We have another first hand account straight from someone living in India.

The ceremony:
India is a mosaic of cultures and people follow various traditions all over the country. I’m from the south, tamil nadu and at our place the entire ceremony is 2 days long. The first day is the “pon azhaipu” or the ritual to bring the bride to the place of marriage. She is brought to a temple where the priest offers special prayers to make her life as happy as possible. At the “mandapam” – place of marriage, the bride groom is to receive the bride and her family.

Then again few stories about the past and the ways they have to live are told to the pair by the priest. After this the dinner for the day is served, and the family returns to bed to await the dawn, usually the muhurtam (time of marriage).

The bride, well groomed joins the groom and few more prayers are said by the tantri to ward off all evil spirits and call upon other good Gods and bestow good upon the couple. At the exact muhurtham the holi knot is tied ( the thali- a strong yellow rope with a piece of turmeric in the middle) .They are asked to find a star (arunthathi- a good spirit) in the sky, then the ” metti ” is made worn by the bride symbolizing that she is married. A few games are then played to improve the understanding between them and also to break the ice. Games like rolling balls, finding a gold ring, exchanging garlands; all these are to improve their qualities of forgiving and exchanging.

Then a special time is set by the tantri for physical unison and it is traditionally accepted that the baby born due to union at this time physically and mentally strong.

Such are the traditions and customs followed in tamil nadu, south India

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