The ‘coming of age’ of a girl is known as kotahaluweema in Sinhalese, a term which connotates to the strength of becoming a woman and her family protecting her through various rituals.
Puberty Rituals have existed over centuries woven around legends and have a great historical and spiritual meaning behind them, even in the 21st century. The Veddas of Sri Lanka explore the link between a girls’ initial first menstruation with the anger of demons, the kotahaluweema warding off any negative energy around the girl and her transition into becoming a woman.
The first stage of the ritual is seclusion, a time in which a girl stays in a room as due to her vulnerability during this point, she needs to be protected from evil spirits. She is also kept away from interacting with her father and any other male figures.
After a girl starts this journey, her mother is to consult an astrologer promptly after the news her daughter has commenced her first menstruation. The astrologer will determine provide her with a prediction for her daughter’s future fertility and what time they should perform the pubertal bathing ritual and what colour must be worn.
During this time, the girl’s diet is delicately crafted from foods which strengthen the womb and encourage fertility according to Tamil traditions. These foods include gingerly oil, eggs, and honey, and the exclusion of meat or foods harder to digest due to her bodily condition.
Other symbols of fertility are also seen through the oozing of tree sap that the girl is taken to see and the unhusked rice that the girl is made to stand on prior to the bathing ritual. A clay pot, kalaya, is filled with water and jasmine flowers, sometimes saffron and milk, and is poured over the girl seven times before the kalaya is broken to pieces. This signifies the eradication of any undesired energies. Once the bathing ritual is over, the girl is dressed in new clothes and wears ancestral gold jewellery. In a Tamil community, they dress the girl in a saree for the first time which symbolises her journey into womanhood. Another progression in her journey is shown through her re-entering her house and the symbolic new role she takes as a woman.
The Coconut Reading is a significant part of the Puberty Rituals, a coconut being cracked open in front of the girl and depending on the way it breaks either equal or unequal halves, indicates the good or bad omens surrounding the girl. The good omens being celebrated at a party.
The kotahalu mangilya in Sinhala or the poopunitha neerathi vizha in Tamil is a joyous and vibrant celebration held to mark the occasion. A traditional Sri Lankan meal is laid out around the girl whilst she accepts eccentric gifts from her relatives and neighbours as a sign of good wishes for her transition into a woman. This is a time to honour the beauty of the journey into womanhood and My Wedding Entrance can help your vision come to life.
At My Wedding Entrance, we have the largest selection of elegant Doli’s and Palki’s which can be used to create a very special memory of the occasion. The Royal Flower Doli is a stunning way for a new woman to make an entrance, held by four people – the young woman will have her princess moment surrounded by beautiful flowers that are also seen as a symbol of fertility. We provide a range of Doli’s and the colours of the flowers can be changed upon your request. Our Carved Palki’s and Flower Canopies, also known as Phoolon Ki Chadar, would also make a stunning entrance into the celebrations of this ancient ritual – a classic and graceful way to commemorate the beginning of a girl’s journey into a woman.
Take a look at this amazing entrance to the Sri Lankan puberty ceremony
Article Written By @s111mran
