Tag - hindu

Oonjal – A Tamil Iyer Weddings Ritual

Tamil Iyer Weddings are always a treat to the eyes! Theirs is a wedding with many days of celebrations, spreading across many rituals for the couple and their family. A Tamil Iyer wedding promises to be wedding experience that nobody, including the bride, groom, family and guests, will ever forget! A symbolic ritual in Iyer weddings is the ‘Oonjal’. Dating back to the earliest of centuries, the Oonjal has become a part of the Iyer weddings. In the ritual, after the Kasi Yaatra, the couple is seated on a beautiful adorned swing, decorated with flowers and ornaments and is swung back and forth. The swing symbolizes the strength that the couple has to find in each other during rocky times. El...

tamarind weddings

Kerala Marriage Traditions

Weddings are always the most joyous, perhaps, the most celebrated events in Kerala. It is the coming together of not just the bride and the bridegroom, but the knotting of two families, and the joy of this hymeneal knot being celebrated by a hundred others. Hindu Wedding Hindus, who make up for over half of the population of the state, form the largest religious community in Kerala. For Hindu weddings, an engagement function is held before the marriage. In this function there will be prayers from Vedas. Poojas will be conducted in front of a sacred fire. The bride will be gifted articles like silk and jewels and the invited guests are given a sadya. Another important custom is exchanging t...