Indian wedding glossary · Wedding day rituals
What is Oonjal?
Also written: Unjal, swing ceremony
Oonjal is the Tamil ritual where the bride and groom sit together on a decorated swing while married women sing songs, offer them milk and banana, and in many families circle coloured rice balls around them to ward off evil.
- Who keeps it
- Many Tamil Hindu families, and some Kannada and Telugu families.
- When
- After the maalai maatral and before the couple goes to the mandap for the muhurtham.
About Oonjal
What should you know about Oonjal?
The gentle swinging is said to stand for the ups and downs of married life, faced together. The women sing oonjal songs, wash the couple's feet and sprinkle water around the swing.
It is one of the most photographed moments of a Tamil wedding.
In the order of functions
Where does Oonjal come in an Indian wedding?
After the maalai maatral and before the couple goes to the mandap for the muhurtham.
- Before the weddingFixing the match, the engagement, the date and the card.
- The functionsPujas, haldi, mehndi, sangeet and the family days before the wedding.
- Wedding day ritualsFrom the baraat to the pheras, nikah and anand karaj.
- After the weddingVidaai, the new home, the reception and the first visits.
Planning your own days? The free wedding function order planner puts your functions in a sensible order with dates.
On the card
What do families write on the invitation for Oonjal?
Oonjal at 7:30 am, muhurtham 9:00 to 10:30 am.
Related words
Words that go with Oonjal
- Maalai maatral
Maalai maatral is the Tamil garland exchange, where the bride and groom exchange flower garlands three times, often while their relatives lift them up to tease each other.
- Kashi yatra
Kashi yatra is a playful ritual in many Tamil and Telugu weddings where the groom pretends to leave for Kashi to become an ascetic, and the bride's father persuades him to stay and marry his daughter.
- Thali
In South Indian weddings the thali, or mangalyam, is the sacred pendant on a yellow thread or gold chain that the groom ties around the bride's neck at the muhurtham.
- Nalangu
Nalangu is a set of playful games in Tamil weddings, played by the bride and groom with relatives watching, to break the ice after the formal rites.
- Nichayathartham
Nichayathartham is the Tamil engagement ceremony, where the two families formally agree to the wedding and the date is read out in front of relatives.
Questions
Oonjal, answered
What is Oonjal?
Oonjal is the Tamil ritual where the bride and groom sit together on a decorated swing while married women sing songs, offer them milk and banana, and in many families circle coloured rice balls around them to ward off evil.
Which families celebrate Oonjal?
Many Tamil Hindu families, and some Kannada and Telugu families.
When does Oonjal happen in the order of wedding functions?
After the maalai maatral and before the couple goes to the mandap for the muhurtham.
What do families write on the invitation for Oonjal?
Oonjal at 7:30 am, muhurtham 9:00 to 10:30 am.
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