The main wedding day is like a typical
Srilankan Tamil wedding and almost closer to the South-Indian Tamil weddings.
The Bride wears a bright-red 'koorai' sari with heavily pleated pattern and a
blouse embroidered in gold. The veil is put over her head and wrapped around
her shoulders in such a way that her face is not hidden. The 'koorai' sari is
the most elaborate attire the bride will wear. The Groom wears a traditional
pattu vaetti and a white silk shirt with a turban. As a custom, the bride's
younger brother will be the mappillai-tholan.He is like an escort for both
Bride & Groom in the occasion of the marriage.
Mappilai Tholan escorts the groom
to the hall in his wedding attire and is seated throughout the wedding
ceremony. The bride is brought in after the “Rakshabhandanam” of the groom.
This is when the veil plays its part; the bride and groom are not supposed to
see each other during the ceremony until the bride goes in to change her
“koorai”, which is handed by the groom himself to her. The ceremony is always held
at the girl’s side because the groom comes over to the bride’s place to marry
her in front of relatives and friends and ceremoniously takes her away. He
sits, passes the “koorai” to her, telling her to tie the sari which he has
gifted and when she comes back to the manavarai, he stands, respecting her and
giving her the status of a wife, by tying the kodi and Thirumangalyam around
her neck. This is when the veil is removed and he sees his glowing bride, now
his wife. She then stands, and garlands her husband, in a symbol of respect and
he while seated, garlands her to symbolize unity.
Hindu marriage symbolizes not
only the wedding bond between a man and a woman, but it also symbolizes mutual
love, care, affection, understanding, commitment, sacrifice, companionship,
dedication and surrender by both the partners. Each and every ritual associated
with the marriage has a meaning. One of such ritual is tying of "mangalyam" The
groom ties the "mangalyam" around the bride’s neck with three knots, each knot
representing three different aspects – the first knot represents her respect
towards her husband; the second knot represents the respect towards his parents
and her parents; and the third knot represents the respect to the God. It is
not only the yellow thread or the gold chain that has the significance, but
also the bond between two hearts and the protection assured by each other.
Thaali contain Sivalingam on one side and Soolam with Thiruneeru on other side,
but for Amman thali it contains Amman Logo. On either side of the Thaali, there
are two coins with Goddess Lakshmi engraved on it, but nowadays old type of
English coin is used for it.
Legend says that thaali was
actually a tiger tooth that was tied around the bride’s neck by the bridegroom
as a gift. The bridegroom himself defeats the tiger without any weapon and
brings the tooth to tie in his girl’s neck as a token of bravery and courage,
symbolizing that he can protect his wife throughout his lifetime from evils. Mangalyam
holds a special place for married women, especially in the Tamil culture. When
it is tied around her neck, it promotes her as a wife who looks after the
welfare of a family. It is considered as one of the most important ornaments in
a married woman’s life, which remains in her neck throughout her lifetime. All
married women worship their mangalyam by keeping kumkum (holy red powder) on it
and perform “Sumangali Poojai” for the long-life of their husbands. At the end
of the evening, a procession escorts the couple to the wedding car and throws
flower petals on the couple.
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