Rasam Pagri

Rasam Pagri (रसम पगड़ी) is a social ceremony, prevalent in Punjab and Rajasthanis (Marwaris) in the Indian subcontinent. The ceremony is conducted upon the death of the eldest male member in a family, in which the eldest surviving male member of the family ties a turban (pagri) on his head in the presence of the extended family or clan.[1] According to the Hindu traditions, the ceremony is usually performed by the father of the wife of the eldest, surviving male member.[2] The ceremony usually takes place on the fourth day from the day of funeral rites (Antim Sanskar, also known as Uthala), or on the thirteenth day, Tehravin. The turban signifies honor of the family, and the ceremony signifies the transition of responsibility for the protection and welfare of the family from the deceased to the surviving oldest male member.[1] (While this is predominantly the case, in the Hindu religious scriptures, it is actually the male member who "gives fire" to the body of the deceased who is entitled to wear the turban. As per tradition, it is the oldest surviving son who performs this final rite.)

Saif Ali Khan at his Rasam Pagri, when he was crowned as the Nawab of Pataudi and Nawab of Bhopal in pretence, 40 days after the death of his father, the previous Nawab.

Etymology

Rasam means ceremony in different languages of India, including Hindi, the most widely spoken. It is derived from the Arabic word rasm meaning procedure or method.[3] Rasam Pagri literally means the ceremony of the turban.

Reform movements

Some communities have decided to end the custom of Rasam Pagri because it is associated with mrityu-bhoj (feast marking the end of the mourning period).[4]

In some reform-minded families, the daughters have been given the Pagri.[5]

See also

References
  1. Jacob Copeman (2009), Veins of devotion: blood donation and religious experience in north India, Rutgers University Press, 2009, p. 60, ISBN 978-0-8135-4449-6, ... rasam pagri is the passing of the deceased male's turban to ... 'When people have the funeral gathering, a turban (pagri) is put on the elder son to show he is now responsible for the family ...
  2. Krishna Rao, K. S. (2008). Global Encyclopaedia of the Brahmana Ethnography. ISBN 9788182202085.
  3. Alfred Felix Landon Beeston, Arabic literature to the end of the Umayyad period, Cambridge University Press, 1983, ISBN 978-0-521-24015-4, ... Arabic rasm, meaning method, procedure ...
  4. बिश्नोई समाज में मृत्युभोज व रस्म पगड़ी अब होगा बंद, 28 September 2017
  5. मेरठ में पिता की तेरहवीं पर बेटी को बंधी पगड़ी, Jagran, 8 November 2016
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