Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/37

Rh cakes are placed on various parts of the body — knees, shoulders, head, etc. When the bridegroom is about to leave the spot, cooked rice, contained in a sieve, is waved before him, and thrown away. The bridal couple are next taken three times round the dais, and they offer pongal (cooked rice) to the village and house gods and the ancestors, in five pots, in which the rice has been very carefully prepared, so as to avoid pollution of any kind, by a woman who has given birth to a first child. They then dress themselves in their wedding finery, and get ready for the tying of the tāli. Meanwhile, the milk-post, made of Odina Wodier, Erythrina indica, or the handle of a plough, has been set up. At its side are placed a grindstone, a large pot, and two lamps called kuda-vilakku (pot light) and alankara-vilakku (ornamental light). The former consists of a lighted wick in an earthenware tray placed on a pot, and the latter of a wooden stand with several branches supporting a number of lamps. It is considered an unlucky omen if the pot light goes out before the conclusion of the ceremonial. It is stated by Mr. H. A. Stuart* that in the North Arcot district "in the marriage ceremony of the Vanniyans or Pallis, the first of the posts supporting the booth must be cut from the vanni (Prosopis spicigera) a tree which they hold in much reverence because they believe that the five Pandava Princes, who were like themselves Kshatriyas, during the last year of their wanderings, deposited their arms in a tree of this species. On the tree the arms turned into snakes, and remained untouched till the owners' return." The Prosopis tree is worshipped in order to obtain pardon from sins, success over enemies, and the realisation of the devotee's wishes.