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Significance of cereals
Traditionally grains have always been an essential ingredient at weddings, representing fertility and prosperity. Wheat, rice and barley are the commonly used grains that participate in the wedding ceremonies in two forms - as part of a ritual where their significance is highlighted, which is a legacy from the days when cereals were the only form of wealth known to man. And the second when they are partaken of in a form dictated by customs during the wedding ceremonies.
Cereals as part of rituals
This is almost a universal phenomenon and is reinterpreted globally according to local tradition - such as tossing rice onto the path of the departing newlyweds at a Christian wedding to customs closer to home like the new bride tilting a vessel of rice with her feet to spill the grains over the threshold of her new home. This indicates that the bride enters the house as an avatar of Goddess Laxmi, bringing with her abundance of wealth. There are many other interesting customs relating to this, which are followed in various regions of our country.
Grains are used in the follow up to the wedding ceremony itself on various occasions and form an integral part of the wedding traditions.
- Several communities also follow the Phalikalu ceremony. Navadhanyams or nine varieties of grains are sprinkled on nine earthen plates (painted white) filled with soil. These are allowed to germinate for sixteen days. On the sixteenth day after the marriage, the mangalsuthrams (108 strings of sacred thread twisted together and dipped in turmeric) are strung together and the germinated grains are immersed in a flowing stream. In cultivating communities, the bride goes to the site where the seedlings are raised and an image of Lord Ganesha is created in mud. She worships the image and then breaks it up.
- Also upon the arrival of the baraat the groom is greeted with the ubiquitous aarti or tilak, of which rice grains are an essential component.
- In some communities, a rice and mango leaf bracelet is tied to the right wrist of the groom and a similar one to the left wrist of the bride.
 In Telegu and Oriya speaking regions, it is customary to impose a curtain between the bridal couple over which the bride throws rice on the groom's head.
Grains are also used as offerings during the puja ceremonies that precede the wedding.
- The Ghari Puja is one of the most important pre-wedding pujas amongst Gujaratis. Carried out in the homes of both - the bride and the groom - the Ghari Puja is conducted on the eve of the wedding. The priest performs the prayers with rice, coconut, wheat grains, oil, betel nuts, turmeric and other spices considered to be auspicious. All the married women then grind wheat on an old fashioned grinder to symbolise everlasting prosperity. The groom offers grain to the priest also, indicating that he will always help those less fortunate than him. At the end of the ceremony the bride and groom are dressed in old clothes. Friends and family then tear off these clothes symbolising the end of their single existence.
In the course of the wedding ceremony itself also grains play their part.
- Seven heaps of rice symbolizing the seven hills and the saptakulaparwata are worshipped during the saptapadi rite.
- In all Indian weddings, fire is the chief witness to the vows taken by the couple and hence no ceremony is complete without Lajahom. Arya Samajis and several Hindu sub castes, offer 'Laja' (puffed rice, a symbol of prosperity) to the fire. The bride's brother stands behind the couple while the couple faces each other. The bride places both her hands into the groom's and her brother then puts the puffed rice into them. Together they offer this laja as an ahuti or sacrifice into the fire amidst the chanting of mantras.
- Similar to western customs, the newlyweds are blessed by all the elders by showering coloured rice or akshat on the couple.
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