MALAPPURAM: The wedding season in Malabar is getting a nostalgic makeover, as a traditional pre-wedding ritual of the Mappila Muslim community, arikuthu kalyanam, finds a new audience among young brides in Malappuram.
Once a familiar feature, the ritual had gradually disappeared from Mappila wedding celebrations. Now, it is making a quiet comeback, through vintage-themed ceremonies, photographs and social media reels. Brides are swapping contemporary wedding outfits for simple silk saris, kachi and thattam, while old tharavadu homes, wooden interiors and traditional household articles set the stage for celebrations reminiscent of another era.
Believed to have originated in Ponnani, the ritual was traditionally part of the multi-day wedding celebrations of the region. Ponnani’s Mappila weddings, particularly among families following the matrilineal system, traditionally stretched over several days, with the groom being brought to the bride’s house after the marriage.
One day was set aside for arikuthu kalyanam, a ritual that symbolised the bride’s readiness to begin family life. Dressed in kasavu mundu or traditional attire and a thattam of pure Kanchipuram silk,and adorned with heavy gold ornaments, the bride would grind rice using traditional ural (mortar) and ulakka (pestle). The act symbolised her readiness to take on the responsibilities of a household and feed her family.
“Decades ago, these customs were part of our weddings, but they gradually disappeared.Now I see many reels and photographs recreating arikuthu kalyanam. However, I am not sure whether the original ritual is being followed in its entirety,” said Jameelabi,a Ponnani resident and social worker who also caters to sweet orders for functions in the town.
Traditional settings
The revival has also opened up a new niche around Malappuram’s old houses. Traditional homes are increasingly being sought after as venues for pre-wedding ceremonies and photoshoots,with their owners offering more than just a roof and four walls.
Vintage household articles are carefully arranged to recreate the atmosphere of a bygone Malabar wedding.
Ural, ulakka, muram (winnowing basket), old radios and other traditional objects have now become sought-after props, bringing a lived-in touch to photographs and reels designed to look as though they have stepped out of an old family album. “Here, we provide a room for the bride and her friends to get ready and arrange everything needed to recreate the arikuthu setting. The demand has picked up only in the past few months,” said Prasad, owner of Palakkal Tharavadu in Malappuram, which used to host arikuthu ceremonies.
“Most brides and photographers ask for an old tharavadu ambience. Sometimes families conduct the customary rituals in the presence of relatives. At other times, it is a shorter session meant only for photographs and reels. We charge Rs 2,500 an hour, and the trend is thriving,” he said.
For today’s brides, however, the attraction goes beyond recreating an old ritual. It has become a way of rediscovering the wedding memories of mothers and grandmothers while giving them a distinctly vintage identity in the age of Instagram and reels.
“Recreating arikuthu kalyanam is like taking a journey into the past. Everything changes, from the dress and makeup to the way the photographs are created. Instead of lehengas and elaborate partywear, brides opt for simple silk saris and kachi thattams. The makeup is also kept old-fashioned, and we shoot the photographs and reels in vintage style,” said wedding photographer Nikhil Mohan.
“Even the music used is nostalgic. These kind of reels are becoming increasingly popular.”