The Christian Weddings of South India
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The Bride in a white wedding saree - without veil
Weddings! The very sound of the word ‘wedding’ gives us a joyous bump! What is it about weddings that enthralls and fascinates everyone? Nothing on earth is so merrily celebrated as this union of man and woman in a ceremony called wedding. Through out the world, weddings and their relevant ceremonies differ, as every culture has their own bunch of traditions and customs , based on their ethic origin.
The Bible nestled in the decorated tray
The decorated tray filled with traditional sweets,fruits and nuts
Likewise, the christian weddings in South India is a happy blend of Indian and Western customs since the christians in India are Indians converted to Christianity by the British christian missionaries,way back when Britain ruled India. Hence, the Indian Christians, while still clinging on to their Indian culture have also incorporated some western customs as well! This cheerful intermingle of Indo-Western customs reflects on the Indian Christian wedding ceremonies too! But then, Indian Christians are not to be mistaken for Anglo-Indians whose parentages are a mixture of both Indians and British and they just follow only the western culture and traditions.
Well, coming back to weddings, as in other Indian ethnicity, the Indian Christians too opt for the traditional arranged marriages , though that trend is slowly changing , with the present generation choosing their own life partners.
St. George's Catherdral,Chennai,S.India
The Bride
The Indian Christian bride wears a white or off white saree with or without veil. The brides maids (again in sarees) and the flower girls dresses match the color decor of the wedding! However ,in recent times many brides are choosing to wear gowns and veils for the church service and then change over to the traditional silk sarees for the wedding reception.
The 'Thali' or 'Mangalsutra' and the Rings
On the Big Day ,a few hours before the church service, the groom's sisters and cousins carry decorated trays containing the wedding saree, the veil, a bible , traditional coconuts, dried fruits like almonds, pista , cashew nuts and Indian sweets to the brides residence and place them in front of the bride. The church pastor who is also present there, blesses the saree and hands it over to the bride. The groom’s group then, leave for the church where he awaits the bride at the church alter.
Bell Shaped Wedding Cake
Bride with gown and veil
The Church Service
The wedding service is conducted just like all the christian church weddings in the western countries but the only difference is that, instead of the ring the groom places the ‘Thali’ or 'Mangalsutra' around the neck of the bride amidst the peals of the church bell.(The 'Thali' is a gold chain with a gold pendant in which the symbol of the cross is embedded. A woman wearing a Thali is a sign that she is a married woman.Rings are also sometimes exchanged in church,but ususally rings are exchanged only during the engagement ceremony).Now,the groom pledges the wedding vows holding the gold cross pendant! Another deviation from the western custom, is that the groom does NOT kiss the bride in church as kissing in public is sort of taboo in India!Finally, the church pastor pronounces them as man and wife!
After the wedding ceremonial service , the bridal couple walk down the aisle while the Church Organ plays the ‘Wedding March’ and the congregation shower rice and flower petals on the couple!
Next, there is the usual wedding reception with the usual cutting of the wedding cake, proposing the toast to the bridal couple and no dance.Since the Indian christian weddings are a social event with a huge crowd, dancing and singing are reserved only for the close family members when all the guests leave. After forcing the couple to have a glass of milk and banana ( a custom for prosperity and fertility) the couple leave for their honeymoon! That’s about all regarding the rituals of the Indian Christian wedding in South India!
The bridal couple with the bridesmaids, bestmen and flowergirls !
The Bride in traditional red silk saree for the Wedding Reception
The Wedding Dinner
British Actress Elizabeth Hurley
British Actress Elizabeth Hurley weds in India
Recently the British actress and model Elizabeth Hurley came down to India to celebrate her marriage to an Indian business tycoon - Arun Nayar! She wore the traditional Indian saree for the ceremony. Some of the other celebrities who were fasinated by the Indian saree and draped them are the tennis aces,Serena and Venus Williams , Anna Kournikova ,Helen Mirran and the popular girl band - Pussycat Dolls!
Tennis star-Anna Kournikova
Ace Tennis Stars-Serena and Venus williams
British Actor Helen Mirran
Popular girl Band - Pussycat Dolls
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Comments
I used to work with a Christian Indian lady many years ago, and it's interesting to learn more about the different customs, and how one set of traditions has combined with another. The sarees are gorgeous. I love their rich colours. As a child I grew up in a town here in the UK with a very large Asian population, and there were several shops locally that sold saree fabric. I was always fascinated by the fabulous colours, and have been coveting one ever since!
Great hub Laila - brings back memories. Though I chose to marry outside the traditional South Indian Christian community, there are any number of weddings we still attend. Love the pics :)
Teresa..thanks!Yes,the silk sarees are so very beautiful,but then,they are also so very heavy that we cant wait to get back home and change to lighter and more comfortable clothes!LOL! Thanks for appreciating!
Amanda..thanks for reading my hub! And yes,sarees come in a riot of colors and our weddings over here are so very colourful! :)
Shalini..thanks for stopping by! My sisters are so very artistic unlike me!:(
Laila, the photos of the Christian Indian weddings were a feast for the eyes.
Elizabeth Hurley's son doesn't look so happy, though.
Thanks for a really interesting hub!
Thanks Aya..glad you enjoyed the hub! :)
The sarees are beautiful, so feminine and colorful. Enjoyed the beautiful photos of your family's wedding.
