Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/38

When the bride and bridegroom come to the wedding booth dressed in their new clothes, the Brāhman purōhit gives them the threads (kankanam), which are to be tied round their wrists. The tāli is passed round to be blessed by those assembled, and handed to the bridegroom, who ties it on the bride's neck. While he is so doing, his sister holds a light called Kamākshi vilakku. Kamākshi, the goddess at Conjeeveram, is a synonym for Siva's consort Parvathi. The music of the flute is sometimes accompanied by the blowing of the conch shell while the tāli is being tied, and omens are taken from the sounds produced thereby. The tāli-tying ceremony concluded, the couple change their seats, and the ends of their clothes are tied together. Rice is thrown on their heads, and in front of them, and the near relations may tie gold or silver plates called pattam. The first to do this is the maternal uncle. Bride and bridegroom then go round the dais and milk-post, and, at the end of the second turn, the bridegroom lifts the bride's left foot, and places it on the grindstone. At the end of the third turn, the brother-in-law, in like manner, places the bridegroom's left foot on the stone, and puts on a toe-ring. For so doing, he receives a rupee and betel. The contracting couple are then shown the pole-star (Arundhati), and milk and fruit are given to them. Towards evening, the wrist-threads are removed, and they proceed to a tank for a mock ploughing ceremony. The bridegroom carries a ploughshare, and the bride a small pot containing conji (rice gruel). A small patch of ground is turned up, and puddled so as to resemble a miniature field, wherein the bridegroom plants some grain seedlings. A miniature Pillayar (Ganēsa) is made with cow-dung, and betel offered to it. The bridegroom then sits down, feigning fatigue, and the bride gives him