CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
In Tamil Nadu, kinship is
in its most developed form and is founded on a number of basic units. The
first unit is the nucleus of the family, consisting of father, mother and their
children. The second unit is the joint family of two or three generations
of a segment of lineage - grand father, grandmother, their married sons and their
wives and children or in some cases, groups of brothers and their families
using resources in common and often eating jointly and having common
residence. The next unit is formed out of marriage attachment to wife's
relation.
Customs and traditions of each caste keep the kin together. Kinship is
noticed at birth, puberty, marriage, death and annual ceremony. Marriage is
usually confined to eligible spouse within the caste.
In Tamil folklore attachment to persons related through the wife or the mothers
is great and they are trusted a good deal. The 'maman' or maternal uncle has prescribed
duties to perform at social functions. On occasions like the naming of a
child, or a marriage, the maternal uncle presents the child /girl with
some ornaments or he gives cash gifts at the marriage. He has the right of
leading his sister's children at the marriages and of acting as the master of
ceremonies. He has the right to the hand of his sister's daughter in certain communities.
ATTAINING AGE
GIRLS
COMING OF AGE
The occasion of a girl attaining puberty is a big event. Non-Brahmins
celebrate the event as a sort of matrimonial advertisement by
inviting relations and friends. On the day of attaining puberty
the girl is given a bath by the closest kith and kin and then
isolated for about a week, during which period she is given rich food. A piece
of saffron and flowers from her hair is placed under the title of the roof
of the house at an auspicious moment. On the ninth day, the saffron and
flowers are taken out and some milk is sprinkled on them. They are then buried and the girl is released from
seclusion. She is given another bath, dressed like a bride and welcomed
in to the main portions of the house, with 'arathi' to ward off
evil spirits and evil eyes. A grand feast follows and the
participants present gifts to the girl.
Between puberty and marriage,
the girl wears 'santhupottu' or lamp black paste on her fore-head and applies collyrium to her eye-lids. In leisured classes, she
should not see or be seen by men outside her immediate circle.
There are restrictions on the types of flowers and ornaments
she can use to adorn herself. But these days social convention and taboos
are being broken by the new generation of educated strata
of society who wants to have an uninhabited free life without the
restrictions of tradition.
BOY
STEPS INTO ADULTHOOD
The Chettiars of Chettinad perform the Karthigai for boys and the
Thiruvathirai for girls. Customs demands that each youth should
participate in this ceremony before marriage and during teen-age.
The ceremony can be held only in the month of Karthigai on the day when
Karthigai is the ruling star. Girls can have their ceremony in the month of
Margazhi on the day when Thiruvathirai
is the ruling star. The Jews are said to have a similar ceremony for their boys.
There is the day of 'Bar Mitz Vah', the traditional Jewish ritual of
passage to adult responsibilities.
The paternal and maternal relations of the boy or the girl
attend the ceremony and congratulate him or her. He or she is smartly
dressed. A shawl is put around the boy and he is required a skull cap or
turban. On a horse back, he rides to the temple. On the same day, there
will be ceremonies for several other boys from the caste in each house of
the village, stopping very briefly in front of each house of the caste, to be
blessed by the elders and greeted by admiring friends by offering arathi
to ward off evil eyes.
A marriage can be contracted only after the Karthigai ritual has been gone
through. It is an occasion to advertise eligible boys. Parents of
eligible girls take due to notice and start negotiations.
Since the ritual marks the transaction from boyhood to manhood, the youth
gets a status in the event of the death. Those who have not gone through the
Karthigai ritual are treated as children, and their dead bodies are not cremated
according to the status usually given to a man on his death.
|
