South Indian Wedding CeremonyThe Tamil Wedding conceptualises the Bride & the Bridegroom as the Lord & the Consort at the ceremony on this important day in their lives Man & Wife. This gives the wedding a religious element. Marriage is a life-long promise between a Man and a Woman, made in the presence of a sacred fire and as assembly of friends and relatives. The Bridal Couple are no longer two independent beings, but one integrated personality, united by firm resolve to supplement and complement each other in every aspect of life. Bridal ProcessionThe Bridal couple enter the hall to the accompaniment of the nadhaswaram music followed by their parents and attendants. The nadhaswaram is a time honoured tradition of music used for auspicious occasions. Valum VaruthalThe Bridal couple walk around the pandhal (stage) three times in honour of the Holy Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. It is to ask God to give the couple good thoughts, words and deeds. The couple then enter the pandhal with their right feet first. GarlandsThe fresh flower garlands are blessed by the priest and handed to the couple. The couple garland each other to signify mutual acceptance.SankalpaThe kanganam is a turmeric stick tied to a piece of string. This is tied onto the wrists of the couple as an invocation to Shri Vinayagar before the commencement of the rituals. Symbolically it represents total commitment to each other and the vows taken. Prayer to VinayagarA coconut/flower is offered in prayer to the patron God of arts and science, giver of wisdom and remover of obstacles. TheerthamA cleansing prayer, 3 drops of water taken in their left palm to ceremoniously cleanse various parts of the body, mind and soul.NelenguThree married ladies smear the couple with auspicious pastes/powders. This is a cleansing ritual before the couple commence with the ceremony of commitment. Each paste has a specific significance to the ceremony.YegyanThe Goddess of fire (Agni) is invoked symbolizing not only the illumination of the mind, knowledge and happiness, but also a clean and pure witness to seal and consolidate the vows of sincerity, faithfulness and sacred love. Kanya DhaanKanni refers to a young unmarried female, Dhaan means to give. The brides parents formally hand over their daughter to the grooms family. Henceforth she is part of the family of the groom. Both parents are brought together. Consent of the couple to enter into the marriage willingly is obtained. Maami KooraiThe maami koorai or varsa is a gift given by the grooms parents to the brides parents. This is to thank the parents for nurturing the bride and uniting the two families for the bridal couples continued happiness. Blessing of the ThaliThe thali or yellow string with a gold pendant/bottu is draped around a coconut and placed in a tray of rice. The priest recites a prayer while all guests are standing. He then presents this to both parents and the guests for their blessing. Tying of the ThaliThe thali is tied with three knots around the neck of the bride by the groom. The three knots represent creation, preservation and destruction. The thali is the most important external sign of marriage. The groom then places a kumgum dot on the forehead of the bride. Exchanging of GarlandsThe couple garland each other three times which is symbolic of them sharing all possessions both material and immaterial. They then change positions to symbolise the grooms acceptance of the brides equal status in their future life. Wedding RingsThe couple exchange rings signifying the fusion of two hearts and never ending love. MettiThe bride places her foot on the grinding stone (ammi kal) while the groom slips on the toe rings. This is a symbol of mutual fidelity within the institution of marriage.Concluding PrayerPrayer is performed followed by the Mangalam which is a song of auspiciousness. AaseervaathamThe bride kneels at the feet of the groom as a symbol of mutual respect and the groom holds the bride and picks her up as a display of his commitment and support to her. The couple kneel at the feet of their parents as a mark of respect and gratitude. Sabai AaseervaathamThe couple and their parents exit the stage to be blessed/congratulated by the guests.

Source: Umgeni Road Temple Page 2 of 2