Important marriage ceremonies in Tamil iyers.

 

Some of the rituals were in vogue considering the young age of the bride and groom in the early days. But these have been followed even now also. Examples are Nalangu, bride and groom being carried after the Kaasi yathirai, Oonjal and the bride sitting on the father's lap.
Vrutham
The wedding rites/rituals/celebrations start off with prayers offered to ancestors to seek their and God's blessings for the upcoming wedding. This usually takes place in the early morning hours of the first wedding day. The bride's side does the rites for the bride's side of the family while the groom side does conducts its own prayers side-by-side.
Janavasam/"maapillai azhaippu" - the procession
This is the archetypical picture of Indian celebration packed with a kaleidoscope of color, glitz, music and dancing!
The groom would be seated on a horse-drawn chariot (or in some cases, beautifully adorned cars) as he makes a procession through the roads with his entourage. The accompanying entourage dances to the rhythm rendered by the accompanying band announcing to all the upcoming matrimony .
In recent times the bride gets a piece of action as she joins the groom halfway through the procession and gets to sit alongside the groom on the chariot. They then make their way to the temple where the groom - "maapillai" - is given a new set of traditional dhoti - "veshti" and shirt - to wear for the following nischayathartham ceremony. Off late some grooms go for Western styled suits also.
The reason for this ritual is from the practice of announcing in early days to all the village people on who is the bride and groom.
The procession then makes its way back to the mandapam (wedding hall) where the nischayathartham then ensues
Nischayathartham - The engagement ceremony
After all the joyous dancing and pompous procession, the guests settle down at the mandapam to witness and bless the rites and rituals involved in the "engagement ceremony" with the background of Sanskrit mantrams chanted by the Hindu priests.
During the Nichayathartham the following details of both bride and the groom are read out for the everyone Personal: Father's name, Grand father's name, the village to which their forefather's belonged, their gothra,aliasname etc.
Muhurtham: Date&Time(Georgian and Lunar),Lagnam, Star, Address of the marriage hall etc.
The bride and groom are officially engaged in God's name and the auspicious timing for the Muhurtham - the actual wedding rites - is set in everybody's presence. Everyone present in the Nichayathaartham is asked if anyone has any concern or objection and only after everyone is okay the "Thaamboolam" plates are exchanged.
"Thaamboolam" plates containing items required for the muhurtham are exchanged by both the groom's and bride's sides (generally the senior most male) during this function.
Muhurtham - The wedding proper
Muhurtham refers to the actual wedding ceremony itself. It typically occurs on the second day of a 2- or 3-day wedding ceremony and occurs generally early in the morning around 7–8 am depending on the priests' decree but may be even up to 11 AM.
The muhurtham includes the "Kasi yaatrai" , "maalai maatral", "oonjal ceremony" and the actual Muhurtham itself.
Kasi yaatrai
Refers to an age-old Brahmin ritual where the groom "decides" to take up 'sanyaasam' (i.e. asceticism, monkhood) for spiritual pursuit. He would ultimately be 'convinced' by the bride's father to return and take up "grahastham" or family life and that the bride will assist in his subsequent spiritual pursuit. For the Kaasi Yaathirai, the bride's father would have to buy(as in general practice)an Umbrella, Hand fan, Bhagwad Gita book, Sandals.
The maapillai (groom) will then agree and garlands will be exchanged by the bride and groom (maalai maatral). The process of maalai maatral may be complicated by the groom's side carrying the groom and the bride's side carrying the bride and each side making it difficult for the other side to correctly place the garland. Basically traditional family entertainment.
They would then head to a swing (oonjal) in the mandapam. Respected womenfolk of the household will then perform short rituals with classical singing to ward off "evil eyes" as the bride and groom are seated on the oonjal.
They then proceed to the podium in the mandapam where rites of the marriage - muhurtham - are performed. The climax is when the bride is seated on her dad's lap as her dad does (kannigadhaanam) and offers his daughter to be taken care of by the groom. As the priest then chants mantrams, the groom ties a "thaali" or "thirumaangalyam" as a necklace around the bride's neck as all the guests shower their blessings (symbolized by rice grains that are distributed to all guests to shower onto the bride and groom).
This symbolizes the actual wedding and the newly-weds take their marriage vows in seven steps (sapthapathi) as they walk three rounds hand-in-hand around the holy fire (agni).
Nalangu - wedding games
Nalangu is a tradition that dates back to times when marriages used to occur at a younger age (early teens). This component was incorporated to keep the mood light-hearted and fun for the newly wed young teens. It has stayed on as an integral component of South Indian weddings.
Traditional games include the newly-weds putting their hands into a small bowl to find a small object with the person finding the object first the winner. Other examples of games include breaking papadums over each other's heads and so on and so forth. It is an interesting component of the wedding gala.

