THE KARO >>THE KARO MULDAS
Karo Muldas are "Y" shaped poles fixed on to the ground up on which wooden bars are placed horizontally. The literal meaning for "Mulda" is enterance (gate ) to the main house. Quite different from its literal connotation , the Mulda is a distinctive characteristics of the physical and social structure of karo settlement.
In the karo settlements there are family and clan muldas. Family muldas,whose "Y"shaped poles are two in number, have social and ritual meaning highly esteemed by the family.After a sucessful hunting expedition ,tails ,ears and hooves of a buffalo are suspended on the Mulda of the killer family to indicate social prestige.Family mulda is inheritable and transplantable from one settlement to the other when the need arises.During weddings, the bride must pass through the mulda of the bridegroom's family before the elders give their best wished and bless the new couple.
Clan muldas,which are the property of the ten clans of the Karo and which are fixed outside of the Karo settlement, consist of six "Y" shaped wooden posts up on which piles of wood are laid horizontally.During a bull jumping ritual,the initiate mustpass through the mulda of his own clan.
