Malayalam Wedding Traditions and Rituals

Kerala Wedding

Kerala is a South Indian state, also known as God's own country because of its beautiful nature. Most of the Kerala people are Hindus, and there is some noticeable amount of Christians and Muslims too. Since Hindus are the majority, let us discuss the Hindu Malayali wedding rituals in this article.

The first part of Malayali marriage will be the selection of the bride or the groom. Most of the parents will go for approaching Malayalam marriagebureau brokers to find the perfect match for their son or daughter. Mostly, the person found will be of the same caste. They will check with the astrologer to confirm whether the couple will have a good union or not. If everything goes well, then the marriage rituals will start. Kerala wedding rituals contain three divisions as listed below.



·         Pre-Wedding rituals

·         Wedding rituals

·         Post-Wedding rituals

·         Pre-Wedding Rituals

Muhurtham

This is the start of the marriage rituals where both families will gather and fix a holy date, the Muhurath for the marriage event. The marriage officially starts from this stage.

Nischayam

In this pre-wedding ritual, both the families will gather and provide an official announcement of the marriage to all the guests and relatives. In some cases, any person will ask all the guests and relatives for their objection to the event. If anyone has issues, they can tell and clear their doubts.

Mehendi Ceremony

In this ritual, the aunts and sisters of the bride will decorate the bride's hands and feet using beautiful Mehendi designs. Apart from applying Mehendi, there will be full of fun, dance, and celebrations.

Reception

This is the pre-wedding feast in which all the relatives and friends will participate and enjoy a Kerala style dinner the day before marriage. Some will celebrate this reception after the wedding also. 

Wedding Rituals

Dhakshina Ritual – Before heading to the wedding venue, both the bride and the groom will get some blessings from the elderly of their respective houses. This blessing is known as Dhakshina.

Actual Wedding

The wedding starts when the groom arrives at the Mandap. The bride's family will receive them with a warm welcome. Either the bride's father or her brother will wash the groom's feet and escort him to the groom's room for makeover. After getting ready, the groom will sit in the Mandap and wait for the bride. The bride's sisters will escort her to sit beside the groom. The priests will chant some mantras having the groom and the bride sitting before holy fire. The couple takes some rounds around the fire, and then the groom will tie the Thali around the bride's neck. It is the actual union of the couple. 

Post-Wedding Rituals

After the wedding, the guests and the relatives will have a Malayalam style feast. Then the bride will give goodbye to her family and will go to the groom's house. This event is known as Grihapravesh. Some games and fun activities will make the groom feel comfortable in the new home.

 

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