriculture is high in the hilly areas of Himachal, and division of land can affect livelihoods. In this system, all the brothers share the responsibility of upbringing, while legally the eldest brother is considered the father.
Is it legal?
Although polyandry is not recognised in Indian law, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has protected it as a tribal tradition under the ‘Jodidara law’. The Hati community got the status of Scheduled Tribe three years ago, in which this tradition was considered part of the cultural identity.