Marathi Marriage: An Auspicious Occasion
Marathi people are natives of the state of Maharashtra and are very simple in their living style which is shown in their marriage ceremonies as well. They follow several ceremonies in their marriage ceremonies, which represent the beauty of their marriage. The Maratha matrimony is best option to select perfect life partner that you want!. Like any other local community, the Maharashtra individuals also believe in horoscope matching and pay a lot of attention to this factor. The matching of stars and planets is paid for close awareness to, as they strongly believe that the future married life of the couple is dependent on the matching of horoscopes.
To mark the engagement ceremony of the boy and the girl, both the families exchange sugar and the ceremony is known as Sakhar-Puda. This ceremony is informal one and the next ceremony is the formal engagement ceremony. Here they seek the blessings of family deities or kuldevtas and the ceremony is carried out in the homes of both the boy and the girl. After the ceremony, both the families meet along with a priest to complete the wedding date.
Haldi is applied from the foot and gradually up-wards on the whole body of both the bride and the groom at their certain places. A day just before the marriage in a Marathi Matrimony, Haldi wedding ceremony is seen where mango leaves are used that are taken in turmeric paste.The wedding day starts with the prayer to Lord Ganesha and desserts are also provided. It is the general firm belief of most Indians, that before any auspicious work, one must seek the blessings from God.
This is done before all the ceremonies and traditions of the wedding to achieve it successfully without any distractions. Since the wedding in Maratha matrimony takes place in the morning, the groom occurs at the venue of the wedding on the daytime along with his entourage. The family members of the groom, his friend's close relatives, and all acquaintances accompany the groom. There is a lot of dancing and music that occurs. To welcome the groom and his family members, a puja is organized. After welcoming them, the father of the bride washes the feet of the groom as a mark of respect for him. The groom has also showered him with gifts and blessings for his happy married life ahead.
The bride is introduced to the mandap where the wedding ceremony is performed as soon as the auspicious time for the wedding arrives. As the antarpat ceremony takes place, the bride and groom are unacceptable to look at each other. In this ceremony, a zone made up of silk cloth is placed between the bride and the groom. The priest chants several wedding ceremonial mantras after when the antarpat is removed and the couple looks at each other. During this ceremony, the guests shower unbroken rice over the couple as a mark of blessings.
Next wedding ceremony in the Maratha matrimony is the kanyadaan and saptapadi wherein the father of the bride gives away his daughter to the groom and the couple circle around the holy fire seven times along with the chanting of various mantras by the priests. This ceremony is also known as saat phere, which has, a lot of importance attached to it in Hindu religion.After this ceremony, the wedding is over which is implemented by a reception where the guests are offered sweets by the new couple. The family of the groom eats first and is followed by the bride's family. This is one of the distinctive characteristics of Maratha matrimony.
The Marathi Matrimony customs varies for the different castes and communities of the state. Marathi people have numerous traditions that depend on the region and the religion. Most of the population in the state of Maharashtra is Hindus. The learning of Hindus in the state mostly belongs to the feudal Marathas caste. There is also a good population of Kulin Maratha Hindu community, which comes under the Kshatriya group. Another well-known community is the Maratha-Kunbi community. This is an occupational Hindu community mostly engaged in farming activities. All these Hindus interests have similar Marathi Matrimonial rites and customs.
The Marathi Matrimonial customs for the Marathi Brahmin include the ancient Hindu Vedic rites. The Marathi Brahmin community has significantly less population as in comparison to other Hindu castes in the state. This community comprises six groups such as Chitpavan, Deshastha, Saraswat, Karhade, Devrukhe, and Daivadnya. Socially the Brahmin local community of the state is connected in adding and building Marathi arts and literature. The people also added to getting about numerous community reforms.
