Profile of Marriage in Dard Tribe: A Study

In Dard tribe, marriage is a permanent socio-legal union between a man and a woman and it also has been associated with religion and culture. There are several features that make Dard (Shin) wedding institution quite distinctive from the rest of the society. The Dard (Shin) tribe practices both endogamous as well as exogamous marriages. Negotiation for a marriage is initiated on behalf of the bridegroom parents through mediator locally called ‘Dakoo‟ a close relative or friend, who is supposed to be impartial and capable of bringing the two parties to an agreement. The parents of bridegroom seek date for marriage from the parents of the bride through the mediator (Dakoo) who also negotiates the amount of Maher (bride price) with the parents of bride and finally a religious leader would be consulted to fix the proper date and day for marriage in accordance with Islamic culture. Divorce is very rare, as it is considered unacceptable in their community. Based on a sample of 300 respondents selected from thrust areas of Dard tribe from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh region, the study describes the marriage profile of Dard tribe in J&K. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect information from Dard respondents. For the present study, adescriptive research design was used. The paper provides useful insights into the marriage profile of Dard tribe, and in identifying the social causes and trends of change in the institution of marriage among the Dards.