The weddings in Karnataka are a simple and joyful affair unlike other weddings in India, which are bright and pompous. The people of Karnataka, also known as kannidias, have many communities hence the marriage ritual varies in each of them unlike other communities in India like Punjabi matrimony, Orissa matrimony, Bengali matrimony, Tamil matrimony etc. There is no fixed wedding ritual that is followed in Karnataka because there are multiple sub-kannada communities each having their own style of performing marriages.

Pre-wedding rituals – the very first ritual is the naandi ceremony, both the bride as well as the groom participate in this ceremony. The significance of this ceremony is to make sure that there are no interruptions in the marriage ceremony. This is followed by kashi yatra, in this ceremony the groom pretends to leave for kashi, and the bride’s father or his maternal uncle tries to lure him back by showing him the bride he chose. The last ceremony before the weeding is dev karya. Here all the wedding items are placed in front of lord ganesha before the groom leaves for the bride’s house. After that, turmeric paste is applied on their bodies.

Wedding ceremonies – the very first ceremony that is performed in the wedding ceremony is the mandap Puja, where the main hall or mandap where is the wedding is to take place is purified. After this ceremony, the father of the bride welcomes the groom by washing his feet which is called the var puja. The bride then arrives to the mandap and both the bride and the groom exchange garlands. Then comes the dhare hardu or kanya daan where the bride is given away by her parents; here a coconut and betel leaves are placed on the bride’s neck and the holy water is poured over it. Then Saptapadi takes place where the groom ties mangalsutra on the bride’s neck and then takes the pheras (seven rounds) around the holy fire.

Post-Wedding customs – once the wedding ceremonies are complete, the post wedding rituals take place; the first of which is the griha pravesh, where as the name suggests, the bride comes to his groom’s house as his wife for the first time. Hence, the groom’s family gives her a warm welcome. The bride is asked to knock a vessel full of rice that is kept at the entrance of the house with her right foot.

One distinct ritual in kannada marriages is that the groom performs a name giving ceremony where he gives his bride a new name and then carves it on a plate full of rice with a ring. The final ceremony is where on the second day of the marriage the parents of the bride comes to take the bride and the groom to live with them for few days; after which the grooms parents come to take them back.

In the end, a grand reception party is thrown for all the family and friends to celebrate the union of the newly wedded bride and her groom. Here, the bride is introduced to the groom’s extended family and friend as the new member of the house.

Though the rituals may vary slightly amongst the various Kannada communities, the basic method of conducting a kannada wedding remains the same. And so the two i.e. the Kannada bride and the Kannada groom are tied together in the bond of holy matrimony.

Few useful links:

http://www.jeevansathi.com/

http://www.jeevansathi.com/matrimonials/kannada-matrimonial/