Coorgi / Kodava wedding

COORGI WEDDING

The Bride & Groom in the traditional attire

Like most of the Indian weddings which is rich in culture, tradition and rituals, the coorgi wedding or ‘Mangala Wedding’ called in the Kodava language is something not to be missed. 6 years in Bangalore, I have heard a lot about the coorgi wedding. Now honestly the only thing people spoke about is the abundance of alcohol available, the famous pandi curry (pork). Unfortunately people forgot to talk about the wonderful wedding.

Finally I got the opportunity to attend a Coorgi wedding. My colleague’s sister was getting married and not losing an opportunity decided to take the trip with my colleagues. The wedding is a two day packed fun filled affair. It’s a joyous celebration with much feasting and dancing, eagerly awaited by relatives and friends. As an outsider what surprised me most was the absence of a priest to perform the rituals and there was no ‘agni’ (fire). Instead, prayers are offered to ancestors at the sacred lamp and the wedding ceremony is guided by elders whose blessings are sought. It is these simple but meaningful acts and some unusual rituals that make the Coorg wedding rather unique

WEDDING EVE – Karik Muripa:

A day preceding the wedding an important ceremonies happen. The bride and groom are blessed by all the elders of the family and then the bride is guided by her family. The bride’s mother ties a pathaak around her neck, marking her status as a bride. What amazed me, the pathaak that is more of the mangalsutra is tied by the bride’s mother and is a grand celebration. Post this there is the traditional bangle ceremony. During this ceremony few men beating drums sing the wedding song, while the traditional Coorg wedding band, plays outside the hall. All those assembled then have a grand dinner and those who wish dance to the Kodava music. The dance continues till early morning.

Karik Muripa

Bangle Ceremony

ON THE WEDDING DAY:

Cutting of the banana plant stems

This one ceremony I missed, but got to understand on why this ritual is done. A row of banana plant stem (odd numbers) are placed on the path of the wedding hall. The groom is given the honor to cut the stems when he arrives along with his family. He is given the traditional machete and after he offers prayers to his ancestors and gods, he cuts the stems one by one with a single stroke. This ritual is to exhibit the groom’s strength and skill and symbolic of the groom’s triumph over other suitors for his bride and is indicative of his warrior roots.

Morning, groom is led for his ritual shave. A barber applies milk on the groom's face and shaves his facial hair and a part of his forehead. The groom is then led for his ritual bath where his mother and two married ladies pour one pot of water each on him. The groom wears a white long-sleeved dress (Traditional attire) and a silk cloth around his waist along with silver accessories. The traditional coorg dagger is tucked in front and a knife with a broad blade is attached at the back. The bride is draped the coorgi style sari. She is made to wear a silver accessory in her foot during the entire wedding.  The bride and groom are blessed and given gifts in the traditional manner with rice showered on them. The mother is the first one to bless her child followed by the father and then by other elders who are close relatives. After that, the women in the gathering come forward and bless the bride and groom and they are followed by the men.

The elders of the bride’s and the groom’s stand in front of the sacred lamp facing each other in two rows and recite the traditional dialogue that bestows the rights to the bride. When the rights are bestowed, a respected elder in the bride’s party gives his counterpart in the groom’s party twelve pebbles, symbolic of twelve pieces of gold, which represent her birthright in her parent’s home that she has now given up. The groom’s elder accepts only eleven of them, allowing the bride to retain her ties with her family and the right to return to her parents’ house, should the necessity arise.

Ganga Puja:

 

This symbolizes the bride becoming a part of the groom's family and helping in the household chores. The bride sprinkles some rice into the well and prays. Then she gently drops betel leaves and areca nuts into the well. She breaks a coconut with her husband’s knife and drops the coconut halves also into the well. This ritual predicts the gender of the first child depending on how the coconut breaks or whether the betel leaves dropped into the well fall face first. The bride then draws water from the well and pours it into each of four small pots. She balances two of the pots on her head, one on top of the other. Two young girls from the groom's family carry a pot each and walk with the bride, one in front and one behind her. The wedding band starts playing the traditional song. Members of the groom’s family dance in front of her ideally blocking her path. This dance goes on for hours. This one lasted for four and a half hour. This is usually to test the brides stamina and on how she overcomes all hurdles that comes in her life. Once they reach the wedding hall, the pots of water are kept under the sacred lamp that would be lit the entire day. When these ceremonies are over, guests are offered food and drinks followed by the traditional dance to the music played by the wedding band.

What amazed me in the entire two days was the amount of energy they have and ensuring the culture is not lost in modernization and the fact they live to eat, drink and enjoy to the fullest. Must agree the famous dish pandi curry was really something.

View from the wedding Hall, Virajpet
Photo Courtesy - Kartigan M