Telegu Wedding is a sophisticated affair and is made up of a variety of rituals and ceremonies that expand over several days. It may be noted that there may be certain regional and caste alterations in rituals regarding ceremonies related to Telegu wedding ceremony. However, the Telegu people have their highest regard for the association of marriage.
The customs, rituals, traditions and conventions are exclusive to the state of Andhra Pradesh. It has lots of unique performing arts capabilities in the form of artistic dance forms, theatre performances, different local festivals etc. Andhrites love to progress in life through hard work. They have their roots well established deep in culture. The royal influence of the state offers a colorful characteristic to its people and their affairs. And, wedding is not an exception. Andhra weddings are long hours of jollity and glitzy.
Telugu people decipher marriage in terms of one`s blessed step in one`s spiritual growth. It is not any kind of agreement, as it believed to be in many ways religious. The wife is considered to be ardhangini and a part of her husband, which literally means `half of the body`. A man without his wife can perform no religious ritual.
Match Making in Telugu wedding
Telugus strictly believe in choosing their partners within their community only. A Brahmin would marry off his daughter to a Brahmin only. The match between Brahmin and non-Brahmin is usually not made unless the girl or the boy is exceptionally eligible. Matches are first fixed by the word of mouth among known people. If it doesn`t work out only then, advertisement are given in the newspapers.
Costumes in Telugu wedding
Bridal Wear - The bridal dress is the saree. In majority cases, the saree is a red one or sometimes other bright colors. She would wear gold and pearl jwellery. Pearl is exceptional as it is a product signifying Hyderabadi specialty. The bride would adorn her hair with special flowers.
Groom`s Attire - The grooms of Andhra Pradesh wear the dress of South Indian dhoti and a shirt in their traditional style only. In case the groom is Brahmin, he does not wear the shirt during marriage
Marriage Rituals in Telegu Wedding
Pre marriage rituals
With an array of colorful pre wedding rituals the Andhrites proceed towards the d` day.
Muhurtam - Muhurtam is an important ceremony where after a propitious period of worshipping, the day is selected for the marriage. It is mostly the phase of evening hours i.e.7-11 pm. The Telugu marriage rituals are basically Hindu marriage rites only.
Pendlikoothuru - This ritual takes place a day or two just before the marriage. In this the boy and the girl are besmeared with oil and turmeric for purification. They take bath and both wear new clothes. The girl wears a saree and the boy wears a dhoti. Also the girl is asked to decorate her hair with flowers and wear bangles. All the assembled married women are gifted with the betel leaves, sweets, flowers and bangles. This gifting is for the purpose of the married ladies blesses the to-be married girl and wishes her to become a part of their group.
Snathakam - Snathakam is an essential ritual that takes place a few hours before the actual Muhurtam. It involves only the bridegroom, as he has to wear a silver thread on his body.
Kashi Yatra - Kashi Yatra is a unique ceremony, which has the boy saying at the end of the thread ceremony that he has left behind all the worldly pleasures and going to Kashi. This strange but very applicable ceremony and is called "KashiYatra" or the journey to Kashi. To stop him from the symbolic departure to Kashi, the girl`s brother asks him to stay on. For this he also offers his sister in marriage.
Mangala Snaanam - Mangala Snaanam is the auspicious bath that takes place at dawn of the wedding day. Both the bride and the groom take this bath individually. Such a bath means the purification of one`s physical self before proceeding for the marriage rites.
Aarti - The Aarti ceremony is peculiar to the Indian marriages. It features in almost all the marriages, may be in a different form everywhere. It has the family members applying the groom and the girl with oil and doing aarti around them. It is done for several reasons; one of them being to defend the couple from evil planetary influences, evils omens and other troubles.
Gauri Pooja - After having the holy bath, the bride worships the goddess Gauri for invoking peace. Gauri is the Mother Durga symbolizing divine power, energy, womanpower, fertility, etc.
