A recent wedding in Himachal Pradesh’s Shillai village has gone viral after Sunita Chauhan married two brothers—Pradeep and Kapil Negi—under the traditional polyandrous custom of the Hatti tribe. The ceremony, marked by local folk songs, dances, and a three-day celebration attended by hundreds, has once again brought the spotlight on this unconventional marital practice.
While the tradition is fading, the wedding has reignited public interest in polyandry—a system where one woman marries multiple men, often brothers.
In the Hatti community, which has been recognised as a Scheduled Tribe, the practice of polyandry is locally known as "Jajda" or "Jodidara". It is also found in parts of the Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh and the Jaunsar-Bawar region of neighbouring Uttarakhand. According to tradition, the bride is brought to the groom’s home in a celebratory procession, and a customary ritual known as "Seenj" is performed at the residence.
One of the principal reasons behind the origin of polyandry was the preservation of ancestral landholdings. By marrying a single woman to multiple brothers, families avoided dividing their agricultural land—a crucial concern in the hilly tribal regions where arable land is scarce and fragmented.
Kundan Singh Shastri, general secretary of the Kendriya Hatti Samiti, says the tradition dates back thousands of years. "It was developed to prevent further division of agricultural land and to ensure a family’s economic stability in tough terrains," he said.
The Jajda tradition, Shastri explained, fosters brotherhood and unity within joint family systems. In some cases, even half-brothers—those born to different mothers—may marry the same woman to strengthen familial bonds.
Another factor he highlighted was security. In remote tribal areas, larger families are better equipped to manage widespread farmland and ensure safety. “If you have a bigger family, more men, you are more secure in a tribal society,” Shastri said.
Though still practised discreetly in some areas, polyandry is rapidly declining. Increased literacy among women, urban migration, and economic progress have led many in the community to abandon the tradition.
Still, for some families, especially in remote regions, the practice of Jajda continues to reflect a way of life shaped by geography, land, and tradition.