While the concept of a sacred thread did exist then did the practice of adorning the bride with jewellery, the ritualistic aspect of a Mangal Sutra together with the various class, caste and community distinctions in it's a reasonably modern concept.
The Mangal Sutra, as Expert explains, isn't mentioned in any sacred text as a ‘marriage ornament’.
The sacred thread of Hindu marriage, Mangal Sutra, recently made headlines for its alleged appropriation by tailor Sabyasachi. Although the advertisement campaign that intended to portray Indian culture through a contemporary, inclusive lens has been withdrawn, it's left several questions unanswered about the sociological undertones of a Mangal Sutra.
“There was no concept in ancient India of a wedding being solemnized through a Mangal Sutra as we all know of it today with diamonds, pendants and therefore the like,” explains historian of Indian jewellery, Dr. Usha Balakrishnan. As she explains, while the thought of a sacred thread did exist and then did the practise of adorning the bride with jewellery, the ritualistic aspect of a Mangal Sutra together with the various class, caste and community distinctions in it's a reasonably modern concept.
Sabyasachi removes crusade for luxury Mangal Sutra after social media backlash - The purpose of the marriage jewellery
Balakrishnan together with Meera Sushil Kumar in their book, ‘Indian jewelry: The dance of the peacock’ write that historically in India “ornaments functioned as auspicious symbols of marital status”. the sole time one gave abreast of them was on the occasion of widowhood or while let alone on worldly affairs. The authors cite the Atharvaveda which said that the wedding ceremony concludes with the daddy of the bride stating, “I reveal this girl adorned with gold ornaments to you.”
The Manu Smriti categorises bridal jewellery as her ‘stridhan’, the sole quite property that's irrevocably hers. in a very male-dominated and unsupported system, the marital jewellery came as financial security against widowhood and adulthood.
The Mangal Sutra, as Balarishnan explains, isn't mentioned in any writing as a ‘marriage ornament’. The Grihya Sutras (Hindu texts prescribing ceremonies for every stage of an individual’s life) make no mention of the practise of tying a Mangal Sutra for the sake of solemnising a wedding. “Etymologically, the Mangal Sutra refers to an auspicious thread. Traditionally and even today during auspicious occasions, a thread dipped in turmeric or kumkum is tied round the pulse points of the body just like the neck or the wrist. Mangal Sutras were basically talismans tied/worn to guard, thrust back the evil effects of the planets and to administer courage,” she says.
Speaking about the archaeological evidence of wedding ornaments, Dr. Preetha Nair, head of the department of archaeology within the University of Kerala, says that from the first historic period (roughly reminiscent of 500 BCE and 500 AD), we get several black beads which were perhaps used for creating the Mangal Sutra later. “However, it's impossible to suggest whether or not they were worn only by married women or unmarried ones in addition,” she says. “However one in every of the earliest literary references to a string being tied by the groom round the neck of the bride is from the Sangam literature (300 BCE to 300 CE), which might provide some evidence of the presence of something sort of a Mangal Sutra.”
The adoption of the Mangal Sutra by different communities
Some experts explain in their book that the practise of tying the mangal sutra during marriage had more to try to to with convention than religion. Traditionally a sacred thread was worn by both men and girls as a part of their initiation into the lifetime of a student. because the practise faded away for girls, the sacred thread was adapted as tiru-mangalam or Mangal Sutra to “sanctify a woman’s legal status and accord her social recognition”. “Often on, this string was accompanied with a motif sort of a leaf from an auspicious tree, a tiger claw or anything that was symbolic within that community,” says Balakrishnan.
Over the years, the motifs and make of the Mangal Sutra came to differentiate among caste and communities additionally. In state and Kerala, for example, the Mangal Sutra is thought because the tali, which refers to a species of the tree or a grove of palms. “Though literary evidence is neither consistent nor conclusive on the origin of the term, even today among the Gonds, Savaras and Munda tribes, the bridegroom ties a string with a palm leaf round the bride’s neck,” write Balakrishnan and Kumar.
Variations of the tali often indicate the natural or supernatural phenomenon revered by a community or tribe. The amai-tali, as an example, carries the logo of a tortoise. The pulippali-tali, on the opposite hand, displays a group of tiger’s claws. A Shaivite Brahmin Tali carries the representation of the Lingam or the three horizontal lines of the caste mark.
A most splendid variation of the tali is that the necklace of the Nattukottai Chettiars of Chettianadu in province. The community is thought to own originated from the traditional sea port of Puhar and their patron deity is Lord Shiva, while their most vital shrine is that the Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram. “The necklace could be a magnificent ornament made of two rows of horizontal beads, interspersed with elaborate pendant pieces and an ornate tali pendant within the centre,” describe Balakrishnan and Kumar. “The traditional M shaped centre piece of the necklace features a miniature replica of the temple in Chidambaram worked in repousse. Within this temple, Shiva and his consort Parvati are depicted seated on their vehicle, the bull. The claw-like pieces on either side are embellished with artistic details typical of the architecture of Chettinad.”
The practise of tying the Mangal Sutra has seeped into religious groups apart from Hindus furthermore, and is commonly adapted to point their own belief systems. “For instance, the Syrian Christians in Kerala wear a Mangal Sutra, but with a cross thereon,” says Balakrishnan.
There are other communities though among whom the Mangal Sutra seems to be absent. Other kinds of marital tokens though seem to own taken its place, encapsulating the identical idea and objective as that of the Mangal Sutra. In large parts of north India for example, the bicchwa or the toe ring and glass bangles are imagined to indicate legal status of a girl. The Kashmir marriage symbol consists of a protracted string, drawn through a hole pierced within the cartilage of the ear, with an ornament at the top.
In Bengal, the shell and coral bangles or the shaakha pola is worn as an indicator of legal status. “The pola as an example signifies the strength of iron wished upon the girl. It also consists of lead. it's believed that a little quantity of lead is sweet for the body to soak up through the bloodstream. it's considered all the more important for ladies who are expected in touch children,” says Balakrishnan. The shell, she says, is an indicator or a fish-eating ocean bound community. “The shell is a vital symbol of prosperity and longevity.”
Speaking about the re-branding of marital tokens in recent times, Balakrishnan says that “marketing companies within the west took a diamond ring and turned it into an object that was compulsory to sanctify a wedding. Every woman, therefore, wanted that ring because the ultimate symbol of a man’s love and devotion to her.” The evolution of the Mangal Sutra over centuries is best understood within the same context.
