|
Matchmaking
Earlier marriages used to be arranged by a middle person
who was called mali or raibari who used to take the proposal
to the groom or the bride's family and act as an intervener
between both the families or alternately.If the family liked
either the boy or the girl, they would directly approach
the respective family with a proposal.
Utor
After the decision has been taken by the respective families,
the details of the wedding are discussed which includes
the dowry to be given to the bridegroom. The discussion
is called utor or promise.
Engagement
The formal engagement takes place with the exchange of rings,
and is traditionally held at the bride's place in the presence
of family members, priests and other relatives.
Groom's family: kiteak ailea?
Bride's family: Oh garan, amguer full fullam, tumguer pormouphak
amin eilean.
Groom: Io bitor team fullacho valor poiia.
The entourage is then led into the house, where upon, they
open the box which contains the rings, and also the box
containing the gold ornaments. The ring for the bridegroom
is taken in a special box along with a statuette of Infant
Jesus. At the bottom of the box, some money is put by the
bride's parents, which represents the amount of dowry. Each
note of Rs 100 is equivalent to RS 1000. This money is for
the groom. An elderly member called yezman counts the money.
Weddign Preparation
As the wedding day approaches, arrangements are made to
style the bridal gown. Prior to the coming of the tailor,
the fabrics are purchased. For this purpose, on the appointed
day, relatives of both, the bride and groom go shopping.
The saddo and dress material to wear the next day of the
wedding by the bride - torna boda are bought.
Civil Registration
Civil Registration is the next step for the couple, according
to existing Portuguese Civil Code. The registration is done
at the Civil Registrar's Office, in the presence of parents,
close relatives and two witnesses. Thereafter, the Registrar
invites the public by affixing a notice on the board, to
submit objections if any, to be raised within the stipulated
period of three weeks.
Banns
The wedding bands are read in church in the conformity with
the ecclesiastical law on three consecutive Sundays. Just
a week or weeks before the wedding, in case the ceremony
is to be held in a short period of time and there is no
possibility of reading all three banns, then either one
or two may be read. If it is not possible for the banns
to be read even on a single Sunday, special permission must
be obtained from the Patriarch. The banns inform the public
of the impending marriage of the couple, and is a request
for objections if any, in general from public.
Chuddo
On the day of the first bann, the bride is invited to the
house of her maternal uncle for lunch. She is then made
to wear chuddo. In the absence of maternal uncle, the maternal
aunt performs the chuddo ceremony. This is a special ceremony,
where, the cankonkar (bangle seller) comes to the house
and fits bangles to the accompaniment of zotis ( a special
commemorative songs), on the hands of the bride, who is
bedecked with flowers in presence of other ladies.
The bangles to be
worn are follo (green background with yellow line). It is
said, that no bangles should be broken, and as such, the
bride was not expected to do any work, lest a bangle break
and cast evil on the betrothed. It symbolizes the married
life of the bride. For his services the cankonkar is paid
a measure of rice, one coconut, five bananas and some money.
Ross
The first coconut juice called the apros, is used for the
ceremony. A day before the wedding, the bride and the groom,
each at their respective residences are made to sit in the
main hall or in the matov (pandal), and relatives and neighbor’s
are invited to apply the ross.
The ross is applied
to different parts of the body, starting with the head and
down to the limbs. The ceremony signals the end of bachelorhood/spinsterhood,
and is probably used for purification. The guests are served
atol (a sweet dish made of rice, coconut and jaggery).
Bicareanchem Jevonna
lunch is held in honour of the departed souls of the house,
who are represented by beggars. The specialty of the day
is samarachi koddi ( a heavily spiced aromatic curry cooked
with dry prawns and mango sol (dry unripe salted mango),
cooked in coconut juice. Vonn, made of coconut juice, gram
dal and jaggery. Bread and a banana are a must for this
meal and small sized voddes made of rice and urid dal. All
this is accompanied by zotis. The lunch is served on a patravalli,
a plate made by stitching together jackfruit leaves. Liquor
or beedis are also served. Special paddy is boiled for this
meal, and on the wedding day, while washing the rice, zotis
are sung.
Before the cooking
for the meal has begun, a coconut is broken in front of
the house by a senior member of the family. Today, in case
no Bicareanchem jevonn is served, the some beggars are given
one measure of rice and some money.
Celebrating your Catholic
or Christian Wedding in Goa
Gaiety and merrymaking mark the ceremonies of Christian
weddings, and Goa is no exception. Although a Goan Christian
wedding may vary in some details to a western church wedding,
it basically follows the diktat of a catholic wedding.
Civil Registration
In this process, we help you acquire a court order which
grants you permission to get married in the land of Goa.
Then our team would get your wedding registered at the local
registrar's office. We generally take 4-5 working days to
finish all the formalities related to the legal part of
your wedding. Out solicitor guides you through this process.
We do all the necessary paper works and arrange residential
certificates for you. You enjoy your precious holidays while
we do all the run around. We provide transport to and from
the court and registrar's office too.
Wedding Ceremony
In case of a church wedding, we book the church for you,
help you getting your church file organized and book your
mass and arrange choir for you. We do decoration of the
church which includes floral deco of the entrance, floral
deco of the church etc. You exchange your rings and vows
in the church. Please note that registration of the wedding
at the local registrar office is a must for church wedding
in Goa.
In case of a wedding
ceremony on the beach, a venue facing the beach or a lawn
or an indoor venue is hired for you. We do all the necessary
decoration of the venue. A priest solemnize your wedding
and you exchange your rings and vows before him. Please
note that no catholic priest come out of the church to bless
a wedding. Generally A protestant or a believer priest solemnize
this sort of weddings. We, therefore, strongly suggest to
go for a church wedding in case you are an ardent believer
in catholic religion.
Wedding Celebration
or Wedding Reception
We hire a wedding venue of your choice for this purpose.
We can arrange your wedding on a lawn, or on a venue facing
the beach or in an in door hall. We provide live music or
DJ music for the occasion. A MC coordinates your wedding
proceedings. We do all necessary guest seating arrangements.
We set up the dance floor for you. We do all other decoration
including decoration of the entrance, bridal seating decoration,
buffet lay out decoration etc. We also provide entire lighting
of the wedding venue and the necessary power back up. Our
expert planners stay at sight to take care of all your needs.
In case you are just
a couple, we arrange a romantic dinner set up right on the
beach or on a boat etc. Serenaders set the right mood while
you enjoy lavish dinner right on the beach.
Entertainment
To make your evening a special one, we offer various entertainment
packages which includes Fire Works, Fire eaters, Fire Jugglers,
Goan Folk Dance, Portuguese Dance etc.
|
Invitation cards