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                               He gives power over our servants.
                               It is he who gives greatness to walk along the path of His Will.

                               He gives the magnificence of a crowned king.
                               He bestows wealth-bringing prosperity.

                               Give Him praise and thanks since He is the cause of the life we
                               enjoy.
                               All these things will be yours by the will of the Almighty.....
                                                                                                87
                                                                      From the song of blessings
                           3.7.9.3.2      Theological Significance

                               The marriage covenant is divine and is ordained for the procreation
                        of the children. This blessing song clearly expresses their awareness that it
                        is  the  indispensible  duty  of  the  spouses  to  be  “parents”.  This  song  is
                        considered so special that it acts as a final and solemn moral advice of a
                        mother to her newly-married daughter to co-operate with her husband in the
                        creative work of God. This ceremony also witnesses the emotional moment
                        when the mother tells her daughter how cautiously and lovingly she raised
                                                                             88
                        her: “like butter in milk I cared for you in my heart”.  And now it is the
                        bride’s turn to impart life and all the affectionate care and education that she
                        received from her mother to her future offspring: “For that I invoke you the
                        Divine  blessings”.  This  ceremony  implies  the  importance  of  Christian
                        formation and value education.

                           3.7.9.4    The Elders Bless the Couple and Receive Hand-outs

                               At  the  end  of  the  blessing  song,  the  bride’s  mother,  maternal
                        grandmother  and  maternal  uncle  receive  from  the  couple  gifts  of  cloths








                        87  VELLIAN, J., Knānite Community History and Culture, Syrian Church Series Vol. XVII,
                        Jyothi  Book  House,  Kottayam,  2001,  pp.  71-  72.  For  full  Song  of  the  Blessing  in
                        Malayalam,  see  P.  U.  LUKAS,  Malayālatte  Suriyāni  Kristyānikalute  Purātanappāttukal
                                                                              th
                        (Ancient  songs  of  the  Syrian  Christians  of  Malayalam,  1910),  7   Edition,  Jyothi  Book
                        House, Kottayam, 1992, pp. 12-13.
                        88
                           Cf.  LUKAS,  P.  U.,  Malayālatte  Suriyāni  Kristyānikalute  Purātanappāttukal  (Ancient
                                                                       th
                        songs  of  the  Syrian  Christians  of  Malayalam,  1910),  7   Edition,  Jyothi  Book  House,
                        Kottayam, 1992, p. 13, Lines 27-28 of Hymn of Blessing (Malayalam).












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