Off The Cuff

Men, women get married in Karnataka. 30 years after his death.

July 29, 2022
Bharat Times

YouTuber Anny Arun shared every detail of this strange meeting on Twitter.

Shobha and Chandappa got married in a traditional way in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district on Thursday. 30 years after his death. Obviously no ordinary wedding, it was a ‘pretha kalyanam’ or ‘wedding of the dead’.

‘Pretha Kalyanam’ is a tradition, still followed in parts of Karnataka and Kerala, where marriage rituals are conducted for those who died during birth. The communities here consider it a way to honor their souls.

YouTuber Anny Arun shared every detail of this strange meeting on Twitter.

He tweeted, “I am attending a wedding today. You may ask why is this worth a tweet. The groom has actually died. And the bride is also dead. Like almost 30 years ago .and their wedding is today.”

According to Annie Arun’s 20-tweet source, the wedding was as formal as it is for any regular wedding. The only difference was that their effigies were used instead of the actual bride and groom.

“..there is a solemn tradition. For those who die in childbirth, they are usually married off to another child who dies during childbirth. All the customs are the same as in any marriage. Two families will go to each other’s house. For engagement,” he tweeted describing the tradition followed in Dakshina Kannada.

The event also included a procession and “saptapadi”, elaborated the sutra with several videos of the ceremony.

Children and unmarried people are not allowed to watch the wedding, he wrote in a tweet.

Not only rituals, there was also an elaborate feast. Fish fry, chicken sukkah, kadle baliar, idli with mutton gravy were on the menu

And the couple lives happily ever after! Maybe in later life!” he concluded his post.

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