Wedding Preparation
As soon as they find a suitable girl for their son’s husband, the boy’s parents go to the bride’s parents to arrange the wedding day. They take with them a new cloth for women’s clothes, coke, bananas, cinnabar and sandalwood powder. Along the way, they are constantly looking for bad omens, and if they find one, the ceremony is postponed.
When the girl’s parents greet the guests and hear their proposal, they stand motionless, looking south and waiting to hear the screams of one of the lizards shooting at the walls of the houses. Only after hearing this signal do they give their consent. The same day before dusk, they gather at home relatives and friends and a purohita. A statue of the god Vigneshvara is brought in and all present pray to him to remove all obstacles to future marriage. If the “lizard from the south” screams again, this is considered a good sign. Then the girl’s parents officially give their consent and the day of the wedding is specified.
In the following days, clothes, jewelry for the newlyweds, gifts for the guests and food for the wedding are prepared.
Once everything is purchased, the erection of a “pandala” – a shed. A statue of the god Vigneshvara is brought into it. The necessary homage to the domestic deities is paid. For this purpose, all those present smear their heads with sesame oil, then take a bath. The women pour food from all the dishes for the gods. The master of the house distributes sandalwood, flowers and holy water to everyone, and the guests are obliged to think about the household deities.
On the second day, nine, specially chosen brahmanas perform a sacrifice. Two women carry the sacred fire in the center of the pandala and place it on a pile of dirt, singing all the time.
On the third day, the head of the family performs a cleansing wash and again gathers friends and relatives in the pandala. A canvas is placed on the pile of soil, on which the newlyweds sit, facing east. Married women approach them and rub their heads with oil with songs in their mouths. Then they perform the nalangu ceremony.
The women covered the exposed parts of their bodies with saffron powder and poured warm water on their heads. That evening the guests gather again. Married women take a wooden cylinder, whitewash it and paint it with longitudinal red stripes. Then sprinkle it with saffron. They place him in the center of the pandala and everyone bows to the court.
