Marriage is a ceremony celebrated by all religions, world over. Marriage is not a mere word but encircles within itself human emotions of understanding, patience, caring, affection, sharing and sacrifice. With changing times the concept of love marriage came in where a girl /boy chooses their own life partner and then the wedding is arranged by both the families with a lot of enthusiasm. The first step if you want to get married in Goa is the act of the proposal or the utor.
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.
WEDDING PREPARATIONS:
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.
WEDDING BANDS READ IN THE CHURCH:
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 JEVONN:
A 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 merry making 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.