A wedding is a joyous occasion wherein all family members come together and rejoice. Tamil Mudaliyar weddings are special events filled with traditional customs as well as lots of fun. Each ceremony is packed with meaningful rituals aimed at gaining the maximum blessings for the newly wedded couple. The post-wedding ritual of Maru veedu is an important function that is conducted mainly to welcome the bride into the Groom’s residence. Maru means another and veedu means house. It is also commonly known as Grivapravesham - the bride’s first entry into her in-law’s house.
What is done in Maru Veedu Rituals in Tamil Mudaliyar Weddings?
The Maru veedu ceremony is held at an auspicious time known as Muhurtham. This is calculated by astrologers and the elders of the family make sure that the time specified is kept. The Mudliyar wedding traditions and rituals are all performed early enough to ensure that the couple reaches the Groom’s residence before this Muhurtham itself.
At the proper Muhurtham, the bride is welcomed into her new family. The Groom’s whole family assembles for this event. The Groom’s mother performs an Aarathi before the new couple enters the house. A silver plate with auspicious items like Turmeric, Kumkum, camphor, etc along with lighted lamps is used for this. The Aarthi is performed to ward off any evil eye.
Then the bride is handed over a Lamp - the Vilaku, which she carries into her new home. The light emitted from the Vilaku is considered Holy and symbolises a prosperous beginning. She performs special poojas for the Ancestral Deities in the Groom's family. Then she is allowed to touch some Salt - Uppu, Tamarind - Puli and Red Chilly - Sivapu Milagai. This is a way of handing over the health, safety and well being of all the new family members to the bride.
As a new bride, she is lovingly given the authority and responsibility of her new family. To lighten the atmosphere, the cousins of the groom arrange many games after the rituals so that the bride will get to know her new family better. The post-wedding functions help the new couple to get adjusted to their roles better and help them mingle with both the families wholeheartedly.
