Special Issue: A South Indian Hindu Wedding

Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

TL;DR

We hope you’ve enjoyed our series of posts on deep tech technology and startups. We’re taking a break from our usual material since today is your editor’s and author’s wedding day! We’re sharing an adapted version of our wedding program for the morning which explains our South Indian Hindu wedding. If you are invited to a friend’s South Indian Hindu wedding, you’ll now have a good idea of what’s going on. You probably know of a couple South Indian folks (Sundar Pichai, Mindy Kaling, Kamala Harris come to mind), so we hope our customs might be interesting to you. Indian weddings can vary a lot depending on the part of India and specific family traditions, so we note the disclaimer up front that our traditions are not representative of all Indian weddings. We will return to our usual scientifically themed fare next Friday with an issue on supersonic flight.

The Sacred Fire

South Indian Hindu weddings (and indeed most Hindu weddings) feature a sacred fire. The bride and groom sit in front of the sacred fire and say prayers with the help of a priest. The full wedding takes several hours since the ritual requires an extended series of prayers and ceremonies. Etiquette allows guests to talk and walk around while ceremonies are on-going, so attendees often take the chance to catch up with friends and relatives, or make new connections.

South Indian Hindu weddings (and most Hindu weddings) seat the bride and groom in front of the fire where they say prayers with the help of a priest to solemnize their marriage.

Kaasi Yaathrai: The Groom Commits to Getting Married

Facing last minute wedding jitters, the groom sets out to go to Kashi (Varanasi) and become a monk instead of getting married. He is stopped by the bride’s dad who talks him out of it and brings the groom back to the wedding hall to continue the wedding.

A groom (not your author!) contemplates escaping his marriage to become a monk but is talked out of it by the bride’s dad (source).

Maalai Maatral: The Bride and Groom Exchange Garlands

In the Hindu tradition, exchanging garlands indicates that the bride has picked the groom to be her husband. As a fun game, the bride’s and groom’s friends and family will lift them up onto their shoulders while they compete to garland the other first and everyone cheers on.

A bride and groom garlanding each other while they sit on the shoulders of their friends and family (source).

Oonjal: The Bride and Groom Sit on a Swing Together

The groom leads the bride to a decorated oonjal (swing). Once both of them are seated, married women from both families symbolically wash the couple’s feet with milk. The women then wave colored rice balls around them and throw these balls in all directions to ward off evil. The bride and the groom are given a mixture of milk with pieces of bananas.

The bride and groom sit together on a decorated swing (source).

Kanya Daanam: Giving Away the Bride

The bride sits on her dad’s lap. She places her palms holding a coconut on her dad’s palms. As the groom receives the bride’s hands from her father, the bride’s mom pours water over their hands. The groom then gives a traditional nine-yard saree to the bride who heads back to get changed.

The father of the bride gives her away to the groom (source).

Mangalya Dharanam: Tying the Sacred Thread

The bride and groom’s families pass out rice smeared with turmeric. The bride returns after changing and sits on her dad’s lap again. The groom then ties the thirumangalyam, the sacred wedding necklace, around the bride’s neck (literally ‘tying the knot’). The groom’s sister ties the last knot around the bride’s neck. Tying the thirumangalyam is roughly like saying “I do” and kissing the bride, so make sure to cheer and shower with rice if you’re watching.

The thirumangalyam (also called the thaali) is the traditional marker of marriage in South Indian (specifically Tamil) culture, much like a wedding ring in the West (source).

Saptapadhi: The Seven Steps

After the thirumangalyam is tied, the bride and groom take seven steps together around the sacred fire. Each step represents a different prayer for happiness:

• The First Step To Nourish Each Other

• The Second Step To Grow Physically and Emotionally

• The Third Step To Preserve and Gain Wealth

• The Fourth Step To Share New Joys and Sorrows

• The Fifth Step To Care For Parents and Children

• The Sixth Step To Be Together Forever

• The Seventh Step To Remain Best Friends For Life

The bride and groom take 7 steps around the sacred fire together to make 7 different prayers for the happiness of their marriage (source).

Discussion

Today’s post was mostly for fun (and to spare your editor and author extended research effort on the week of their wedding). We will note that in today’s increasingly online and globalized world, teams often span multiple cultures and traditions. Knowing more about your coworkers’ customs can bring you a little closer together. On a more serious note, we hope that you will donate to help resolve the on-going covid-19 crisis in India.

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About

Deep Into the Forest is a newsletter by Deep Forest Sciences, Inc. We’re a deep tech R&D company specializing in the use of AI for deep tech development. We do technical consulting and joint development partnerships with deep tech firms. Get in touch with us at partnerships@deepforestsci.com! We’re always open to new ideas!

Credits

Author: Bharath Ramsundar, Ph.D.
Editor: Sandya Subramanian