Chhota Udepur (Gujarat), May 26 -- : Tribals in villages here follow an unusual tradition- marriages take place without the groom's physical presence.
A groom cannot attend his own wedding and his unmarried sister or any unmarried woman from his family should represent him in the ceremonies as the groom.
The groom stays at his own home with his mother, while his sister leads the 'barat' (wedding procession) to the bride's door, marries her and brings her back.
"All the rituals that a groom traditionally does is conducted by his sister. She takes the 'mangal phere' with the bride instead of her brother," says Kanjibhai Rathwa, local resident, Surkheda village.
"This practice is followed in three villages here; it is believed that if we d...