The Protestant Wedding

“I do.”

With these two words, the Protestant man and wife are happily bound in holy matrimony, blessed by the church and their loved ones.

The Protestant wedding ritual is very similar to its Catholic counterpart. The Protestant sect, however, has absorbed a lot of Indian customs and traditions into its wedding ceremony. One such custom that is significantly manifest is that of the groom tying the mangalsutra, the Indian marriage ornament worn by married women, around the bride’s neck.

Although there are many sub-sects within the Protestant community, the Anglicans are believed to be the origingal breakaways from the Catholic church. Most of the rituals mentioned here are therefore those followed by the Anglicans.

Before the wedding

Protestant weddings require both the bride and groom to have been baptised and have received the Holy Communion – the two sacraments that are basic to every Protestant. The Anglican marriage itself takes place in the order of the betrothal, banns, consent and wedding.

The traditional Anglican Protestant wedding is preceded by the betrothal or engagement ceremony. This is held in the presence of a priest and relatives of the to-be-weds. The priest blesses the couple and declares the formal engagement. Engagement rings are not mandatory, though there are some motifs that are exchanged. This ceremony is subject to the native rituals of the couple’s land of origin. For example, Maharashtrian Protestants have a haldi (turmeric) ceremony with the application and exchange of the auspicious turmeric between the bride and groom. Clothes and jewellery are also exchanged between the two families. The engagement is later officially recorded in church.

The church announces the banns (wedding announcement) three Sundays prior to the wedding date. Within this period, any person known to either of the couple can voice his objection to the marriage, if any. In case such an objection is expressed, the wedding date is postponed till the time the issue is resolved amicably among the families.

The Protestant wedding ritual

The wedding itself is marked by a lot of Hindu characteristics. The bride wears a white wedding gown or a white saree with the traditional veil. The saree is typical of native traditional attire such as a kasavu for Keralite Protestants, kanjeevaram for Tamil Protestants and so on. The groom sports a suit, but may wear a dhoti if a Maharashtrian, a mundu, if a Malayali, and so on. Native ethnicity marks the rituals.

The father of the bride escorts the bride to the altar and groom. The priest performs the perfunctory Order of Service and asks for the consent of all those assembled after which he declares the couple man and wife. Wedding rings are put on, and often, the groom ties the mangalsutra around the bride’s neck. The newlyweds walk out of church together to a happy tune from the church organist, who hopefully offers a variation for every wedding!

The merriment starts only now. A grand reception usually follows the wedding and is held in the evening. Music, dance and wine are integral to the celebrations. Subject to native customs, plenty of couple games are played beginning the newlyweds’ lives on a fun note. Brief speeches and toasts are raised with anecdotes from family and friends who recount memories from the couple’s past, adding to the gaiety. All these go into making the day a delightful episode, to be treasured for life.

Protestant families incorporate traditional Hindu motifs of the coconut, turmeric, saffron rice (akshata) and native attire such as sarees and mundus or dhotis (traditional lower torso garment draped at the waist by Indian males). Vows, rituals, music, motifs and blessings – most weddings are made of these, underlying what a wedding really boils down to: tradition.

Different Protestant Norms

Protestants in India have sub-sects of Marthomites, Jacobites, Methodists, Anglicans, and so on, following slightly different sets of Biblical principles. Most variations are seen in pre-wedding customs whereas fewer variations are in the wedding ritual itself.

The Marthomite brides for example, don’t wear a veil. Instead, they cover their heads with their saree pallu or a piece of cloth. Once married, they cover their heads whenever in church. It is mandatory for them to wear a tali or mangalsutra, braided with seven threads from the saree gifted by the groom’s family during the wedding. Some sets even shower the akshata after the wedding, though this is done outside the church. The engagement ceremony isn’t recorded in Methodist churches, but is mandatorily recorded in the Anglican church.

Even though some customs differ, the basic Order of Service of Marriage remains the same for all Protestants.

Indian Marriages Series — Malayalam wedding

Indian Marriages

India is a country with as many spoken dialects as there are communities, with unique rituals for every occasion. Any surprise then, that marriage is itself a unique affair across the thousands of tribes, communities and religions that make up India?

Though primarily serving as society’s seal of approval, marriage imparts a ring of finality to a couple’s decision to be companions for life. What are universal are the sanctimony, regard, celebration and happiness that go with it, and the one undeniable fact, that marriage remains one of the most momentous occasions in the life of every wedded couple today.

Here’s looking at some primary marriage rituals among the main communities of India.

The Malayalam Wedding

The Malayalam wedding, believe it or not, is only a 15-minute affair. And although the groom and bride seem very relieved at the brevity of the ritual, it is the poor pundit who really has to tire it out, keeping the agni (fire) burning {in some sects of Malayalis} all through the preceding night.