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 Dont" keep me in ur eyes, i may fall as tears.Keep me in ur heart, so that ur every "heart beat" may reminds u that there is "someone 4 u"...

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Regards,
CS Sapna Shankar

Conspiracy theories surrounding the global HIV/AIDS epidemic have cost thousands of lives. But science is fighting back.

By Nicoli Nattrass | 

Columbia University Press, March 2012

There is a substantial body of evidence showing that HIV causes AIDS—and that antiretroviral treatment (ART) has turned the viral infection from a death sentence into a chronic disease.¹ Yet a small group of AIDS denialists keeps alive the conspiratorial argument that ART is harmful and that HIV science has been corrupted by commercial interests. Unfortunately, AIDS denialists have had a disproportionate effect on efforts to stem the AIDS epidemic. In 2000, South African President Thabo Mbeki took these claims seriously, opting to debate the issue, thus delaying the introduction of ART into the South African public health sector. At least 330,000 South Africans died unnecessarily as a result.^2,3
The “hero scientist” of AIDS denialism, University of California, Berkeley, virologist Peter Duesberg, argues that HIV is a harmless passenger virus and that ART is toxic, even a cause of AIDS. He has done no clinical research on HIV and ignores the many rebuttals of his claims in the scientific literature.^4,5 As I describe in my new book, The AIDS Conspiracy: Science Fights Back, this has prompted further direct action against Duesberg by the pro-science community.
In 1993, John Maddox, then editor of Nature, complained that Duesberg was “wrongly using tendentious arguments to confuse understanding of AIDS,” and that because he was not engaging as a scientist, he would no longer be granted an automatic “right of reply.” More recently, in 2009, AIDS activists and HIV scientists, including Nobel Laureate Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, complained to Elsevier, the publisher of Medical Hypotheses, when that journal published a paper by Duesberg defending Mbeki and denying the existence of the African AIDS epidemic. Medical Hypotheses had a policy against peer review, so Elsevier asked the Lancet to oversee a peer review of the paper. When the panel of reviewers unanimously recommended rejection, Elsevier permanently withdrew it and forced Medical Hypotheses to introduce peer review. Last December Duesberg published a reworked version in an Italian journal,⁶ sparking further controversy and protests from the journal’s editorial board, one of whom has already resigned.
Efforts by scientists to defend science are supplemented by pro-science activists operating on the Internet. Physician, author, and blogger Ben Goldacre argued in his Guardian column Bad Science that a “ragged band of bloggers from all walks of life” has been very successful at exposing pseudoscientific claims and fraudulent alternative practitioners selling quack cures. The Internet now poses a double-edged sword for AIDS denialists. It is becoming a tougher place for people to sequester themselves in a comfortable cocoon of the like-minded. While the web allows denialists to advertise their ideas and build networks, it also exposes potential converts to scientific rebuttals of their claims, as well news about the deaths of the “living icons”—high-profile HIV-positive people who rejected ART.
The key living icon for AIDS denialism was Christine Maggiore. She founded Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives (an organization with Duesberg on its board), campaigned against the use of ART to prevent mothers passing HIV to their babies, and met President Mbeki. Despite her 3-year-old daughter’s succumbing to AIDS, Maggiore remained staunchly opposed to HIV science and ART. She opted for alternative therapies and died at the age of 52, from AIDS-related infections.
Scientists often have a tough time responding to antiscience conspiracy theories because their integrity is impugned by the conspiratorial moves made against them. But precisely because living icons like Maggiore lent credence to AIDS denialism by appearing to offer “living proof” that the science of HIV pathogenesis and treatment is wrong, pro-science activists maintain a list of denialists who have died of AIDS. The weapons of science and reason are still very much in contention, but the gloves have come off in a broader struggle over credibility.

Nicoli Nattrass is director of the AIDS and Society Research Unit at the University of Cape Town and visiting professor at Yale University. Her research on the economics and politics of antiretroviral treatment helped change South African AIDS policy. Read an excerpt of The AIDS Conspiracy.

