Nadars in Tamil Nadu perform an interesting ritual before the wedding and are called the gold melting ceremony or the Ponn Urukku. The Thaali which is considered as the most important jewelry in a Hindu wedding is made from gold.
Procedure in Gold Melting Ritual in Tamil Nadar Weddings
When a wedding is in the air, there is joy and excitement in the whole house. The Tamil Nadar community is well known for the rituals they have during the wedding ceremonies. The Tamil Nadar wedding is a long one. It is also the perfect time for the whole family to reunite and revive the bonds. In the Nadar Matrimony rituals, it is interesting to note the importance given to the elders of the family. They need the united approval of all the elders in both the families. The rituals followed will show the importance given to the family members.
The Tamil Nadar wedding is an event that leaves you awestruck with all the festivities. There are customs and rituals each day which are believed to be auspicious for a great beginning. These wedding rituals are rich in cultural value and are filled with aesthetic beauty. You can see the culmination of age-old tradition celebrated in modern times in subtle and simple ways. There are a series of pre-wedding as well as post-wedding rituals that keep you engaged and interested throughout the entire function.
Tamil Nadar weddings have some very interesting rituals. Once the wedding has been fixed, a ceremony similar to the engagement function takes place. This is called the Poo Vaithal ritual. The main significance of the traditional ritual is establishing the bond between the mother in law and daughter in law. Here the most important element is the presence of flowers. Flowers adorn the house and there are floral decorations everywhere. The groom's family brings gifts of coconuts, flowers, bananas, etc.
The Tamil Mudaliyar's rituals are all conducted after checking an auspicious time. The Tamil calendar and Panchamgam are used by astrologers to find an auspicious time. According to tradition, if things are done at the right time the Celestial forces will all be in your favor and thus lead to success and hence Hindu matrimony is conducted only at those times. The groom tying the Mangalyam around the neck of the bride is the final and most vital aspect of the wedding ceremony in a Tamil Mudaliar Wedding.
The most emotional yet important ceremony in a wedding is the ‘Kanyadanam’ or the ‘Kanikkadanam’. It is probably the one role that every father heavy heartedly carries out on the wedding day while wishing his daughter the best of everything in her new journey ahead. A major custom in the list of Indian wedding rituals, almost all Hindu communities follow this as part of completing the marriage. The word ‘Kanya or Kanika’ translates to a girl and ‘Daan or daanam’ denotes the process of gifting or giving away.
Attend a Tamil Mudaliyar wedding to experience sacred rituals, celebrations and a divine spread of delicious South Indian vegetarian food. The bride and groom commit to each other at the kalyana mandapam through the wedding ceremony conducted by a priest amidst family members, relatives and friends. The wedding ceremony itself is marked sacred through the holy fire called Homam, lit by the chosen priest to act as a witness for the marriage and it’s proceedings. One of the key Tamil wedding customs is the Kanganam Kattudal ceremony.
Indian weddings are not restricted to just the auspicious matrimony day. Celebrations and rituals start days in advance eventually leading to the grand pre-agreed date and time for the blessed union to take place.
The wedding rituals for Tamil Mudaliyar community include customs that are symbolic with deeper meanings and include a range of these to signify belief systems. One such is the Manai Pongal ceremony that takes place on the day of the wedding upon the arrival of the bride and groom at the venue.
Mudaliyar matrimonials have a lot of rituals that carry great significance. One of the events which is unique in these weddings is the Padapuja. The tradition on Padapuja of washing the feet of the elders is not something new and has been followed from olden days. Earlier even guests would be welcomed by performing this and was considered as a humble gesture by the host.
In Mudaliyar Weddings, not only the grooms, but even the Mudliyar brides do a pada puja by washing the feet of their parents to show gratitude for all the things they have done from their birth to marriage.
The Arasan Kal is a ritual that is performed to seek blessings from the sacred Fig tree and the Bamboo Pole. The Fig tree is called Arasu or King of trees in Tamil.
