Today
I’m starting with something a little different, an instrumentalist called Veena
Srivani playing Breathless by Shankar Mahadevan on the veena, which is an
ancient Indian plucked string instrument dating back to around 1700 BCE. Again, you don't have to know anything about the veena to appreciate her fluency and mood-lifting facility on it. You've heard the original song earlier in my B-post (listen again here).
Next
I’m giving you Parikrama, a megapopular Indian band, playing their title Vapourize at the Download Festival, Donington Park in
UK. Sadly their lead guitarist, one of the founding members, passed away earlier this year.
And
finally the Vinyl Records with their Ready Get Set Go. Enjoy -
Vermilion.
Vedic. Vivaha.
Today
my object is this round silver box, about 2 inches in diameter – it’s a vermilion
pot. Originally it belonged to my paternal grandmother, it has her name
engraved on the lid. Vermilion is a marker of
marital status for women in India, married women or the vivahita women wear
vermilion in their hair part and also in a dot on the forehead between the
brows.
The first vermilion is applied to the hair parting of a bride by her groom during the wedding ceremony. As such most Indian brides, and certainly the brides of my grandmother’s generation - she got married in 1918, would have this kind of a personalised silver pot for vermilion in their trousseau. Another vermilion pot which belonged to my grandmother-in-law, also has her name on it. Vermilion is thought to be auspicious and an indicator of the wife's devotion to her husband and her wish for his health and long life. Widows wipe off their vermilion once the last rites of their husbands are completed. Unmarried women wear the dot between the brows in many colours but do not wear vermilion in their hair parting. Married women, if they predecease their husbands, are dressed for the last rites with vermilion on their hair and forehead in a celebration of a lifetime bond.
The wearing of vermilion is a custom with long and deep roots in the subcontinent. Archaeological evidence shows that vermilion was worn by women of the Indus Valley Civilisation - female figurines discovered in Mehrgarh in modern day Pakistan show vermilion being used nearly 5000 years ago. Fast forward to the Vedic age to around 3500 years ago, and we find the mention of vermilion in the Rig Veda (1500 BCE), the oldest Hindu text, also the oldest religious text in the world.
As a matter of fact, the entire Hindu wedding essentially goes back to the Vedas, where fire is central to all rites and is worshipped as a deity. Marriages are solemnised in the presence of fire, Agni, as witness. Libations are poured into the flames, the groom and bride walk around the fire to seal their relationship. The Indian Hindu wedding (called vivaha in Sanskrit and in many Indian languages) is not a contract that can be terminated by either party, it is a sacrament and it is a bond supposed to last through seven reincarnations of the two souls.
(This was of course a golden opportunity to exploit women till the last century, who were kept under- or uneducated and therefore financially dependent. But from 1920s on a whole raft of laws were passed to ensure that Indian women have rights to education, inheritance, divorce and child maintenance. Incidentally, women in India did not fight separately to get the vote, masses of women participated in the freedom struggle and when independence was gained finally, the Indian constitution from its inception gave them the vote as it does not discriminate on gender or any other basis. So Indian men and women got the right to vote at the exact same time.)
Getting back to the Vedic wedding ceremony, this consists of three core steps - the Kanyadaan, the Panigrahan, and the Saptapadi. All of these are performed in front of a sacred fire, with Sanskrit chants from the Vedas which go back in an unbroken line for 3500+ years. Kanyadaan (lit kanya=daughter, bride, girl; daan = gift, give, donate) is the giving away of the bride by the father or a senior male relative. Panigrahan (lit pani=hand, grahan = receive, accept) is the acceptance of the bride by the groom as his wife, and finally the Saptapadi (seven steps) during which the bride and groom walk around the fire seven time with the loose ends of their garments knotted together, taking seven vows of marriage, one at each round, thus finally sealing their relationship. After this the marriage is considered complete and inviolable, it becomes 'till death do us part and rebirth unites us again.'
The filling up of the hair parting with the vermilion is called sindoor daan (or giving the vermillion) and is tucked in between these three core elements, along with other rituals, of marital jewellery such as a garland exchanges, putting a mangal sutra necklace round the neck of the bride by the groom, libations of rice products and ghee, viewing the constellations, stepping on a millstone etc. These rituals may vary from region to region and even from family to family, but the three main ceremonies are always observed. There are ancillary ceremonies before and after, basically excuses to party hard, sing and dance and make merry, which can go on up to 4-5 days around the main fire based rituals.
Did you know that you should not turn up at a Indian wedding in black or white? Because black is considered inauspicious and white is worn during mourning. And you shouldn't turn up in red either because that's the colour the bride wears (the vermilion matches the bride's outfit beautifully!). All other colours are welcome, the vivider the merrier!
The first vermilion is applied to the hair parting of a bride by her groom during the wedding ceremony. As such most Indian brides, and certainly the brides of my grandmother’s generation - she got married in 1918, would have this kind of a personalised silver pot for vermilion in their trousseau. Another vermilion pot which belonged to my grandmother-in-law, also has her name on it. Vermilion is thought to be auspicious and an indicator of the wife's devotion to her husband and her wish for his health and long life. Widows wipe off their vermilion once the last rites of their husbands are completed. Unmarried women wear the dot between the brows in many colours but do not wear vermilion in their hair parting. Married women, if they predecease their husbands, are dressed for the last rites with vermilion on their hair and forehead in a celebration of a lifetime bond.
The wearing of vermilion is a custom with long and deep roots in the subcontinent. Archaeological evidence shows that vermilion was worn by women of the Indus Valley Civilisation - female figurines discovered in Mehrgarh in modern day Pakistan show vermilion being used nearly 5000 years ago. Fast forward to the Vedic age to around 3500 years ago, and we find the mention of vermilion in the Rig Veda (1500 BCE), the oldest Hindu text, also the oldest religious text in the world.
(This was of course a golden opportunity to exploit women till the last century, who were kept under- or uneducated and therefore financially dependent. But from 1920s on a whole raft of laws were passed to ensure that Indian women have rights to education, inheritance, divorce and child maintenance. Incidentally, women in India did not fight separately to get the vote, masses of women participated in the freedom struggle and when independence was gained finally, the Indian constitution from its inception gave them the vote as it does not discriminate on gender or any other basis. So Indian men and women got the right to vote at the exact same time.)
 |
| Credit. Vermilion during a wedding ceremony. |
The filling up of the hair parting with the vermilion is called sindoor daan (or giving the vermillion) and is tucked in between these three core elements, along with other rituals, of marital jewellery such as a garland exchanges, putting a mangal sutra necklace round the neck of the bride by the groom, libations of rice products and ghee, viewing the constellations, stepping on a millstone etc. These rituals may vary from region to region and even from family to family, but the three main ceremonies are always observed. There are ancillary ceremonies before and after, basically excuses to party hard, sing and dance and make merry, which can go on up to 4-5 days around the main fire based rituals.
Did you know that you should not turn up at a Indian wedding in black or white? Because black is considered inauspicious and white is worn during mourning. And you shouldn't turn up in red either because that's the colour the bride wears (the vermilion matches the bride's outfit beautifully!). All other colours are welcome, the vivider the merrier!
A-Z Challenge 2020