References

1. PA Volberding and SG Deeks, “Antiretroviral therapy and management of HIV infection,” Lancet, 376: 49-62, 2010
2. P Chigwedere, et. al., “Estimating the lost benefits of antiretroviral drug use in South Africa,” JAIDS, 49:410-15, 2008
3. N Nattrass, “AIDS and the scientific governance of medicine in post-apartheid South Africa,” Afr Affairs, 427:157-76, 2008
4. P Chigwedere and M. Essex, “AIDS denialism and public health practice,” AIDS Behav, 14:237-47, 2010
5. N Nattrass, “Defending the boundaries of science: AIDS denialism, peer review and the Medical Hypotheses saga,” Soc Health Ill, 33:507-21, 2011
6. PH. Duesberg, et. al., “AIDS since 1984: No evidence for a new, viral epidemic–not even in Africa,” Ital J Anat Embryol, 116:73–92, 2011

Source: TheScientist
http://the-scientist.com/2012/03/01/the-specter-of-denialism/

 

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Tomb exploration reveals first archaeological evidence of Christianity from the time of Jesus

The archaeological examination by robotic camera of an intact first century tomb in Jerusalem has revealed a set of limestone Jewish ossuaries or "bone boxes" that are engraved with a rare Greek inscription and a unique iconographic image that the scholars involved identify as distinctly Christian.
The four-line Greek inscription on one ossuary refers to God "raising up" someone and a carved image found on an adjacent ossuary shows what appears to be a large fish with a human stick figure in its mouth, interpreted by the excavation team to be an image evoking the biblical story of Jonah.
In the earliest gospel materials the "sign of Jonah," as mentioned by Jesus, has been interpreted as a symbol of his resurrection. Jonah images in later "early" Christian art, such as images found in the Roman catacombs, are the most common motif found on tombs as a symbol of Christian resurrection hope. In contrast, the story of Jonah is not depicted in any first century Jewish art and iconographic images on ossuaries are extremely rare, given the prohibition within Judaism of making images of people or animals.
The tomb in question is dated prior to 70 CE, when ossuary use in Jerusalem ceased due to the Roman destruction of the city. Accordingly, if the markings are Christian as the scholars involved believe, the engravings represent � by several centuries - the earliest archaeological record of Christians ever found. The engravings were most likely made by some of Jesus' earliest followers, within decades of his death. Together, the inscription and the Jonah image testify to early Christian faith in resurrection. The tomb record thus predates the writing of the gospels.
The findings will be detailed in a preliminary report by James D. Tabor, professor and chair of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, to be published online in bibleinterp.com on February 28, 2012.
"If anyone had claimed to find either a statement about resurrection or a Jonah image in a Jewish tomb of this period I would have said impossible -- until now," Tabor said. "Our team was in a kind of ecstatic disbelief, but the evidence was clearly before our eyes, causing us to revise our prior assumptions."
The publication of the academic article is concurrent with the publication of a book by Simon & Schuster entitled "The Jesus Discovery: The New Archaeological Find That Reveals the Birth of Christianity." The book is co-authored by Professor James Tabor and filmmaker/professor Simcha Jacobovici. A documentary on the discovery will be aired by the Discovery Channel in spring 2012.
The findings and their interpretation are likely to be controversial, since most scholars are skeptical of any Christian archaeological remains from so early a period. Adding to the controversy is the tomb's close proximity to a second tomb, discovered in 1980. This tomb, dubbed by some "The Jesus Family Tomb," contained inscribed ossuaries that some scholars associate with Jesus and his family, including one that reads "Jesus, son of Joseph."
"Context is everything in archaeology," Tabor pointed out. "These two tombs, less than 200 feet apart, were part of an ancient estate, likely related to a rich family of the time. We chose to investigate this tomb because of its proximity to the so-called 'Jesus tomb,' not knowing if it would yield anything unusual."
The tomb containing the new discoveries is a modest sized, carefully carved rock cut cave tomb typical of Jerusalem in the period from 20 BCE until 70 CE.
The tomb was exposed in 1981 by builders and is currently several meters under the basement level of a modern condominium building in East Talpiot, a neighborhood of Jerusalem less than two miles south of the Old City. Archaeologists entered the tomb at the time, were able to briefly examine it and its ossuaries, take preliminary photographs, and remove one pot and an ossuary, before they were forced to leave by Orthodox religious groups who oppose excavation of Jewish tombs.
The ossuary taken, that of a child, is now in the Israel State Collection. It is decorated but has no inscriptions. The archaeologists mention "two Greek names" but did not notice either the newly discovered Greek inscription or the Jonah image before they were forced to leave. The tomb was re-sealed and buried beneath the condominium complex on what is now Don Gruner Street in East Talpiot.