Enjoyable hub!
Excellent hub,Laila!
Brought back my own memories of my wedding in Bangalore!
I am glad you brought out the specialities of being a South Indian Christian.Especially,having a mangalasutra and wedding bands to solemnise the marriage.
I feel as if I have attended an Indian Christian Wedding at St. George's Catherdral,Chennai. Crisp information. Nice photographs. Thank you for the wonderful HUB.
Violetsun,thanks for appreciating!I enjoyed doing this hub!:)
Purple Perl ..thanks so very much for stopping by! In which church did you get married?I come to St. Mark's cathedral whenever I visit Bangalore! Yes,weddings are nostalgic times...:)
Muthusamy..thank you so much for your kind comments!:) I am touched by your appreciation..Thanks!:)
Laila- Great pictures and they make a lovely couple. It is such a good fusion of cultures as Hindus have exchanging of rings and Christians have Mangalsutra. The world would be such a wonderful place if more people see what is common among each other rather than focusing on the differences. Btw I love Gopika and I even made a hub about them in the initial days. Thumbs up for those wonderful photos and write up.
Well done Laila, already a humber one in Google's first page. Check the forum for your screenshot: http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/11668?page=8#post1
The sarees look so beautiful, whether in white or red they are stunning. I like the way the both cultures intermingle in one big ceremony-celebration.
very nice
CW..thanks for stopping by and appreciating!:)
Princessa..Thanks a ton!Yes..thanks for the screenshot and making me feel special as well!:)
Raghu9..thanks for your comment!:)
As a priest of the Saint Thomas Christian Church of South India once commented : "You cannot understand the teachings of Jesus if you do not know the scriptures of India."
fantastic hub, thank you for the detail.
I wonder, how common is it in India to have inter-faith marriages?
Thankyou hubber 2009! :)
London girl..Thank you! I'm glad you do like the hub!:)There are many inter-faith marriages in India and you will be surprised that there are many Hindu-Muslim marriages too!
thanks - I realised I had no idea!
Wonderful Hub Laila and beautiful Pictures. I have seen some Keralite and Christian Weddings and loved it too. Have you seen the Kerala mangalsutra? They call it 'minnu'.
Thanks Anamika!Yes,I've seen the Kerala mangalsutra..they take the thread from the wedding saree and slip in the gold pendant,which is then placed on bride's neck.After the ceremony,the pendant is put on to a gold chain!:)
I don't know how I missed this one. I seem to be the only late comer here. Speaking of Indian wedding dresses and rituals, I was surprised to see, in the last episode of 'Starter Wife' (in case you saw that TV serial), the American bride and groom wearing Indian wedding dresses; more surprising was the theme which was entirely Indian. It's amazing to see how Indian rituals are gaining popularity globally. Very nice hub.
Thank you so very much Anjali! Yes,thanks to the media,Indian rituals are gaining popularity!:)
No, words!! I am so proud guess why?
Nice work keep it up
eswar..thanks for the wonderful compliment! :)
Thank you so much for sharing these awesome pictures. They were absolutely beautiful. Were some of these interfaith marriages, or were they all Christians? You must be very proud of your family and heritage to take the time to share with us.
Very sweetly described. Well written.
Very sweetly described. Well written.
Recently I had the pleasure of viewing the photography of a traditional (Hindu) Indian wedding taken by a member of a forum to which I belonged. I cannot begin to express how elaborately beautiful that ceremony was, and how skilled the photographer. I have never seen anything like it, and if I wasn't already fascinated by Indian culture, that would have done it!
Also recently I had the opportunity to minister to local Christian Asians (in this case the Chin people from Burma) and I learned such a great deal about Christianity in the East. It is a blessing to know how our faith as affected those in other parts of the world as well.
I found your hub very intersesting and informative. I am personally a culture junkie, so things like this just fascinate me! Thank you for sharing!
Nancy and Hilltrekker..thanks for appreciating!:)
Very nice to see thebeautiful bride in saree and jewels of south India tradition getting married in a beautiful city Cathedral
A lovely hub Laila. The church, the family all look wonderful in the pix.
@T.Robertson..thanks!
@dianacharles..thank you so much for the appreciation :)
Very similar to our church wedding here. Nice hub,it's like I've been there myself.
Thanks for appreciating,Charia!:)
Loved the rich details and beautiful images in this hub. Thanks for sharing.
I loved your description about weddings in south India. But I have a small mistake to point out. You have written:
" the christians in India are Indians converted to Christianity by the British christian missionaries,way back when Britain ruled India"
This is incorrect. Christianity was brought to India by Christ's Apostle St Thomas. This means Christianity in India is as old as Christianity itself. Yes, the British did convert Indians to Christians mostly in North India yet many of the South Indians were Christians long before the British arrived.
This is just a minor correction. Apart from this your article is mind blowing! Hats off!
@ Smireles..thanks for the appreciation! :)
@ Celia..yes,you are right. I will correct it! Thanks. :)
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Teresa McGurk says:
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The sarees are beautiful -- we westerners are attracted to the gorgeous silks, the gold threads, the graceful drape of the cloth over the shoulder. It's interesting to see how traditions and customs are adapted in other cultures, and South India is no exception in blending Christian liturgy with local color. Beautiful hub, Laila.