maritime activities economy and social customs of the muslims of ...

and hw described about each and every ceremony in great deta11~~. ktrothal h bride's
residence,36 planting of muhurthakka~,~~ panda1 (shamiana) arrangement for marriage,
decorated with flowers, coconut bunches, jack fruit, plantain fruits, sugarcane, and
areca bunch3', lighting of kuthuvilaku3', decorated stage for marriageq0, keeping of
coconut flower bunch in a pot in the marriage dias (much in Hindu fashion)41, decoration
of the bridegroom with silk cloth, ornaments made of precious stones, fragrances and
flower garlands42, kulavai or kuravai, the roar in chorus by womenq3, procession of the
bridegroom in an elephad4, differnt kinds of musical instruments taken in the
procession45, lightlng arrangement in the procession by theevati - open oil lampsq6.
alathi or arathi to the bridegroomq7, bathing the bride with turmeric waterq8, decoration
of the bride4', mahar was fixed and the marriage of the couple with their names and
names of their parents was recorded5', the bridegroom and the bride seated side by
side and the bridegroom himself ties mangalyam - blackbead-in the neck of the brtde51,
gift of house to the bride by her parents52, are some of the marriage customs that find
reference in this literary work. As such it gives a vivid picture of the Muslim society
in the seventeenth century and this literary work can be called as a social document of
Muslim society of seventeenth century. Seerapuranam, the important Islamic Tamil
Literary work of seventeenth century which describes life sketch and deeds of the
Prophet Mohamed in Tamil literary tradition also throws light on the customs of Tamil
Muslims. Though it is the biography of Prophet Mohamed, it is entirely written on the
natural and cultural settings of Tamils. We find a reference as to that the Prophet
Mohamed was taken in procession on a horse back53, and tied thali to the bride. All
the above customs are handed down to generations and are in practice even to this day.
BIRTH
Procreation is indeed one of the main objectives of marriage. Pregnancy is
an eagerly awaited one in the life of the couple. To ensure the safe delivery and a
healthy child, several precautions are taken. The mother avoids new clothes and
ornaments sinca all these will attract the evil spirits, the jinns. The pregnant woman
do not eat during the lunar eclipse54. A ceremony similar to Valaikappu (of the
Hindu custom)is performed during the seventh or nineth month of pregnancy
(Valaikappu or bangle wearing ceremony is believed to possess virtues toward of
evils from the evil spirits hovering about a pregnant woman since she is considered
to be more susceptive to the influence of the evil spirit than others. During this
auspicious ceremony the pregnant woman is decorated with a large number of glass
and lac (Kankanam) bangles and elderly women bless her for a safe delivery).