"“While among the non-Christians the most important part of the marriage ceremony is the Sindradan, or smearing the bride’s forehead with vermillion, among the Christians the exchange of rings by bride and groom marks them as husband and wife. The applying of sindoor [= vermillion] is tabooed.” The clean break is also in evidence in the funeral rites: “In the funerary ceremonies, there is little trace of non-Christian customs and modes of thought.... The converts are, by and large, being alienated from their village communities. Moreover, converts also become estranged from their own kinsfolk. They are prohibited by their own religion from taking part in the ritual offerings and ceremonies [for the ancestral and other deities]. These ritual practices and ceremonies … act as a strong unifying force among the household and family members.... Cutting themselves off from many aspects of their old community life, the converts find themselves members of a new community, the Christian community."