Rebari, tribe
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Customs
Marriage rituals
They wed and move in with their in-laws. They serve the family and do the household work. They are the Rebari boys, and they have been forced into this untraditional role on account of a demand-and-supply problem.
The Rebari brides do move to their in-laws' house, but seven years after marriage. Till then, it is the men who have to live with their wives' parents in the manner they demand, all thanks to the community's skewed sex ratio.
The Rebaris, pastoralists who wander Rajasthan with their herds, have a strong presence in Sirohi, Pali and Jalore districts.
A backward community , they are infamous for their preference for a male child.Since they move continuously in search of newer pastures, they say concern for the safety of girls is the reason why .
“We conducted a study in Reodar block of Sirohi...Here, the Rebaris have a sizeable population and the sex ratio recorded at birth is just 634,“ said Brijmohan Sharma, a member of the Society for NGO All Round Develop ment (SARD), Sirohi.
The situation is such that young Rebari men have to struggle finding brides.Girls' parents thus find themselves in the privileged position of being able to demand that the boys not only live with them but also do the household chores.
Surta Ram Dewasi, a youth leader of the community , explained: “The families solemnise `aata-saata' marriages, which means that a boy and girl of one family marry a girl and boy from another family , respectively . If a family does not have a girl for aata-saata, then the boy has to move in with his in-laws.
