The Tamil Nadar Kalyanam or wedding represents the culture of the community. They seek the blessings of God, their ancestors and elders of the family during the wedding rituals. Family bonds are considered to be special and care is taken to maintain happy relations.
Kashi Yatra ritual is a traditional event where the groom pretends to leave for Kashi to gain more knowledge and become a saint instead of entering the Grihastha Ashrama (married life) but is lured back by the bride's family to get married. It is a fun custom which starts when the groom’s party arrives at the wedding venue or on the wedding day. The groom pretends to leave for Kashi to become a scholar. At that time the bride’s father stops him and offers the groom his daughter.
This is the sole wedding ritual that is done only by the bride on her wedding day. After taking the purifying bath also known as the Mangala Snaanam the bride will offer her prayers to Goddess Gauri. Since goddess Gauri is the mother of the whole world, the bride offers her prayers to the Goddess and asks her to give the same strength, a peaceful, prosperous, and a healthy married life.
Significance of Gauri Pooja in Tamil Brahmin Iyer Weddings
There are many tales as to why a bride performs Gauri Puja but notable among them are two.
The Tamil Iyer wedding rituals start early in the morning with a Mangala Snaanam. It typically translates as ‘purifying bath’. The mangala snanam decorations are done with colourful flowers and the ritual is performed separately by the bride and groom.
Procedure for Mangala Snaanam Ritual in Tamil Brahmin Iyer Weddings
Lagna Pathrikai is the wedding invitation. This marks the official announcement of the marriage. Prior to the writing of the formal invitation for the wedding, both families consult their family priests and come up with a list of auspicious dates as per the bride and groom's horoscopes. Nowadays this can also be online, check out for lagna patrika matching online on websites like Thirumanaporutham and Shaadi.com.
Janavasam is the procession of the bridegroom’s family that starts from the groom’s home and ends at the marriage hall. It is a grand procession and the groom is welcomed with nadaswaram and crackers. Family and friends of the groom dance and sing along the procession route till the wedding venue. It is similar to the Baarat function conducted in North Indian weddings. In the early days, the janavasam started from the groom’s house to the bride’s house (where the weddings used to take place). Almost the entire village population used to participate in the procession.
Bangles are a part of a girl’s life and certainly cannot be avoided in auspicious functions, especially during weddings. The Tamil Nadar families love to see their daughters smiling with joy, dressed beautifully and hands full of pretty bangles. It is a sign of prosperity, happiness, bliss and joy for the females of the community to wear beautiful and colourful bangles. As you know, Tamil Nadar history is full of cultural and traditional ceremonies. Here also they have a special function which gives great importance to the role of bangles in the bride’s life.
Tamil Nadar weddings exhibit the splendour and prosperity of the Nadar community. These sharp business-minded people are a group that upholds family values and age-old traditions. One can easily see the rich cultural heritage in each ceremony performed during the wedding.
In the Tamil Nadar community, blessings from Ancestors are considered to be sacred and divine. Each family has their ancestors who have been the protectors of the entire family. They are remembered and offered poojas during any auspicious event in the family. The Tamil Nadar matrimony ceremony is full of events in which the blessings of ancestors are sought with utmost attention and sincerity.
If you have attended a Tamil Nadar matrimony function, you would have seen how devoted they are to keeping and following traditional customs. The weddings will be full of fun and laughter while being within the limits of age-old traditions and rich cultural heritage. Religious rituals are followed strictly as the Tamil Nadar community believes in receiving blessings from the Almighty before every ceremony.
