Some kinds of grains are an essential part of at weddings. Wheat, barley and rice are the physical manifestations of this symbol and participate in the wedding ceremonies. It is a phenomenon and is reinterpreted in several parts of the world according to local traditions.
As in Hindu weddings, when a newly wed bride enters her new home, she tilts a vessel containing rice with her left foot to spill the grains over the entrance of the home which indicates that the bride enters the house as an avtar of goddess lakshmi, bringing with her abundant wealth. There are hundreds of customs relating to this, which are followed by various regions of our country.
In the northern communities, the relatives of the bride welcome groom with the aarti and tilak, of which rice grains are an essential component. In some regions, a bracelet made of rice grains wrapped in mango leaves is tied to his right wrist and a similar one is tied to the wrist of the bride along with the rituals.
Grains are also used as offerings, during the pooja ceremonies. Their uses depend on that particular community and regions. As in a gujrati wedding, one of the most important pre wedding rituals is the ghari pooja. This is the ritual, which is performed on the eve of the wedding day, and it is carried out in the homes of both the bride and the groom. The priest performs pooja with rice, coconut, wheat grains, nuts, turmeric, and so many other spices that are considered auspicious for the wedding. In this ceremony the married woman grinds wheat on a small grinder, which symbolizes prosperity. The groom offers a handful of grains to the priest, which indicates that he will always be of help to those less fortunate than him. In the course of wedding ceremony itself, seven heaps of rice symbolize the seven hills and the saptakulaparvata are worshipped during the saptapadi rite. Holding the groom’s hand the bride walks the seven steps reciting the marital vows. These steps are taken over those seven small piles of rice. With each step, the bride and the groom declare their intent to set up their home, to bring up good descendants, to work for each other’s progress.The saptpadi completes the legal requirements for the Indian wedding.The most important ceremony is Lajahom.’Laja’ is puffed rice a symbol of prosperity.The brother of the bride stands behind the couple while the couple faces each other.The bride places both her hands into the groom’s and after each of the seven pheras of the sacred fire, the bride’s brother gives her puffed rice which she gives to the groom, who in turn offers in an ahuti to the fire in the hawan kund according to the changes of mantras.
Once the ceremonies are over,all family members and guests give wishes to the wedded couple.They shower their blessings with coloured rice or dhaan which symbolize a prosperous and happy life for the newly married couple.
And the most important ritual is vidai of the bride. The departure for her-in-laws house after the wedding is also marked by her throwing handfull of grains over her shoulder to signify that she is returning to her family whatever of its wealth that she has partaken of in the course of her maiden life. She also blesses her home and wishes for them wealth and prosperity after her departure.
In some communities, there is a ritual called maatha tekna. In this an earthen pot and a plate full of wheat grains is placed in the bridal room as it signifies fertility and prosperity. The newly weds offers pooja here as they start their new life together.
Generally in Punjabi families, the measure of the new bride’s compatibility also seems to revolve around a handful of grains. When bride enters her new home she takes a handful of grains from a plate and passes it into her mother-in-law who then passes it back to the bride. This exchange takes place five times and the amount retained in the end is believed to measure the compatibility of the bride and her mother-in-law.
Most Indian communities originally used to feed the newly wedded couple with boiled rice with milk and sugar, which gradually evolved into the more elaborate and definitely tastier kheer! Even today, a section of the hill Badagas retains the essential simplicity of this custom. The bride’s sister brings some rice and milk in a cup into which they immerse the linked fingers of the bride and groom. Then picking up the rice, the bridal couple feed it to each other thrice.
So here we come to know that how cereals are such imperative in all our rituals, and what significance they hold in themselves.