Indian weddings are photographer’s paradise for there are a number of rituals that take place which gives a lots of opportunity to come up with some great shots. What’s sweet about shooting for an indian wedding is that there are rituals within a bigger ritual. Oonjal(swing) is one such ritual. It has multiple small rituals embedded into it.
In a Brahmin wedding, soon after the Kasi Yaatra and the exchange of garlands, the to-be wed couple is seated on a swing (Oonjal in Tamil). The swing that is decorated with flowers and ornaments is made to rock back and forth. Married women stand around the oonjal and sing songs, the most popular of them being the Laali Laali song. Soon after this, five or seven married women clean the couple’s feet with milk and then a ball of red and yellow rice is used to cast off the evil eyes. It is believed that the chain in the swing represents the karmic link of humankind with god.
This is a ritual I simply love when covering a Brahmin wedding. Almost always, the ladies who sing the songs have exceptional voices and as a photographer, the fact that so many activities that take place around the oonjal serves as a great opportunity to come up with amazing shots. Here are some of the Oonjal shots I took in some of the Brahmin weddings that I have shot so far. Please take a moment and try to right about these sub-rituals so we can enlighten others. In my opinion there’s a reason behind all these rituals lets safe gaurd them by knowing what they signify.
At the tail end of the oonjal(swing) ceremony 5 ladies go around the oonjal dropping water.
The couple are fed with milk and sweets. What is the significance behind this?
The feet of the couple is cleaned with milk. Usually “paalale kaal kaluvi” song is sung by the ladies who are around the swing. Again please share the exact reason behing it.
The couple as shot from behind the swing.
I wanted to try to give a motion effect since they are in a swing.
soon after the exchange of garlands the groom holds the bride’s hands in this fashion. Please share in the comment section why the hands are hold in such a fashion.
The red and yellow rice ball are thrown one on each direction after rounding it three times. If you know the exact reason of why this is done, please comment below and let everyone know about it.
Radha says: Beautiful shots! I thought through this after our wedding and I am starting to believe that holding hands, playing with flower ball or similar rituals are all designed to encourage intimacy since the bride and groom were almost strangers until that moment. Making it playful and fun makes the transition easier which I feel is ingenuous thinking. You have my 2 cents…hope that helps!!!
Paramesh says: Just WOW….. iam mesmerized by your photos… great job,,, your capturing are really wonderful moments.
As far as I know, the couple is considered to be Vishnu and Lakshmi. This is the reason why the women go around the swing. It’s like going around the garbagudi in a temple. The rice that is moved around the couple and thrown is to remove the effect of the evil eye, or ‘nazar’.
Beautiful pictures btw.
Shyam says: I agree with Radha. Many of our Iyer marriage rituals may not have a deeper religious or scientific reason. It may have more to do to make the couple feel easy with one another. Also we have to remember that, until the mid 20 century, tam brahm marriages used to happen at a rather young age. Kids ought to be kept entertained lest they start complaining.
