Turmeric for medicine, marriage and worship

A typical traditional Indian subcontinental marriage would have a Haldi Rasma, turmeric ceremony. Depending upon the cultural tradition in a given region or community it takes place from a day to several days before a marriage.

On this day of the ceremony mainly it is the groom whose body is anointed with thick paste of turmeric. The anointment is first done by the real or cousin sisters of the groom followed by other close relations who take their turns smearing the mild odoured condiment on the naked body of the boy. The ritual lasts from a few minutes in some societies to several hours or even the whole day in others.

An urban version of the ceremony would have just the face of the groom annointed with the paste. In all the cases an elaborate bath with water loaded with flower petals follows. In the traditional tribal societies the Haldi Rasam is an elaborate affair. Not just the groom but all the men folks are painted yellow with turmeric water. It is a time for jubilation. Throwing turmeric water on each other adds festive spirit to the marriage ceremony.

In the traditional societies roots of turmeric and even powdered condiment are offered to the deities of the respective communities.

New born children are given their first bath with turmeric water for its antiseptic and auspicious qualities.

Brides going for herbal make up apply turmeric paste made in combination with sandalwood paste. The concoction is not only a great cleanser and antiseptic in nature but is also used by the brides as makeup – painting different shapes on their foreheads with turmeric.

It is amazing to see how traditional societies discovered that medicinal herbs have innumerable qualities and made them part of their religion and rituals. This is in contrast with the modern society which looks for solutions to health problems in a pill.

Add comment July 13th, 2006 Written By: lalitgambhir