The Engagement

Like most Hindu marriages, the Malayalam wedding is preceded by the engagement or vivah nischayam ceremony. This is believed to be a half-wedding. It is also an occasion for relatives of the bride and groom to see and approve the match.

The maternal uncles of both sides conduct the ceremony, sitting on either side of an otta valukku (brass lamp). A pundit oversees the proceedings. The groom’s uncle asks the bride’s uncle to give his word of honour, committing towards giving her hand in marriage. A mock consultation follows among the girl’s relatives persuading the uncle to say yes. The bride’s uncle acknowledges, “Nyan vaak taranu (I give my word)”, thrice, thus solemnising the engagement. Congratulations, and sometimes, engagement rings are exchanged.

The date, time and venue of the marriage ceremony are fixed by the pundit in the presence of the elders. A luncheon usually follows the engagement.

The marriage

The wedding day finally dawns accompanied by anticipation and excitement. The pundit performs the Ganapati Homam (Lord Ganesha’s pooja) in front of the holy fire that he’d kept burning all night at the marriage venue. He goes ahead and completes all the wedding rituals accompanied by the relevant mantras before the muhurtham (auspicious time). Next to the agni, a nira para (ancient measuring cylinder for rice) containing a pookuta (coconut flower) and a nila valakku (lamp) is placed. These are traditional motifs signifying a brimming, plentiful life just as the nira para is brimming with flowers – the same that turn into fruit later.

Most such motifs in Hindu rituals symbolise fertility, prosperity and the expectation of future progeny that will complete the family.

The bride arrives first at the venue, since her family hosts the marriage. Her female relatives prepare to welcome the groom’s party. They give away a lemon, a perfumed cotton pod wound on a two-inch stick with zari (shiny lace), rose water and flowers, in welcome to every member of the groom’s party. The groom is personally welcomed by the bride’s eldest sister/ brother and garlanded by the bride’s uncles. Sometimes, each of the bride’s brothers presents the groom with a gold ring. Fireworks signal the beginning of the celebrations and provide, what is perhaps, the only gaiety in the proceedings.

The groom’s sister gifts the bride with the traditional kanjeevaram wedding saree to change into. In some Malayali sub-sects, the saree is given after the tali (necklace worn by married Hindu women) ritual. The groom’s female relatives then take away the bride to dress her up in finery and the gifted saree. Nowadays though, the dressing up ritual is just a namesake since the bride comes dressed in her best straight from the parlour!

The bride is then escorted back to the mandapa (marriage venue built around the holy fire, usually constructed with coconut fronds and banana stems).

The wedding ceremony starts with the unwed girls among the guests circling the mandapa once, carrying plates decorated with diyas (earthen lamps) lit in til (mustard) oil,  coconuts, turmeric sticks and flowers. The ritual marks the next in line for marriage, so that those assembled can look at prospective brides, much like the “coming out” ritual followed in Britain’s Victorian age. The ritual also symbolises the blessings of the virgin womenfolk, as theirs is the womb that will bear the Malayalis their next generation. So also symbolic are the motifs of coconut for fertility, turmeric for purity and cleansing and the diyas signaling a new life.

The bride now enters the mandapa after paying respects to the bhoomi (soil) and takes her place in front of the agni and nira para. The groom follows. The pundit announces the muhurtham for the tali mala (mangalsutra) to be tied. After being garlanded by the bride, the groom ties the tali mala around the bride’s neck. Sometimes rings are exchanged. The groom then garlands the bride.

The bride’s father steps forward to give her away. The groom leads the bride by holding her hand, to circle the agni and nira para thrice. The assembly showers akshata (saffron rice) in blessing over the wedded couple. The bride and groom are now a couple. A reception is sometimes hosted by the groom’s side the next day or so.

We can understand the smugness of the Malayali at the end of it all, happy no doubt with the sheer brevity of the ritual – possibly the shortest of all Hindu marriages!

So if you catch a Malayali recalling his treasured wedding moments, you can be sure they were exactly that – moments.

The Malayali lunch menu

Traditional Malayali marriage fare comprises many compulsory dishes, typically:

White rice, sambar, parippu-nai-papada (dal-ghee-papad), pulissari (curd- based curry), avial (vegetables with coconut base), two or three toran (dry vegetables), upperi (banana chips), sakkaravarati  (chips with jaggery), inji curry (ginger curry), lemon curry, olan (black gram curry), kalan (raw banana curry), pachadi (white pumpkin chutney in curd), khichdi curry (tomato in curd), two or three types of payasam (sweetened milk dessert) – mostly the ada pradhaman kheer (made with maida and coconut) as a must, mango pickle and mor (buttermilk) to wash it down with. Burp!

Most communities use vegetables, fruits and seasoning that is available in plenty locally to flavour wedding banquets. Coconuts and bananas are therefore integral to a Kerala meal.