Tamil Wedding Rituals and Traditions

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Tamil Wedding Rituals and Traditions
Tamil weddings are the kind of wedding done
in the south of India. The people from south
India are known for sticking to simple lives but
upholding great education. Tamil matrimony
wedding is a type of Indian weddings that
insists on sticking to the age of customs,
rituals, and traditions. For Tamilians, the
spiritual symbolism in a wedding is very
important. They are the type of weddings with fun
and the wedding is usually a big event with
distant relatives in attendance. There are so
many wedding rituals involved in this kind of
weddings. Let us take a look at the different
wedding rituals of Tamils. The pre-wedding
ceremony In this type of ritual, a horoscope
is used as part of the most important part
of the wedding. Horoscopes are usually matched
based on the twelve important points. The common
twelve points include yoni, rasi, gana,
Nadi among many other Vedic guidelines.
This is the most important guidelines that will
guide the weddings date, the moment of the
wedding and all other rituals. The marriage
agreement This is the second ritual after the
Nakshatra porutham. At this stage the agreement
of the marriage is drafted. This is done once a
day and the moment of the wedding is fixed.
Priests on both sides usually come together
to draft the marriage arrangements. A
meeting will them be held at the groom's house
and the draft will be shared. Panda
Kaalmuhurtham This is the ritual that is observed
by both the tamil bride and the groom's side. The
two sides of the families will organize to visit
a temple together. This is specifically to pray
that the wedding happens smoothly. Sumangaliprarth
anai This is a special ritual done to those
married women who will take part in the wedding.
The women are usually relatives and close family
friends of the two families. Normally, the women
are grouped in an even number and when the ritual
is done, the bride will seek blessings from each
one of them. They will then give her a gift
each. Pallikal thellichal Women from both sides
decorate earthenware pots with sandalwood and
vermillion. The women must be five to seven
women. Each pot is then filled with different
types of grains. The grains must be nine
types. Vrutham This is the ritual that takes
place at the groom's house. It is done early in
the morning before the wedding day. This is
the ritual that symbolizes the transformation
of the groom from being a single man to a
married man. A sacred thread is usually tied
around the grooms wrist. A thread will also be
tied on the brides wrist as well.
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Nandi shraddham This is the point where the
groom family arrives at the bride's house
ready for the wedding. The bride's family will
welcome them with sweets, fruits among other
things. Appeasement to the ancestors is then done
by Brahminis. Nishchayathram This now the real
engagement ceremony. The groom's family arrives
at the bride family and they gift the bride who
is seated with jewelry and also saree. They then
apply a spot of sandalwood to the forehead of the
bride.