Iyer Weddings

The Iyer wedding ceremony is till tradition-bound, highly ritualistic, elaborate and complex. One of them, the Kaasi Yatra, where the bridegroom pretends to adopt an ascetic life in preference to the life of a householder, and the bride’s father rushes to him, dissuades him by offering him his daughter’s hand in life-long partnership, appears redundant in modern-day conditions. But the Kanya Daanam, common to many other marriage customs is meaningful, relevant and significant. In its sweep and connotation, it amounts to transference of custody of the young bride from the father to the bridegroom for loving care, safe keeping and tender nurturing. The bridegroom accepts the gift with the prayer that she would be an adornment to his family, binding its members in good fellowship and love and harmony. To remove any element of undesirable traits that may harm the groom.