Tamil Brahmin Weddings are full of colour and Silk. Like all Hindu weddings, the Tamil weddings are full of traditional rituals handed down over the centuries. The Tamil Brahmin wedding is one of the most formalised weddings in India, and it has its basis on Vedic ceremonies which have been a part of our lives for centuries.
Tamil Brahmin Wedding Rituals and Ceremonies:
Horoscopes are matched and auspicious dates are found by the priests prior to a Tamil wedding. The elders meet in the presence of a family priest and solemnise the bonding of the families before anything else. During the Palligai Thalikkal ceremony, five married women place grains of wheat in a pot and water it every day to signify the growth and progress in the family. After the wedding ceremony, the bride also waters these plants, to announce her joining the ranks of married women!
During the formal engagement in Tamil Brahmin Wedding, the bride is gifted clothes and jewellery by the Tamil groom’s sister and he is gifted similar items by her brother. Nowadays, it has become popular to hold a party the same evening so that all family members can gather together and celebrate. On the actual wedding day, the groom comes dressed in a Dhoti and Chappals, with a Bhagwad Gita and an umbrella, announcing his intention to go into the forest and become a sadhu! He is persuaded not to leave by the bride’s father who requests him to marry his daughter! After he agrees, the bride enters, dressed in the traditional nine-yard Kanjeevarum saree, and they exchange garlands to begin the rituals. They are then seated on a swing and married women circle them to ward off evil spirits. The Kanyadaan is performed with the bride sitting on her father’s lap, while the priest recites Sanskrit Shlokas. The Mangalsutra is tied around her neck, with the groom tying the first knot, and the other three knots being tied by his sister. The seven steps are taken around the fire, and the groom holds her feet and guides her around the fire, to signify his promise to take care of her for the rest of her life.
Unique Features of Tamil Brahmin Wedding:
Tamil Brahmin weddings have a role for everyone in the family, the brothers and sisters, the uncles and aunts and the parents, all of them have a pre-determined role to play in Tamil wedding.