The adjacent "Jesus tomb," was uncovered by the same construction company in 1980, just one year earlier. It was thoroughly excavated and its contents removed by the Israel Antiquities Authority. This tomb's controversial ossuaries with their unusual cluster of names (that some have associated with Jesus and his family) are now part of the Israel State Collection and have been on display in various venues, including the Israel Museum. These ossuaries will be in an exhibit running from late February through April 15 at Discovery Times Square.
In 2009 and 2010, Tabor and Rami Arav, professor of archaeology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, working together with Jacobovici, obtained a license to excavate the current tomb from the Israel Antiquities Authority under the academic sponsorship of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Because of its physical location under a modern building (making direct access nearly impossible), along with the threat of Orthodox Jewish groups that would protest any such excavation, Tabor's team determined to employ a minimally invasive procedure in examining the tomb.
Funding for the excavation was provided by the Discovery Channel/Vision Television/Associated Producers. Jacobovici's team at the Toronto based Associated Producers developed a sophisticated robotic arm to carry high definition cameras, donated by General Electric. The robotic arm and a second "snake camera" were inserted through two drill holes in the basement floor of the building above the tomb. The probe was successful and the team was able to reach all the ossuaries and photograph them on all sides, thus revealing the new inscriptions.
Beyond the possible Christian connection, Tabor noted that the tomb's assemblage of ossuaries stands out as clearly extraordinary in the context of other previously explored tombs in Jerusalem.
"Everything in this tomb seems unusual when contrasted with what one normally finds inscribed on ossuaries in Jewish tombs of this period," Tabor said. "Of the seven ossuaries remaining in the tomb, four of them have unusual features."
There are engravings on five of the seven ossuaries: an enigmatic symbol on ossuary 2 (possibly reading Yod Heh Vav Heh or "Yahweh" in stylized letters that can be read as Greek or Hebrew, though the team is uncertain); an inscription reading "MARA" in Greek letters (which Tabor translates as the feminine form of "lord" or "master" in Aramaic) on ossuary 3; an indecipherable word in Greek letters on ossuary 4 (possibly a name beginning with "JO�"); the remarkable four-line Greek inscription on ossuary 5; and finally, and most importantly, a series of images on ossuary 6, including the large image of a fish with a figure seeming to come out of its mouth.
Among the approximately 2000 ossuaries that have been recovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority, only 650 have any inscriptions on them, and none have inscriptions comparable to those on ossuaries 5 and 6.
Less than a dozen ossuaries from the period have epitaphs but, according to Tabor, these inscribed messages usually have to do with warnings not to disturb the bones of the dead. In contrast, the four-line Greek inscription contains some kind of statement of resurrection faith.
Tabor noted that the epitaph's complete and final translation is uncertain. The first three lines are clear, but the last line, consisting of three Greek letters, is less sure, yielding several possible translations: "O Divine Jehovah, raise up, raise up," or "The Divine Jehovah raises up to the Holy Place," or "The Divine Jehovah raises up from [the dead]."
"This inscription has something to do with resurrection of the dead, either of the deceased in the ossuary, or perhaps, given the Jonah image nearby, an expression of faith in Jesus' resurrection," Tabor said.
The ossuary with the image that Tabor and his team understand to be representing Jonah also has other interesting engravings. These also may be connected to resurrection, Tabor notes. On one side is the tail of a fish disappearing off the edge of the box, as if it is diving into the water. There are small fish images around its border on the front facing, and on the other side is the image of a cross-like gate or entrance梬hich Tabor interprets as the notion of entering the "bars" of death, which are mentioned in the Jonah story in the Bible.
"This Jonah ossuary is most fascinating," Tabor remarked. "It seems to represent a pictorial story with the fish diving under the water on one end, the bars or gates of death, the bones inside, and the image of the great fish spitting out a man representing, based on the words of Jesus, the 'sign of Jonah' � the 'sign' that he would escape the bonds of death."
Provided by University of North Carolina at Charlotte

"Tomb exploration reveals first archaeological evidence of Christianity from the time of Jesus." February 28th, 2012.http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-tomb-exploration-reveals-archaeological-evidence.html
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek