My dear KC,
How are you?
Have you heard the song that is sung by the maamis post kasi yaathrai, during oonjal?
The song goes like this.
Paalale kaal alambi
Pattaale thudaithu
maNi thengai kaiyil koduthu
maNjal neer suzhatri(?)
laali
I have 3 queries
1. Isn’t laali a kind of lullaby? Why would they want the bride and groom to sleep during the oonjal ceremony?
2. What is maNi thengai?
3. Shouldn’t it be manjaL neeradi? How can you suzhatru liquid? My well informed source says it was ‘manjaL neeradi’ before and later changed to ’suzhatri’ as lots of udanpirappus printed posters like ‘23 aavadhu vatta seyalaaLarin iRaNdaavadhu magaLin manjal neeratu vizhaviRku varugai tharum thalaivarai varuga varuga ena varaverkirom’.
Looking forward to your answers
Regards
-Ferrari
on 19 Feb 2008 at 7:53 pm # Maverick
I dont know exactly. but probably “manajal suzhattri” might mean, the arathi suthifying in a plate that has manjal neer.
on 19 Feb 2008 at 8:32 pm # laksh
Not sure about the second. If I would hazard a guess. The oonjal ritual as much as the other wedding rituals are from a time when the bride and groom were babies. So it is not surprising that the lullaby is sung. As for Manjal Suzhatri I believe it refers to the aarathi after the oonjal.
on 20 Feb 2008 at 4:37 am # Lone_Star
Point 1 is pretty obvious. They want them to rest now, so that they are fresh and active when.. ahem for later on.
MaNi Thengai is for preparing next days thengai chutney to go with the idly, when the couple start their first day together. This helps the bridegroom to take it easy on day 1, so that his new wife doesn’t order him to run to the corner shop to buy thengai for the chutney. Understandably, He would still be tired. Don’t have anything to say about the MaNi part, though I can guess the thengai might have originated from Mani’s corner shop.
They stop with sutrifying a little liquid since they have become very environment conscious nowadays and decided not to waste water for the whole neeradifying.
Thats all I can spew off the top of my head
Seriously, I love watching all the rituals and I’m looking forward to my friend’s wedding in May.
on 20 Feb 2008 at 6:58 am # Ram
is this taken to be a rehearsal for an event that is coming up?
incidentally it is ‘panneeraal kaal alambi, pattaaley thudaithu’
on 20 Feb 2008 at 8:15 pm # Blogeswaran
Lone Star, What a starry analysis!!!
on 20 Feb 2008 at 10:10 pm # Vishy
Lovely analysis, lone star
BTW I am wonderin if maNi thengai is actually an evolution of:
Money Thaen Kaai (Cash Honey Vegetables)
This might be meant to indicate that life is full of sweet (honey) and sorrowful (vegetables.. he he) happenings.. But money will take us thru all that
Yepppppudi?
on 21 Feb 2008 at 6:35 am # Anonymous
brahmins!!!
on 21 Feb 2008 at 10:51 am # anon
this oonjal process comes after kasi yathra,during which the bride’s father gives a thengai to the groom & assures he will give his daughter to him.Then laali is oonjal only.aararo & thalelo are for sleep.Manjal neer is ofcourse aarathi.This is for welcoming the groom before the actual marriage ceremony
on 21 Feb 2008 at 11:42 am # Arun
//maNjal neer suzhatri(?)
looks like some sort of aaraththi with either manNjal neer or Sandal along with the usual Karpoora dheebam..the liquid is usually thrown on the street later.. may be its of that kind.
//maNi thengai
while buying coconut, people used to knock it and check the sound before buying..just a quality check.
may be, its related to that..something like the thengai which gives bell(maNi) sound??
anyways, indha R&D yellam ippo thevaya??
on 21 Feb 2008 at 4:12 pm # S
its not mani thengai,its money thengai which is bought by giving money not a osi thengai from neighbour
Manjal Neer suzhatri is while taking aarthi they will shake the plate no at that time that water will revolve around the plate
on 21 Feb 2008 at 10:01 pm # Lone_Star
Thanks vishy.. Pretty gud analysis yourself. But I can’t agree with “Vegetables=sorrowful” part. Remember this is a Brahmin tradition. Brahmins are restricted only to eating veggies. So they can’t afford to get on the wrong side of veggies by branding them as sorrowful.
semma logic la?? 
on 25 Feb 2008 at 11:47 pm # bharath
during oonjal, the same song is to be sung as “Adiru oonjal” and not as ‘laali’. (not that the bride and groom can sleep with the mamis singing laali… still…)
manjal neer is aarthi
mani thengai refers to good thengai.. mani-ya mani-ya yevlo nanna irukku.. all mamis use this dialogue to tell that something is good.
on 26 Feb 2008 at 2:37 am # Arun Sundar
Laali = oonjal. That much am sure. Other ones, I pass.