CULTURAL TRADITIONS
Our wedding day will be a blend of both of our cultures.
In addition, we will be incorporating a few other traditions before and after the wedding.
The Roce Ceremony
In India, the Goan and Mangolorean communities have an important ceremony with their close family members, a day or two prior to the wedding day. ROCE (meaning juice) is a traditional ceremony where Rebecca will be anoited with coconut milk, oil and a hot water bath. The white coconut milk is used to represent purity. The ceremony symbolizes the last day Rebecca spends as a single/unmarried person. It signifies a shift or change to married life.
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The Roce ceremony is a "kick off" to the wedding celebration. The ceremony is followed by lunch or dinner called “Rosache Jevon” (Jevon means lunch/dinner).
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The coconut is usually grated and kept ready by the men of the house prior to the ceremony. The women of the household then prepare the coconut milk. Rebecca and her bridesmaid will be blessed by the elders and then are seated together.
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After this , the roce ceremony begins. First, Rebecca's mother dabs her thumb in the oil and blesses her, followed by each of her bridesmaids. She will then dip a spoon in the oil and places a drop of oil on each of Rebecca's ears. Finally, she will place 5 drops of oil on Rebecca's head and rubs the oil into her hair. She will do the same to bridesmaids as well. Once this ritual is completed, she will scoops the roce from the bowl and applies on it from the crown of Rebecca's head to the sole of her feet. This process will continue for the rest of the bridesmaid as well.
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After the mother, the rest of the members of the family will come forward one by one and put roce on Rebecca and her bridesmaids. Soon after the completion of the roce ceremony, Rebecca will be led to the bathroom. One mug of hot water is poured on Rebecca's head by each of her parents to represent the love they have for her. While Rebecca and her bridesmaids clean up, the food is prepared and served.
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After dinner/lunch, the married ladies of Mark's family bless the saado (Indian wedding wear) and the jewelry that will be offered to the bride. With this the Roce ceremony ends.
Something Old...
This tradition comes from an Old English rhyme and is now a cultural practice in America
Something Old, Something New,
Something Borrowed, Something Blue,
A Sixpence in your Shoe
The poem dictates the five objects that Rebecca will carry with her on the big day as good luck charms.
Something old represents continuity; something new offers optimism for the future; something borrowed symbolizes borrowed happiness; something blue stands for purity, love, and fidelity; and a sixpence in your shoe is a wish for good fortune and prosperity.
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For her something old, something borrowed and something blue, Rebecca will be carrying a Rathvon family heirloom.
Porthoponn
After the wedding ceremony comes the Porthoponn, in this tradition Rebecca’s family invites Mark’s family over to their house. The families are now combined and related. The Porthoponn occurs the day after the wedding where Rebecca will wear a bright red saree or a dress called ‘Saddo’ with flowers (traditionally: jasmines) in her hair.
The Grand March and The Masala
The Grand March and the Masala are two cultural traditions that will occur on the wedding day. All wedding guests are welcome to participate.
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The Grand March and how it works:
After dinner, join the bridal party by forming 2 lines: usually 1 of women, 1 of men. Line up beside your partner. The March begins with the 2 lines walking parallel to each other around the room. The bridal party will reach the center of the room and split off into opposite directions. The bride and groom meet again and make a bridge with their arms over their heads. The next couple in line walks under the bridge and adds to it. This continues until all the people have gone under the bridge and added to it. The bride and groom are the last ones to go through the bridge. You can have some fun here and trap them in! They need to pay a “toll” - aka - a smooch - to pass.
Once the bride and groom have gone under the entire bridge, they walk together towards the center of the room. They then split to the right side together, and the next pair splits to the left. The following pair goes to the right, and the one after to the left – this continues on. The bride and groom join together with the couple from the left side and form a line of four people. Everyone follows suit until the entire march has rows of 4 people. Starting with the first row, the person on the left end turns and grabs the hand of the person behind them. This continues while everyone moves to form a giant circle around the room. The march ends in a circle with everyone clapping and cheering! The bride and groom walk towards the middle of the circle and share their first dance surrounded by the people they love.
CONFUSED? Don't worry - we will have a guide to lead this - so you do not need to remember any of these steps! :)
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The Masala and how it works:
During the last 20 minutes of the wedding, the DJ will play indian dancing music in Rebecca's mother tongue in Konkani. Everyone is welcome to get up on the floor and dance!