Ganesh Pooja - When the bride performs the Gauri Puja, the groom at the same time participates in the Ganesha puja. Ganesha puja is considered propitious for any significant occasion as it ensures the success of the work at hand.
Marriage Rituals in Telegu wedding
Kanyadaan - The Kanyadaan rite in Telugu marriage ceremony is striking as well as wonderful. It is the girl`s mama or the maternal uncle, who carries the bride in a bamboo basket to the mandap or wedding place. The bride is well dressed in a bright colored saree and precious jwellery. According to the custom the girl should always carry some betel leaves, betel nuts, a coconut, a sandalwood stick and a red pumpkin. The procedure of the marriage is such that a curtain is placed between the bride and groom, so that they do not see each other till the wedding is completed.
After the marriage, the father and mother of the bride washes the boy`s feet with water. It is more so done with the view that the groom is considered as a figure of God. In most of the Hindu marriages, the groom is equaled to the God and the parents give away their daughter in marriage to him is if gifting their most loved thing to Lord Vishnu himself. This ritual is also associated with the practice of gifting a virgin to the groom who is no less than Vishnu. In a way it also means that the parents are blessing the daughter with a husband who is equivalent to the God.
Madhuparkam - Madhuparkam is the custom, where the boy and the girl wear a white dhoti and sari respectively, with a bright red border. The garments are made of pure cotton.
Mangalsutra - The Mangalsutra is usually a golden chain with alternate black beads and chain. The married women in a number of communities in India wear it. In the Telugu community, the groom ties the Mangalsutra around the neck of the bride with three consecutive knots.
Kanya Daan Akshata - At the end of the Mangalsutra ceremony, the couple exchange garlands around each other`s necks. And all those gathered shower flower petals and rice. This is called Akshata, the offering of uncooked, turmeric-coloured rice.
Saptapadi - Saptapadi is a ritual that includes the bride and the groom taking seven steps together around the fire. In each round they utter mantras, which add to reinforce the marriage. As they take the pheras, the bride`s saree and groom`s dhoti ends are tied into a knot indicating eternal association.
Rituals After Marriage
There are a number of rituals after marriage, which completes the Telegu marriage ceremony.
Griha Pravesh
This is a very common marriage ritual, where the bride is made to go to the groom`s house with all rites and elaboration. The two mangalsutras are united in a common thread 16 days after the wedding, with some of the black or golden beads between the two plates, so that they do not clash with each other. This symbolizes concord between the two families. The number 16 is considered an auspicious one in Hinduism and 16 days are symbolic of the time period that the bride has taken to know and understand her husband`s family. As is common with most Hindu ceremonies, the bride goes for a bath and wears a new sari. Any elder from the family, or the husband himself then joins the two mangalsutras on a common thread.
Jeelakarra-Bellamu is a strange ritual especially featuring in the Telugu marriage, where a paste of cumin seeds and jaggery is made. The bride and the groom luxuriously apply this paste on each other`s hands. The idea behind applying the paste of cumin seeds and jaggery is that the two diverse components coming together and united as one indissolubly and forever.
Celebrations in Telegu Wedding
Music & Dance
Music is considered to be divine in the South Indian states. Music plays a vital role in marriages, irrespective of states and regions. Music is always played in the background during auspicious occasions like wedding, thread ceremony and so on. During the marriage, Carnatic music is played in the entire session of the marriage. And Nadaswaram is particularly played. Also, tunes of classical songs indicating to the various rituals are played at the appropriate times.
Cuisine
The Telugus of Andhra starts a feast with a special pachadi made of different ingredients like neem leaves, jaggery, bananas, sugar cane and tamarind. The cuisine of Andhra has two equally loved cuisines - spicy non-vegetarian Mughlai dishes, and the vegetarian Telugu Brahmin food - the dosas and other delicacies with sambar.
More on Marriage System in Indian States
More on Indian Wedding Accessories
More on Indian Religious Weddings
More on Types of Marriages
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