Wedding Rituals

Note: This is Conducted before the Nichayathartham

The Pallikai Thellichal is a pre wedding ritual that is conducted in Hindu Brahmin Iyer weddings and is a custom that is rooted in folklore. Here nine different types of grains which are called as the Navadhanyas are mixed with dollops of curd by 5 to 7 Sumangalis or married women and placed in seven pots decorated with sandalwood paste. These grains are wheat, rice, red lentils, green gram, Bengal gram, white beans, black sesame, horse gram, and black gram.

Sumangali Prarthanai or Pondugal Idal is a ritual for hosting married women carried out by Tamil Iyer Brahmin households as part of the pre-wedding ceremonies. Sumangali is a term in Tamil that is used for a married woman whose husband is still alive. 

Tamil Muhurtham dates are chosen with utmost care after a careful consideration of the birth stars of the bride and groom. Each and every ritual in the Tamil Brahmin Iyer wedding is to be done at a particular date and time. Pandal kaal muhurtham is performed three days before the marriage ceremony. 

Viratham or Vratham is an important ritual conducted by the bride and groom’s family separately in the Kalyana mandapam. It is a fast that is done usually a day before the Tamil Hindu brahmin wedding. In this ritual, both the groom and bride families fast for the prosperity and well-being of the to-be-weds. Viratham irukum murai (steps followed for fasting) in a Tamil Iyengar wedding is far more elaborate for the groom than the bride. 

Nichayathartham or the Engagement ceremony is one of the Tamil Iyengar pre-wedding ceremonies where the groom and bride families come together and commit the wedding. 

The Background
The Naandi ceremony is a ritual in the Tamil Iyengar wedding that is performed to please the Naandi Devtas. Referred to as Pitrus, Naandi Devtas are the ancestors who have departed. It is believed that the Pitrus lay the foundation for the creation of the physical body. Therefore, it is important to pay gratitude to the ones who created us. Not only at weddings, even during all auspicious events they are the first ones to be thanked and prayed to. 

Fertility Ceremony
Pallikai Thellichal is another beautiful pre wedding custom of the Tamil Iyengar Brahmin wedding. The ritual symbolises the auspicious beginning of a new family. Earthen pots are prepared the day before the ceremony. A sand bed is formed on top of which mango leaves are spread. The earthen pots are now placed on the mango leaves. Some people may wish to decorate these pots with sandalwood powder and vermillion(kumkum).

Sumangali is a term for a married woman whose husband is still alive. Sumangali poojai is one of the rituals that is associated with the wedding. While some families perform this pooja before the wedding (mostly in the bride’s family), there are some that conduct this pooja after the wedding, when its conducted by the bridegroom’s family. It is one of the special poojas that follows the customs of each family.

After the completion of the marriage ceremony of the Iyer wedding ceremony in the mandap, the bride should enter the groom’s house on an auspicious Muhurtham. The Muhurtham will be calculated early by a priest and it should be followed without fail. This entering ceremony is called Gruhapravesam Pooja. If the groom resides in the same city and lives close to the Kalyana Mandap then it is done in his house depending on the auspicious time provided by the priest. If that is not possible it is done in the groom's room at the Kalyana Mandapam by considering it as his house.