Godandam - On the day of Devgas
Sourashtrians dwelling in South India are very religious and pious. In some of our Sourashtra families Godandam is a traditional prayer performed by the bridegroom on the day of Devgas. Some of the popular families in Madurai who perform this ritual are those of Musathins, Juttins, Gendane & Puttaans.
The whole event is very colorful. The bridegroom’s family and relatives assemble on that day in the house of the groom at a place designated for the Pooja. The Kula Deivam of the family is appeased by the way of offering Pongal in five Bhonnos. The groom is dressed up in a special attire of Haladu Dhoti in Panchakachham style. His head will be crowned with a special garland made of fresh lemons and flowers tied up with black thread. The flowers will be hanging like Sarams in between. His hands will be adorned with flowers and covered with Bigith and Sirkan. He will be wearing a fresh flower garland. His face will be wholly covered with Bigith except for the eyes. Along with a bright Javvadu Bottu on his forehead he will look totally different!
With a heavy crown of Limboos and phool sarams hanging from the head he will be carrying a tray with Bigith, going around the crowd doling out the Bigith and at the same time accepting the Kanikkas offered by the relatives. At the end of the procession he will place the tray with donations in front of the Deity and offer his Sashtanga Namaskar. After a formal Pooja he will give away bananas and milk as Prasadam to the gatherers.
The contribution collected will then be divided into two. One half would be offered to the Kula Deivam and the balance, considered to be the gift from Him would be utilized for meeting a part of the wedding expenses.
As such the whole function would go on for a couple of hours. However, in the event of anybody getting a Dev on his Aangu it might take even more time, which is not uncommon!
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