Hindu Wedding
(back-dated post #3)
Well it's only our first full day in India and we already got to go to a Hindu wedding. It was held at a small temple that is apparently the oldest in the Aluva/Cochin area. This temple is dedicated to the Hindu earth goddess (whose name eludes me at the moment) and Ganesh (the elephant-headed god of good fortune and protection). The wedding itself was actually very short-- the bride's mother lit a bunch of lamps and poured a large basket of grain into a smaller container, causing it to overflow. This gesture, from what I understand, is a symbol of abundance. The priest said a few prayers and presented the groom with a necklace (thali) that he put on the bride, and that was pretty much it. The rest of the time at the temple was just for photo-ops. We even had our picture taken with the happy couple!
Then was the reception. the brief ceremony was acted out again on the stage of the large reception hall, and then it was time to eat! We had a traditional festal meal served on a banana leaf with a number of sides (hot, pungent, sweet, and every flavour in between) ranged around a mound of rice. You kind of mix/mush the sides into the rice and form it into neat little balls and pop them into your mouth, all with the fingers of the right hand. Also served were two thick, hot, sweet drinks called payasam; one was brown and made from boiled wheat and sugar. The other was made from rice, milk, and sugar, and was white. Everything was delicious; this would probably be pretty high in the running for Best Meal Ever, if i was the kind of person who kept track of things like that.
Both the wedding and the reception were accompanied by music: one guy played this really long recorder/clarinet thing, and another played some kind of double-sided drum. One side, played with the fingers, almost sounded like a wood-block. The other side was pounded with a stick and provided a more resonant bass sound. the music was very lively and frenetic, and sounded mostly improvisational-- the nearest comparison i could make was to jazz. (I was later informed that the music was not at all improvisational, but is in fact highly structured-- the rhythm of the drum dictates the melody that the recorder guy would play. This is fascinating and something that I'll definitely have to look into further!)
But it was strange. We were given more attention than the bride and groom. People moved out of our way so that we would have the best possible view of the wedding, and we were given the best seats at the feast. The bride's mother told us what an honor it was to have us attend. People were lining up to talk to us; to practice their English on us ("What is your name?" "My name is..." How are you?" "Where are you from?") We were totally guests of honor and centers of attention which, like i said, was weird. But it was still a beautiful and exhilirating celebration and an awesome first exposure to Kerala.
(back-dated post #3)
Well it's only our first full day in India and we already got to go to a Hindu wedding. It was held at a small temple that is apparently the oldest in the Aluva/Cochin area. This temple is dedicated to the Hindu earth goddess (whose name eludes me at the moment) and Ganesh (the elephant-headed god of good fortune and protection). The wedding itself was actually very short-- the bride's mother lit a bunch of lamps and poured a large basket of grain into a smaller container, causing it to overflow. This gesture, from what I understand, is a symbol of abundance. The priest said a few prayers and presented the groom with a necklace (thali) that he put on the bride, and that was pretty much it. The rest of the time at the temple was just for photo-ops. We even had our picture taken with the happy couple!
Then was the reception. the brief ceremony was acted out again on the stage of the large reception hall, and then it was time to eat! We had a traditional festal meal served on a banana leaf with a number of sides (hot, pungent, sweet, and every flavour in between) ranged around a mound of rice. You kind of mix/mush the sides into the rice and form it into neat little balls and pop them into your mouth, all with the fingers of the right hand. Also served were two thick, hot, sweet drinks called payasam; one was brown and made from boiled wheat and sugar. The other was made from rice, milk, and sugar, and was white. Everything was delicious; this would probably be pretty high in the running for Best Meal Ever, if i was the kind of person who kept track of things like that.
Both the wedding and the reception were accompanied by music: one guy played this really long recorder/clarinet thing, and another played some kind of double-sided drum. One side, played with the fingers, almost sounded like a wood-block. The other side was pounded with a stick and provided a more resonant bass sound. the music was very lively and frenetic, and sounded mostly improvisational-- the nearest comparison i could make was to jazz. (I was later informed that the music was not at all improvisational, but is in fact highly structured-- the rhythm of the drum dictates the melody that the recorder guy would play. This is fascinating and something that I'll definitely have to look into further!)
But it was strange. We were given more attention than the bride and groom. People moved out of our way so that we would have the best possible view of the wedding, and we were given the best seats at the feast. The bride's mother told us what an honor it was to have us attend. People were lining up to talk to us; to practice their English on us ("What is your name?" "My name is..." How are you?" "Where are you from?") We were totally guests of honor and centers of attention which, like i said, was weird. But it was still a beautiful and exhilirating celebration and an awesome first exposure to Kerala.
posted by Andy at 1:00 PM
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