Three days into my summer internship with #TataSteel in their Biodiversity division I got the work of creating an identification manual of the biodiversity found in Noamundi area. While doing a research on one of the listed trees I came across this very interesting custom which depicts a strong relationship between nature and women.
In the Newar community of Nepal there is a ceremony called Ihi or Bel Marriage. In this custom the pre-adolescent girls are married to the bael fruit. The speciality about Bael fruit is that it is enclosed in a really hard stony shell which prevents it from rotting for an exceptionally long time! This peculiarity about the fruit has made the locals consider it an incarnation of the divine (Lord Vishnu to be specific). Once married to the divine even if the girl marries a man later on and he dies, she is not considered a widow since she is married to the divine fruit.
This custom protects the women from harsh penalties the society imposes on a widow and also protects the flora as people revering this divine Bael tree never cut it down!
That's a win-win for all!
P.S. Bael is the sacred tree whose tri-pinnate leaves are usually offered to Lord Shiva during Shivratri celebrations.
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