One of the largest
religious communities in India is that of the Christians (or the
Catholics). Therefore, Indian Christian matrimonials also include
the Roman Catholic Saraswat Brahmin Marriages and the weddings
of the Syrian Christians of Kerala. According to the respective
community, the prenuptial ceremonies differ. However the holy
matrimonial ceremony in church remains more or less similar. The
matrimonial alliance in both communities is held with great enthusiasm
and elaboration.
According to the Roman Catholic Saraswat Brahmin wedding customs,
the engagement is known as the ‘Mudi’ where the bride
and the groom exchange rings blessed by a priest. Both the families,
promising the matrimonial alliance on a certain date, sign a contract.
In the Syrian Christian community weddings, after the matrimonial
alliance (Kalyanamaurappa) has been agreed upon, a date is fixed
for the nuptial knot to be tied. In this community, the two eldest
male members from each family hold hands in a symbolic clasp of
the matrimonial alliance to be. An angavastram (white cloth) covering
their hands seals the contract. The engagement is then announced
to its community in the respective churches of the bride and groom
for three successive Sundays.
The rituals on the day before the wedding also differ slightly
in accordance to the community cultural requirement.
The ‘Roce’ is a ritual that takes place according
to the Roman Catholic Saraswat Brahmin matrimonial rituals on
the day ahead of the wedding and includes the anointment of the
bride and groom with Roce (thick coconut milk) by their families,
in their respective houses. The couple is not allowed to meet
until the next day, till the matrimonial alliance takes place
in the church.
Syrian Christian wedding has a similar ceremony called ‘Madhuramvekal’,
except that the anointment is done by oil.
However with advent of time, the Catholic / Christian community
has adapted to modernism and it has been seen that common ceremonies
like ‘Bridal Shower’, ‘Bridal Luncheon’
and the ‘Bachelors Party’ have been adopted. These
parties generally liven up the procedure of the matrimonial alliance
with a lot of singing, dancing and drinking.
The ‘Bridal Luncheon’ and ‘Shower Party’
includes the exchange of gifts between the bride, cousins and
her friends. The ‘Bachelors Party’ includes stag friends
and cousins of the groom and is held normally the night before
the wedding where the groom enjoys his last night being a stag
before the matrimonial ceremony to be held at the next day.
