Picture this: A beautiful bride in a stunning Kanjeevaram sari that almost rivals the rising sun behind her. The setting is a South Indian temple, and the smell of the prettiest flowers is wafting towards you in the chilly morning air. You also hear the constant murmur of happy voices, laughing and being merry.
Well, these are all the things that you get at a Tamil wedding. And do you know what else you get? An array of rituals that showcase traditional beliefs that the community holds the dearest!
The rituals start way before the actual wedding ceremony and even continue after that. So, today we will give you a glimpse of some of the pre-wedding rituals at a Tamil wedding.
Nakshatra Porutham
Matching the horoscopes is one of the first steps of a Tamil wedding. The Hindu tradition for ‘star matching’ is for the family to look out for a professional astrologer, who can find the appropriate marriage dates based on the bride and groom’s Kundli. The astrologer then begins to equal the Nakshatra, where the horoscopes of the bride and groom are matched t for a long and happy married life.
Panda Kaal Muhurtham
It is the first ceremony that marks the start of the marriage rituals and is as beautiful as the rest of the rituals that are about to follow. Panda Kaal Muhurtham takes place a day before the big wedding. In this ritual, the families from both sides come together to pray for the happy and peaceful life of the couple and an uninterrupted wedding ceremony.
Sumangali Prarthanai
It is a holy prayer meant for married women. ‘Sumangali’ is the term that indicates women who are blessed with a happy and harmonious married life. The priest conducts a holy prayer during this ceremony, and the bride offers prayers to the sumangalis, while seeking their blessings for a happy and blissful married life in the future.
During this ceremony, the married women or the sumangalis need to wear the traditional nine-yard sari, which is also known as Madisar and is traditionally important for any kind of pujas. Sumangalis need to attend this ritual in odd numbers like 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. After the sumangalis get worshipped, the bride’s family treats them with an authentic and delectable South India feast served on a banana leaf.
Pallikai Thellichal
In the case of Pallikai Thellichal, nine types of grains along with curd get mixed and filled in seven different earthen pots that are nicely decorated with sandalwood. The pots are later immersed in the water for feeding the fishes. As the ritual involves feeding the fishes, it is usually considered pious for the beginning of a new journey of the couple.
Vrutham
The groom seeks the blessings of his elders during this ritual as he goes from being a bachelor to a married man. The priest ties a sacred thread steeped in turmeric on the groom’s wrists to protect him from the evil eyes. The bride’s family organises a similar ceremony for her.
Naandi Shradham
In NaandiShradham, the groom and the bride’s family pay homage to the ancestors. Ten Brahmins or less get invited for an original South Indian feast organised by both sets of families. Both the families offer paan supari (beetle leaves and beetle nuts), sweets, flowers, coconuts, and veshti angavastram (traditional clothes), and the guests and family members present are asked to bless the new couple.
Nichayathartham or Engagement
The ceremonies of the engagement ceremony start with the performance of Ganesh puja by the family of the bride. In Nichayathartham, the family of the groom offers jewellery, a sari, gifts, and other things to the bride, and the family of the bride gifts a new set of clothes to the groom. The groom and the bride change their clothes and put on the new clothes given to them by the other’s family.
After this ritual, the sister of the groom puts Chandantilak and kumkum on the bride’s forehead, and the bride’s brother does the same with the groom. The brother of the bride offers a beautiful garland of flowers to the groom, and the bride gets the same from the groom’s sister. After all these rituals get completed, the groom and bride exchange rings in front of the family members, friends, and relatives.
Lagna Pathirikai
In Tamil, the term lagna Pathirikai means a wedding invitation. At the end of the engagement ceremony, the wedding date gets officially announced in front of the family members, priest, and guests.
Pre-Wedding Rituals on the Wedding Day
One of the first pre-wedding rituals of the wedding day is Mangal Snanam. During this ritual, married women put turmeric paste on the bride and groom and douse them in blessed water. After this, the bride has to perform the Gauri Puja right before going to the mandap.
Right this time, the groom starts another ritual known as Kashi Yatra. He mocks and decides to leave the wedding and give up on the married life to go to Kashi (Varanasi) to become an ascetic. The bride’s father has to stop him at the threshold and convince him to embrace the married life and wed his daughter. And finally, the wedding rituals start when the groom comes back, and the Jaimala ceremony begins.
The Recipe to a Healthy Married Life
That’s all you need to know about the pre-wedding rituals at a Tamil wedding! And if you want to know more about it and are looking for a suitable match for your children or a family member, you can visit Tamil matrimony. So, when are those wedding bells ringing?
