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Pre
Marriage Ceremony
Once the parents of the boy
and the girl agree to the match, the alliance is formalized
with a plate of betel leaves and supari. The parents
of the boy go to the girls home and give her a sari,
blouse piece, coconut and fruits. The girl's parents
give the boy a dhoti, coconut and fruits. The horoscopes
of the boy and the girl are matched by the priest to
fix the date and time of the wedding. On the day of
the marriage, a "havan" is performed separately in the
houses of the bride and the groom by their respective
families.
Marriage Ceremony
When the groom reaches the
bride's house an arti is performed by the sumangalis
(married women) from the girl's side. Then these sumangalis
lead the bridegroom inside the marriage hall. The bride
is lead into the hall by her uncle clad in traditional
dress of Navari sari and green glass bangles with traditional
gold jewelry. The bride and the groom are separated
by a piece of cloth hanging between them and thus cannot
look at each other. The two sets of parents sit facing
each other. For the recitation of the marriage mantras
(Mangalashtam), the bride and the groom take standing
positions. The cloth is removed, and the bride and groom
garland each other. The bride's father gives away the
bride to the groom in the ceremony called "Kanyadanam".
He takes the groom's hand and places it on the bride's
hand. The moment when the bride is "handed" over to
the groom, her father ceremonially pours water into
the groom's hands (called dhara), signifying that she
is now his. Corn/rice is then put into the havan five
times, before the seven pheras or the "Saptapadi"
begins. The groom's "angavastram"
and the bride's "pallav" are
tied with a nuptial knot. The bride follows the groom's
footsteps seven times around the holy fire. Five married
women tie the "mangalsutra"
or the holy thread round the bride's neck while the
bridegroom holds it around the neck of the bride. The
couple then bows before the elders and take their blessings.
Post
Marriage Ceremony
The "Vidaai" takes place amongst
tearful farewell when the bride leaves her parent's
house to go to her husband's house. At her husband's
home her mother-in-law welcomes her. The bride and groom
visit a temple to take blessings of God.
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